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Stagecoach Manchester staff yesterday accepted a pay deal that means that all the strikes that had been planned over the next two weeks are now called off. A member of Stagecoach staff in Piccadilly Gardens yesterday evening seemed very happy with the result and said "It's a very good deal".
So, don't worry, once again (as in 2002 and 2003) a pre-Christmas nightmare for bus passengers in south Manchester has been averted!
The Local Transport Bill is set to be the biggest change to the way buses are run in the UK since privatisation in 1986. It paves the way for 'Quality Partnerships' between local authorities and bus operators, PTAs would replaced by 'Integrated Transport Authorities' who would have a lot more say than they do now in what bus services were operated in their area and how they connected with other public transport. The Bill also makes road pricing schemes easier for local authorities to setup.
Over the past year GMPTA have been calling for more powers to control bus services in Greater Manchester and have been formulating a road pricing scheme, so surely this new legislation will make them happy? Apparently not. Councillor Roger Jones, chair of GMPTA said, in a press release on Monday, "We need to have the option to have tighter control over setting routes, fares and the frequencies of services if those partnerships aren't successful".
A resolution calling for changes to the Bill received unanimous support from all three major political parties at a Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority meeting on Friday.
Coun. Jones continued, "We need the Bill to be able to guarantee passengers a top-quality bus service. I'm pleased that our resolution to see changes to it received unanimous support at Friday's meeting. We'll now be raising this issue with local MPs ahead of the Bill being approved by Parliament."
Here at Manchester Buses, we've certainly lost faith in the ability of private bus firms to provide a comprehensive service. Sure, First, Stagecoach and others are investing in new vehicles which make riding on buses more pleasant and appealing to people changing over from car use. If you happen to frequent a route like First's 135 or Stagecoach's 43 you get a great service but there are many holes in the current network that need filling by someone with an eye on what's right for the passengers, not a profit margin. We support GMPTA in their bid for greater powers and hope they get them!
They've been the subject of much passenger confusion over the past week thanks to the (now postponed) strike action, so it's good to hear that Stagecoach Manchester have announced some service revisions in the Stockport area based based mainly on public opinion. Far too often bus operators can cut and change services for their own operational or financial benefit leaving customers stranded.
These new changes, which come into effect on the 6th of January, are in response to public reaction to changes Stagecoach made to their Stockport network back in September. Although those changes brought in certain benefits, including the reinstatement of a direct bus link between Stockport and Stalybridge, they also saw the 358 route split at Marple during evenings and Sundays, meaning passengers having to change buses in the cold and dark. Not a popular move!
In summary, the changes see the 358 reverting to its pre-September route with a new service 362 covering the section of route missed out by the revised service 358. The need to connect in Marple on the 358 is removed. There are also timetable changes to services 317, 360 and 375.
More details, including the new timetables, can be found here.
Thousands of worried passengers can breathe a sigh of relief this evening as Stagecoach have announced that the planned strikes will not go ahead next week.
A new pay deal has been worked out and Unite union members will be polled on Tuesday to decide whether or not to accept it. So, panic over. That many-mile walk to work can be forgotten!
Stagecoach have announced a skeleton service for upcoming strike days and it's much better than might have been expected. Although no evening services will run, most core routes have some kind of service between 0730 and 1800 on the days affected. It is, however, greatly reduced from normal. Full details can be found on Stagecoach's information page here.
We're also updating our Q&A (see previous post).
All the planned Stagecoach Manchester strikes for November and December 2007 have now been called off thanks to staff accepting a new pay deal.
This means all the information below is no longer relevant, however we will keep it here so you can see (if you're bothered) how things would have been handled had the strikes gone ahead...
Judging by the number of people finding this blog through searches for information about the upcoming planned Stagecoach strikes, there are a lot of people looking for information out there at the moment. Time, methinks, for a quick Q&A.
When will the strikes take place?
Strikes are planned for the 27th and 29th of November and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th of December.
Which areas of Greater Manchester are affected?
Stagecoach Manchester will be striking, meaning that if your bus is run by Stagecoach Manchester or Magic Bus then it may not be running (see below). However, services 113, 125, 126 and X61 and some late evening journeys on service 22 will be running as they are run by Stagecoach North West. All other operators are unaffected. If your route is run by Stagecoach as well as other operators (e.g., services 22, 41, 42, 143) the other operators' journeys will run as normal, although they may be running late due to higher demand.
Will any Stagecoach Manchester services be running?
Yes, a skeleton service will operate on strike days between 0730 and 1800 only. Journeys will run on these services:
43 - Manchester - Airport (every 10 mins)
50 - Manchester - East Didsbury (every 15 mins)
85 - Manchester - Chorlton (every 15 mins)
86 - Manchester - Chorlton (every 10 mins)
101 - Manchester - Wythenshawe (every 20 mins)
104 - Manchester - Wythenshawe (every 30 mins)
142 - Manchester - East Didsbury (every 10 mins)
143 - Manchester - West Didsbury (every 15 mins)
192 - Manchester - Hazel Grove (every 15 mins plus every 7/8 mins Manchester - Stockport only)
201 - Manchester - Hattersley (every 10 mins)
203 - Manchester - Stockport (every 10 mins)
216 - Manchester - Ashton-under-Lyne (every 15 mins)
219 - Manchester - Ashton-under-Lyne (every 15 mins)
255 - Manchester - Partington (every 30 mins)
256 - Manchester - Flixton (every 15 mins)
325 - Stockport - Brinnington circular (every 10 mins)
330 - Stockport - Ashton-under-Lyne (every 15 mins)
347 - Ashton-under-Lyne - Haughton Green circular (every 15 mins)
383/384 - Stockport - Marple circular (every 20 mins each way)
These services will charge a flat fare of £1 although passes will still be valid and Stagecoach have been nice enough to extend validity on weekly Megariders and offer partial refunds for people with season passes (Uniriders etc). Full details can be found on Stagecoach's website.
I've heard Stagecoach are buying Mayne. Will they be striking too?
No. Although Stagecoach is in the process of buying Mayne, this sale is not complete yet. Mayne is still independent and will not be striking.
What about school buses?
The latest word on this matter, as conveyed from Stagecoach to schools, is that tendered school buses run by Stagecoach will be running as normal. However, you should check with your school or Stagecoach for more information.
Are these strikes definitely going ahead?
At the moment, yes. However, talks are taking place today between the company management and the Unite union to try to resolve the pay dispute. If they are successful the strikes won't take place.
If you have any more questions, leave a comment and we'll do our best to give you an answer. Also, check the Stagecoach Manchester website, which has full details.
Worried passengers have been scouring the internet for information on next week's planned strike action by Stagecoach Manchester staff. This blog has had a large number of hits from searches for "Stagecoach strike Manchester" and similar over the past 48 hours. The problem is that Stagecoach haven't published details of any services that might be running on strike days today, despite saying that they would.
That said, they have posted an announcement on their site saying that talks are planned between the Unite union, Stagecoach management and conciliation service ACAS. More information will be announced tomorrow.
As reported here last week, Stagecoach Manchester staff are headed for strike action. The Manchester Evening News has some more details today. The dispute is reportedly over differences in pay between Stagecoach and First drivers in Manchester. Six days of action are planned in the next fortnight which will undoubtedly cause havoc for bus travelers across the region. The dates are the 27th and 29th of November and the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th of December. This means the first strike day will be this coming Tuesday. Previous disputes in 2002 and 2003 were resolved before strikes took place so hopefully the same will happen this time.
Stagecoach is to announce details of its service (if any) on strike days via its website tomorrow. In 2003 a skeleton service was planned for strike days with other operators running limited services on popular routes. From memory, this included JPT running journeys on the 111 (Manchester - Southern Cemetery) route among others. Of course, that never turned out to be necessary then and fingers crossed the same will apply this time.
I'm surprised it's taken this long, but the impending sale of A Mayne & Son to Stagecoach has today been reported in the Manchester Evening News. Interestingly, the report claims that it's not harsh business conditions or even the future expansion of the Metrolink into Tameside that's prompted the sale. Instead, it appears Stephen Mayne's children are not interested in entering the bus industry, meaning the end of a family business that started with a horse and cart nearly 100 years ago.
All vehicles and staff will move to Stagecoach depots in the area and no job losses are expected. However, I'd imagine Stagecoach will sell some of Mayne's older buses in the near future. As reported here last week, the Office of Fair Trading is giving any objectors a deadline of next Monday to make themselves known.
It'll be sad to see the red and cream livery disappear from our roads, but it will lead to better value for passengers in east Manchester and Tameside as Stagecoach's Dayrider and Megarider tickets will be valid on many more journeys in the area. As previously mentioned here, First have been strengthening their position in Tameside of late. Could we be about to see increased competition there?
A few new service changes have been announced by GMPTE. Stagecoach's popular 330 route (Stockport - Ashton-under-Lyne) resumes its normal route following the reopening of White Bridge in Dukinfield. This also means the temporary shuttle bus in the area is withdrawn. Meanwhile, the 403 Shaw Local Service tender moves from Bluebird to Row Travel, with the 1638 Saturday journey withdrawn.
Over in West Yorkshire, most service changes take place on six PTE-approved dates through the year. The next of these is the weekend beginning the 8th of December. The only change that spills over to affect Greater Manchester is that First Halifax have made changes to the peak period times of their 528 (Halifax - Rochdale) service.
The 330 and 528 change from the 9th of December while the 403 changes over on the 17th of December.
