Well, at least they tried. When Stagecoach launched nightbus services from Shudehill Interchange to destinations in south Manchester last year it was hailed as a boon to Northern Quarter and Printworks revellers. Then recently Stagecoach axed these routes and replaced them with a shuttle bus, numbered 200, linking Shudehill with Piccadilly Gardens where buses to the south of the city traditionally start their journeys.
Now the GMPTE website reveals that as of the 12th of June the 200 is axed and late-night travellers will have to walk to Piccadilly instead. It's no real surprise. In the time you'd have waited for a bus and then made the slow journey through several sets of traffic lights you could have walked.
In our experience the true culprit here is quite simply taxis - if you've been paying close to £4 per pint in bars like Bluu, you're probably perfectly happy to pay for a taxi rather than trek off through the rain-and-vomit-soaked streets to catch a bus.
If you had been drinking all night, the bus would probably look something like this one, by Zawtowers on Flickr.
The GMITA website seems to be having some technical difficulties, but the TNC notes from 22nd May meeting have details of the latest service changes. http://www.gmita.gov.uk/downloads/Item_12_Changes_to_the_Bus_Network._doc.pdf
The 200 was run as a free shuttle by Stagecoach on a trial basis. On average 3 passengers per night use the service & Stagecoach are withdrawing the service.
There's news of a new service, the S50 from Hey Farm/Mossley to Manchester, every 20 minutes Mon-Sat along the 216 and 350 routes. Looking at both timetables, thats a journey time of arround 55 minutes compared to 1hr 15 on the 218 which is only hourly
Posted by: Rob | May 25, 2009 at 12:27 PM
Thanks for that link Rob - I've been checking the GMITA site all week. Looks like someone hasn't been doing their job properly over there! :)
Posted by: Martin Bryant | May 25, 2009 at 01:59 PM