Manchester Buses

GMPTA asked to ditch Daisy Hill - Walkden link

The Agenda documents for GMPTA Transport Network Committee meetings are usually good places to catch early glimpses of upcoming services changes.  In that respect it was a quiet final meeting for the the committee in its present form, seeing as the council elections in May could well see committee members replaced.

The only service change of note in the agenda is the proposal for service 38 (Daisy Hill - Walkden) to be withdrawn.  This unusual service, a peak period-only subsidised route, was introduced when First withdrew their commercial service 38 between Daisy Hill and Manchester back in July 2006.

Since then it's certainly not maintained anything like a healthy flow of passengers.  Just three passengers were surveyed traveling on the 0650 journey, while no passengers caught the 0705.  With numbers like that it's no surprise to see it on the chopping block.

Free travel for under 21s?

Few outside the bus industry would say that free travel for the over 60s and disabled is a bad thing.  However, how about a scheme for the other end of the age spectrum?  A local MP, Bury North's David Chaytor, has called for free travel for all people aged under 21 who are in education or training.  This would, he says, help reduce congestion and climate change by encouraging young people to use public transport instead of getting a car.

It's sparked a range of reactions, as reported by the BBC today.  The Unite union says a similar scheme for under 18s in London has seen a rise in graffiti and violence.  Clarissa Williams of the National Association of Head Teachers is of the view that, as not all young people are tear-aways, those who abuse the scheme should have their pass revoked.

We can see both sides of the argument.  Here in Manchester, there was a time a couple of years ago when big groups of Emo kids spent whole Saturdays riding around the number 2 Metroshuttle route as it was free.  They don't seem to do it any more but the only problem they caused was blocking seats that could be used by passengers who actually wanted to go somewhere.

We can't see this scheme getting off the ground.  Bus companies are already worried about the impact National Free Travel for the over 60s and disabled will have on their finances without another great chunk of their paying clientele getting on for free too.

Meanwhile, would this stop young people getting cars?  Anyone who's seen 'My Super Sweet 16' on MTV will know how much many teenagers want cars.  That said, here at Manchester Buses we had a free Bus Driver's Family pass from First when we were in our late teens.  It didn't stop us lusting over our friends' cars, but ten years on we've stuck with the bus.

Government stumps up cash for new Rochdale Bus Station

Transport Minister Rosie Winterton has announced that the government will provide  £10 million towards the new bus station planned for Rochdale.

The new Smith Street facility, which will replace the current rather dark and dingy bus station, will feature a cafe, an enclosed central waiting area and toilets.  Pretty basic things you may think, but then you obviously haven't been to the present bus station!

If the TIF Bid is successful the new site will become a fully-fledged transport interchange, with the planned Oldham and Rochdale Metrolink line extended to terminate there.  Current funding will see the line run only as far as Rochdale railway station.

The funding, along with the remaining £1.5 million having been provided by Rochdale Development Agency, means that final preparations for the project can begin.  GMPTE and Rochdale Council hope building will begin early next year.

Stagecoach to offer monthly Megarider online

If you're slightly annoyed that Stagecoach has increased the price of its weekly Megarider ticket to £10 you may be pleased to hear you can still get your unlimited Stagecoach and Magic Bus kicks at the 9.00 by buying online.  The Monthly Megarider will be available from the 31st of March at £36 (the equivalent of £9.00 per week).

There's obviously demand for this ticket.  We've been inundated with visits from people searching Google for 'Manchester Megarider', 'Monthly Megarider' and such like in the past few days.  Maybe these people did as posters on Stagecoach Manchester buses are suggesting, and visited www.buymymegarider.com.  Unfortunately, doing so simply takes you to a white page with 'Server 3' written in the corner.  Sure the service doesn't start til next week, but they could at least have a live website at the URL they're advertising!

So, how does buying a Megarider online work?   We had a look at buying a Kettering Megarider from the Stagecoach online shop to get an idea.  Kettering passengers get the option of a 4 week Megarider for £36 or a 13 week version for £110.  They then choose the date you want the ticket to start from.  Here's where it starts to get a bit 'last century'.   They post the ticket to you!  Surely in the 21st century there's a more elegant solution?

If Stagecoach had a smartcard system in place you'd be able to top it up online and then use it on the bus like Transport for London's Oystercard.  In Japan, the DoCoMo mobile phone network has a system that allows people make payments on the bus using barcode reader on their phone.  Even Stagecoach's own Megabus coach service doesn't require tickets to be posted to you.

Obviously, the simple solution of printing the Megarider out once its bought is out of the question.  Megarider forgery is a bad enough problem as it is.  We once shared a house with a bloke who forged Megariders.  They were scarily accurate, but we were too scared to use them even when we were skint (ah, student days!).

If the Manchester solution (once the site's live) is to post the ticket out we don't think we'll bother.  The Kettering site lists Recorded Delivery (a must if you want your ticket to turn up on time... or at all) as being £1.50.  That would mean Manchester passengers' saving of £4 per month by buying monthly is reduced to just 2.50p.  For that saving, what's the point?  Still, we'll reserve final judgment for when full details emerge.

( Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/people/laptoppingpong/ )

Campaigners bemoan First timetable changes

A local campaign group has got itself worked up over next week's timetable changes.

This Is Lancashire reports that Greater Manchester Transport Campaign have complained about the upcoming changes to First's timetables in the Bolton area.  The main sore point is the reduction in frequency of service 8 (Manchester - Bolton) from every 8 minutes to every 10 minutes.  Preva Crossley of the Campaign is quoted as saying:

"I object to any buses being cut. I'm very disappointed that the number 8 service has been cut when it is the busiest, and quickest route between Bolton and Manchester.

"My argument is, with the increasing number of people using the bus service, why cut them? It is obviously a commercial decision for the only reason I can see, to save money."

As much as better bus services are important to the future of our region, this group needs to take a reality check.  Most passengers will barely notice a cut fro every 8 to every 10 minutes.  That's only one bus per hour less on a still frequent service.  While it'd be great to have a bus every 8 seconds, let alone every 8 minutes, operators are commercial companies and need to strike a balance between public service and profit.  It's a reality of the way the bus industry works.  Wilmslow Road only has such a good service because there are so many students to keep it going.

Mr Crossley's argument is that the service shouldn't be cut because of an "increasing number of people using the service".  Maybe he's been out in a grey and red GMPTE coat with a little machine surveying usage of the service over the past few months, or maybe he's hacked into First's computer network and read their latest data on usage of service 8.  How else would he know for sure that more people are using it?

Even if more people are using service 8, not all passengers pay a fare and government compensation to bus operators for letting those who qualify on for free is a touchy subject.  For some more background on this, see today's post on Omnibuses.  With free travel being opened up England-wide for the over 60s and the disabled next week, it'll be interesting to see how many routes in Greater Manchester see increased passenger numbers followed by cutbacks thanks to those new passengers just not being profitable enough.

The £6 School Saver - a great saving... but who for?

GMPTA announced earlier this week that a new School Saver ticket was to be launched for school children in Greater Manchester.  The ticket, which allows unlimited travel on 55 of the region's school services for £6 per week, will be on sale from the 31st of March.  However, is it really much of a saving and who is it aimed at?

Assuming a child travels to and from school on a valid service five days per week, they'd pay £7 per week in singles fares (the single fare for under 14s is 70p). That makes a saving of £1 per week which works out at just under £40 per year in savings.  Not a great amount, really!

Sure, if you're living on the bread line, every penny counts but children who use normal bus services in addition to school services are much better with System One's Bus Saver 7 ticket.  At £7 that'll get them on any bus in Greater Manchester for a whole week, including weekends.

So, those in the know (and who travel on more than just School Services) will have a Bus Saver 7.  So, the target market for this new ticket must be those who only travel by school buses (never using normal services) and currently pay by single fares.

Now, if you only travel by school buses that indicates that either:
a) your parents have a car which you use for all your other journeys
or
b) you travel nowhere apart from school.

Would people in group a really be bothered about saving £1 per week so much that they'd go to the effort of applying for the required GMPTE Under 16 membership card and then buy a School Saver ticket once a week?  Unlikely.

That means the only people we can see benefiting from this new ticket are the people in group b.  Fair enough, but if they go nowhere (out to choice or due to lack of money) are they likely to go to the effort of buying a weekly bus ticket?

We're sure some people will benefit from the School Saver, we just can't see it being that many.  Would a better, more accessible option would have been to reduce the single fare on these services to 60p?

GMPTE want to hear from you

Were you aware that GMPTE has a public consultation panel?  Us neither, but they're looking for new members.  The panel is apparently consulted up to four times per year on a wide range of issues related to public transport in Greater Manchester.  So, if you're particularly opinionated on public transport (Tiffany, we're looking at you) then head along to www.gmpte.com/haveyoursay and apply!

Megarider hits £10

Stagecoach Manchester have announced a batch of price increases that will see their weekly Megarider ticket hit the ten pound mark.  Their Dayrider tickets will also see an increase, while route-specific tickets are withdrawn.

The Ashton Dayrider, originally introduced to counter competition from Dennis's and Mayne (now both absorbed by Stagecoach) is on the way out, as are Chorlton's 85/86 Day and Week tickets and their counterparts on the 192 route.  Both these tickets were brought in as part of Stagecoach's drive to beat competition from GM Buses.  With GM Buses gone, there's not much danger of anyone else taking on Stagecoach on either of these routes any time soon.  They're high frequency routes and any competition would need low prices and a lot of vehicles and staff to stand a chance of breaking Stagecoach's grip.

It's worth noting that even with these price increases, Stagecoach's ticket range is cheaper than First's in Greater Manchester, although that does reflect Stagecoach's slightly smaller range compared to First.

Those price increases in full:

Megarider: £10 (up 50p)
Dayrider: £3.30 (up 30p)
Dayrider PlusOne (for one adult and one child) £4.80 (up 30p)
Group Dayrider (two adults and two children) £6.60 (up 60p)

All changes take effect from this Sunday (23rd March).

Goodbye 56, hello X1

It looks like Bluebird aren't the only ones pulling off service 56.  As of the 4th of April Bluebird's journeys on this peak period service are being withdrawn.  Now it's emerged that JPT's journeys are also on the way out asof the 11th of April.  Presently Bluebird run two morning journeys from Heaton Park to Manchester via Bank House and JPT run two from Middleton to Manchester.  The afternoon peak sees just one JPT journey back to Middleton.  It's not the most significant bus withdrawal in coming weeks (that'll be the X35, which has made the news today) but we're sure it'll annoy regular service 56 passengers.  It's not the end of the world though, JPT's similar 156 service continues to run an almost identical route every 30 minutes throughout Monday to Saturday daytimes.

Meanwhile, if you're wanting to get out into the countryside this summer you could try Stagecoach North West's new X1 service.  From the 9th of April it'll run every Wednesday from Bury to Barrow-in-Furness via Adlington, Chorley, Preston, Milnthorpe and Ulverston.  There's some pretty countryside along that route although we don't recommend you visit Barrow-in-Furness.  Ever.

Just don't confuse it with the other X1 service in the Bury area or you won't get very far.

Vandals ready for their close-up

Bus shelter vandals in Bolton may get more than they bargained for, thanks to an innovative portable CCTV scheme.  While vandals do their best to make fellow stop users' lives a misery, up to eight miniature cameras set up around the shelter capture evidence to help ensure they can be convicted.

The cameras, which can be moved from stop-to-stop depending on which shelters are being targeted, were installed in a joint initiative by Greater Manchester Police, GMPTE, Bolton Council and JC Decaux a year ago.  The Bolton News reports that bus shelter crime in the town fell by 20% in 2007 compared to the previous year and this scheme is being hailed as part of the reason for that.

Shelters covered by the scheme carry a sign warning that CCTV may be in use, but if that sign isn't there vandals should still think twice before attacking.  Chief Superintendant Dave Lea of Bolton Police points out that "As well as these new cameras many shelters are covered by existing CCTV systems, mobile CCTV vans and covert surveillance by police and Council officers".

So, vandals, let that be a warning - don't mess with Bolton!