Look what just dropped into our mailbox - a picture of what Stagecoach's new X50, due to start on Sunday, will look like.
The express service running between Piccadilly and the Trafford Centre should be a hit with passengers unhappy with the amount of time Stagecoach's 250 service takes to complete its journey. City centre links ot the Trafford Centre have improved significantly recently. With improvements to First's 100, the launch of the 110, extra journeys on the 250 and now the X50, there won't be much waiting around to start your gift shopping this Christmas.
Where is Councillor Keith Whitmore?
Posted by: The Drugs Don't Work | October 23, 2009 at 10:32 PM
I wanted an X50 limited stop along Kingsway, so this has really piddled on my chips.
Still - Stagecoach Manchester don't tend to do route branding, perhaps so that when the buses are replaced by even newer examples and sent off to other areas, these outposts find it much easier to add their own route branding to promote their (nearly) new low floor double deckers.
How long will it be before an X50 branded bus strays onto another route...? ;)
Posted by: JimmyMac | October 24, 2009 at 10:40 AM
The Drugs Don't Work: Yes, he seems to have escaped this photo - very unusual!
Jimmymac: I think the days of limited stop services to suburban destinations are gone. The only ones left go quite some distance - the X34, X57 and X84, for example. Yes, I imagine we'll see X5 branded service all over the place once the novelty wears off.
Posted by: Martin Bryant | October 24, 2009 at 10:50 AM
If only they did something like that with the 216/9 routes...I know theres a lot of issues but surely Ashton to Manchester in 20 minutes tops
Posted by: lewis | October 24, 2009 at 12:39 PM
I can see this being a well-used service, more so if they keep those branded buses on the X50. It'll help people with the fact they advertise the 25 minute journey time. I'm surprised that this kind of route wasn't introduced when the Trafford Centre open 11 years ago.
Certainly has been lot of changes to buses going to the Trafford Centre. 100, 110 and 250 as mentioned, the 68 re-routed from Bolton, the 132 being increased by South Lancs Travel to half-hourly and a Saturday service too, the 23/23A evening service increased to half-hourly.
I would like to see this go further. Towns in Tameside haven't had a Trafford Centre service for years and neither as Bury, with the exception of the briefly run 514 service by Vale of Manchester. Rochdale lost theirs last September when the 58 stopped running to the Trafford Centre, while Oldham got reduced to Saturday only at the same time.
Perhaps this could be something that GMITA may look into with the orbital bus routes like they have with the 56 and 58 next week and nearly did with the 370 to Sale.
Posted by: Shaun | October 24, 2009 at 06:52 PM
I agree with Shaun - as a Tameside-ian I prefer to go to Sheffield's Mewadowhall on one pleasant train journey rather than the Trafford Centre by 3 buses.
Posted by: Andy | October 25, 2009 at 08:56 PM
I dod not see why they need this branding. It is just a bus.
Posted by: knightsbridge mansions | November 03, 2009 at 10:23 AM
can be confusion between two routes...It is best to promote that X50 is quicker but won't stop at all stops...Unfortunately, with or without branding, you'll get people freaking out who intended to get off round the corner and end up at Old trafford absolutely fuming
Posted by: lewis | November 09, 2009 at 10:46 PM