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It's time for this blog to take a two-week summer holiday. We'll return in just over two weeks.
Questions we hope to know the answer to by the time we write our next post:
That's enough questions. Let's hope for some answers! See you in a fortnight.
It was only a couple of weeks ago that GMPTA's new chairman announced plans to roll out free town centre Metroshuttle services across Greater Manchester. Now it's emerged that funding has existed for such a service in Stockport for 18 months, and yet no service has yet emerged.
According to the Manchester Evening News, a clause in the panning permission for Tesco's Portwood store, just outside the town centre, saw funds set aside for a bus service that would help shopers travel around the town centre. This, it was hoped, would help offset the decline in trade that was likely to affect local market traders as a result of the new Tesco store opening.
While traders say that drop in trade has happened, the bus service hasn't launched. Stockport Council are reportedly claiming that there is on funding available for a two-day per week service and that they were waiting for funding to be increased so a daily service could be introduced.
The Council are now talking to GMPTA about making extra funding available for such a service. Given the previous announcement about new Metroshuttle services, that doesn't seem likey to be a problem. An Autumn launch for the Stockport service is currently being touted.
[Image credit: Gene Hunt on Flickr]
Stagecoach have confirmed they are in talks to buy Bullocks' bus operation, R. Bullock (see our post yesterday for more). Speaking to the Manchester Evening News they said ""We can confirm we are currently in negotiations with R Bullock and Sons regarding the potential purchase of its commercial bus operations. Discussions may or may not lead to an agreement and we will make any further announcement as appropriate".
Bullock refused to comment to the MEN.
2008 really does appear to be a year of great change for Manchester's bus landscape. Already Vale of Manchester and LA Coaches have disappeared from our roads and Maynes have been bought by Stagecoach. Now it seems that Bullocks are to hand over their bus business, R. Bullock, to Stagecoach too. We're hearing from multiple sources that R. Bullock drivers received a letter yesterday informing them of the sale.
Like Mayne, Bullocks has been a famous name on Greater Manchester's roads for a long time as an operator of both bus and coach services. We understand that the deal would affect just the bus business, with coaches remaining privately owned. The deal is subject to Office of Fair Trading approval.
If approved, this deal would see EYMS-owned Finglands as the last competitor to Stagecoach on the Wilmslow Road corridor, once a hotbed of competition as companies such as Walls, R. Bullock and UK North all competed for students' business. Haytons Coaches, with one journey per hour under GMPTE contract on service 44, would be the only other operator leaving the city centre via Wilmslow Road.
R. Bullock's journeys on service 42 (Manchester - East Didsbury) are barely used through most of the day (it's uncommon to se any more than a handful of passengers on them) so they'd likely to adsorbed by Stagecoach's 142 Magic Bus services along the same route. Other than that there's contracted service 42A (Manchester - Reddish), service 147 (Piccadilly Station - University and Hospitals circular), service 157 (Manchester - Woodford) and contracted evening journeys on service 312 (Stockport - Handforth Dean), all of which would both most likely transfer unchanged to Stagecoach ownership.
More on this story as we get it.
Thanks to James McCollom for the tip-off
[Image credit: Gene Hunt on Flickr]
GMPTE have posted details of a sprinkling of new service changes. It looks like the rumour we heard a couple of weeks ago was true - Arriva have taken over ex Vale of Manchester services 512/513 in Bolton. Following Vales' swift disappearance in May, JP Travel had covered the services on a temporary basis. Meanwhile former Vales service 521 (Blackrod - Little Lever) is taken on by South Lancs Travel, having been temporarily run by Blue Bus.
Other changes include Tyrer Bus expanding further south within Greater Manchester as they take the contract for service 72 (Pendleton - Clifton) from Blue Bus. Bluebird, meanwhile, change their Public Holiday arrangements, with alterations to service 77 (Manchester - Moston circular) and the reinstatement of journeys on service 78 (Manchester - Oldham).
As ever, you can get full deails over at GMPTE's service changes page.
[Image credit: Coradia1000 on Flickr]
If you've been wondering why there have been no updates to the site this week, it's simply because there's not a great deal newsworthy going on! However, the consultation over the TIF improvements and its associated congestion charging scheme has begun.
The advertising campaign has stepped up a gear too. Posters emphasising the improvements, rather than the charge, have gone up around Greater Manchester. A series of exhibitions are taking place around the region over the summer. These will allow you to see the planned changes for yourself. A full list of the exhibtions is online here.
Meanwhile, over on the Manchester Confidential website, three of the key figures in the congestion charging debate have been giving their own viewpoints on how this is al progressing. Sir Richard Leese, Sir Howard Bernstein and Graham Stringer MP have all written articles for the site. If you can get over the annoying and totally un-web-friendly two-column style Manchester Confidential is so fond of you should have a read of the articles here.
New orbital bus routes for Greater Manchester look like a dead cert. Not only are they listed in the TIF plans (to go ahead is Congestion Charging is approved this Autumn), they have also been announced as a priority for the new regime at GMPTA. That means that TIF or not, we should have new orbital bus routes announced in the not too distant future.
But where might these new routes go? Manchester is the obvious first place to think about. We'll look at other towns in the area soon. Having a think this afternoon, we came up with the following possibilities for two circular routes for Manchester. The first, based on existing service 53 but extended to create a circular service, we've marked in blue. The second, entirely new, route is marked in purple.
Orbital Route 1 (Blue)
Our idea for orbital route 1 links important locations such as the University, Metropolitan University, Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester Royal Infirmary, St Mary's Hospital, Old Trafford football ground, Salford Quays, the City of Manchester Stadium and North Manchester General Hospital. Residential areas served include Hulme, Pendleton, Kersal, Higher Broughton, Crumpsall, Collyhurst, Miles Platting, Belle Vue, Longsight and Rusholme.
Orbital Route 2 (Purple)
Our second imaginary route is longer and, at 29.5 miles in length, is just shy of the 31 mile European limit on the length of bus services. Important locations served include the Trafford Centre, Trafford Park, Hope Hospital, Pendlebury Childrens Hospital and Heaton Park. Areas including Levenshulme, Fallowfield, Chorlton, Stretford, Eccles, Swinton, Preswich, Higher Blackley, Blackley, New Moston, Newton Heath, Clayton, Openshaw, Abbey Hey, Gorton and Belle Vue are served.
So, what do you reckon? Are these what GMPTA have in mind? How would you change these routes? What other towns in Greater Manchester could benefit from orbital services? Leave a comment and let us know.
It's been over 18 months since UK North and its sister company GM Buses were banned from the roads over fears for their vehicles' and drivers' safety. The companies were under investigation after one of their buses hit a cherry-picker on Wilmslow Road in Rusholme, killing its occupant. Now Vincenzo Casale, the companies' managing director, and David Ellis, their transport manger have been jailed for conspiracy to defraud the Traffic Commissioner by giving false evidence.
The Manchester Evening News reports that the driver of the bus had worked every day for 19 consecutive days leading up to the crash. Poor training was also exposed in the trial at Manchester Crown Court. The length of their sentence has not yet been reported but both men have also been banned from being company directors. Casale for ten years and Ellis for five.
UK North/GM Buses were well known in Manchester for a cheap, no frills service. Their drivers did not wear uniforms, their vehicles often appeared to be in a poor state of repair and they certainly weren't regarded highly by other Manchester bus operators. Therefore it came as little surprise on the 22nd of December 2006 when they suddenly disappeared from the roads.
Small operators struggle against their larger rivals so the temptation must always be there to cut corners. The events at the Crown Court today should serve as a timely reminder of the dangers of doing so.
UPDATE: BBC News reports that both defendants have been jailed for 15 months.
Put this one in the 'Rumours' folder for now. The source of many a rumour here on Manchester Buses, James Frisby, tells us that "...info from a driver at Arriva (Bolton) is that they have been named as the new operator of the 512/3 which JPT currently have on emergency tender only. Not too sure when it is due to start though".
So there we go, potentially more change for Bolton bus passengers coming up. JPT, of course, took the 512/3 on at short notice, following the sudden closure of Vale of Manchester's business.
