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Sorry, it seems I misread your original post and thought you were referring to all bus routes in the local authority area rather than just the tendered routes. The situation some have suggested would give the local authority full control so that they could prevent commercial operaters running...
This is getting confusing, I asked about this on a signalling forum and was told (by someone who checked with Exeter panel) that there is no emergency panel at Newton Abbot and control has continued to be from Exeter.