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its now being said on a few forums/groups that stagecoach have bid £36.2 million for First Bolton/Bury - can anyone confirm this plus surely OFT Would block this?

If that is true I'm not sure that the OFT will be impressed.

The Sunday boards which do 593s and 610s also do other services, including the 33 and 626 - it is actually something like a 7-hour rotation (i.e. the bus that does a 593 will do another 593 seven hours later).

Family party last night in Golborne, turns out a few of them think the First liveried buses are still First buses! The question was 'can I use my Stagecoach ticket on First buses?' so I told her that all of them are Stagecoach now to which the reply was 'no I've seen First buses' so I had to explain that they haven't got round to painting them yet, I decided against bringing the OFT up because that would just cause confusion!

Thanks for explaining the Charles St. scenario.

I don't see why Wigan/Middleton would get any kind intervention by the OFT. It is status quo apart from a different company running the same network (actually a cheaper and more reliable company, which is actually more benefitial to the community). Arriva can hardly complain with their dominance in the Mersyside area, perhaps First/Stagecoach should report that to the OFT?

I doubt First would sell Bury and Bolton which are prized posessions, First appear to be flogging town and rural networks or networks with no trunk corridors. Selling Bury would weaken Cheetham Hill for a start and service 59 would not survive, Selling Bolton would also affect the Salford network on a huge scale. Without Bury and Bolton then it would weaken Manchester/Salford/Rochdale and leave their entire network exposed to more competition. If First were stupid enough to sell garages then they should try to sell all GM garages instead of large chunks. I would welcome the move as we can finally get some decent cross city routes and towns like Bolton/bury etc could get better networks and cheaper fares than would cause an upward spiral of more usage then more frequency, rather than First's downward spiral. The OFT would say no as they always moan, especially with Middleton soon in Stagecoach hands.

You have to admit Sumner for people who don't use buses often it may be confusing, especially when First still have services in other parts of the region and still operate services into Wigan/Leigh area. I still can't get used to the First livery with Stagecoach titles on them.

Well, a rumour has emerged that stagecoach have bid on Bolton and Bury depots for £36,200,000 (appx) as well as that it may seem like monopolising the market as they are seeking advice from the OfT about putting a bid on Oldham and Cheetham Hill (Queens Road [I believe]) depots so there possibly won't be any existence of first in Greater Manchester. I've been told this (rumour I think it is) by a fairly reliable source. If I get any updates I'll keep you guys posted! (:

(17/02/2013 19:47)Polo Mint Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for explaining the Charles St. scenario.

I don't see why Wigan/Middleton would get any kind intervention by the OFT. It is status quo apart from a different company running the same network (actually a cheaper and more reliable company, which is actually more benefitial to the community). Arriva can hardly complain with their dominance in the Mersyside area, perhaps First/Stagecoach should report that to the OFT?

I doubt First would sell Bury and Bolton which are prized posessions, First appear to be flogging town and rural networks or networks with no trunk corridors. Selling Bury would weaken Cheetham Hill for a start and service 59 would not survive, Selling Bolton would also affect the Salford network on a huge scale. Without Bury and Bolton then it would weaken Manchester/Salford/Rochdale and leave their entire network exposed to more competition. If First were stupid enough to sell garages then they should try to sell all GM garages instead of large chunks. I would welcome the move as we can finally get some decent cross city routes and towns like Bolton/bury etc could get better networks and cheaper fares than would cause an upward spiral of more usage then more frequency, rather than First's downward spiral. The OFT would say no as they always moan, especially with Middleton soon in Stagecoach hands.

You have to admit Sumner for people who don't use buses often it may be confusing, especially when First still have services in other parts of the region and still operate services into Wigan/Leigh area. I still can't get used to the First livery with Stagecoach titles on them.

Well as I previously posted (about one minute ago xD) I've heard stagecoach have bid for Bolton and Bury, but are seeking advice on Oldham and Cheetham Hill.

(17/02/2013 20:18)MX12EOC Wrote: [ -> ]Well, a rumour has emerged that stagecoach have bid on Bolton and Bury depots for £36,200,000 (appx) as well as that it may seem like monopolising the market as they are seeking advice from the OfT about putting a bid on Oldham and Cheetham Hill (Queens Road [I believe]) depots so there possibly won't be any existence of first in Greater Manchester. I've been told this (rumour I think it is) by a fairly reliable source. If I get any updates I'll keep you guys posted! (:

Such a sizeable sum would go some way to enabling First to raise their much-cherished £100 million. If OL and QR are being checked out, we may not be far off seeing the return of GM Buses reunited as one company!

(17/02/2013 20:25)Metroline1511 Wrote: [ -> ]

(17/02/2013 20:18)MX12EOC Wrote: [ -> ]Well, a rumour has emerged that stagecoach have bid on Bolton and Bury depots for £36,200,000 (appx) as well as that it may seem like monopolising the market as they are seeking advice from the OfT about putting a bid on Oldham and Cheetham Hill (Queens Road [I believe]) depots so there possibly won't be any existence of first in Greater Manchester. I've been told this (rumour I think it is) by a fairly reliable source. If I get any updates I'll keep you guys posted! (:

Such a sizeable sum would go some way to enabling First to raise their much-cherished £100 million. If OL and QR are being checked out, we may not be far off seeing the return of GM Buses reunited as one company!

I'd see a fairly decent bus service in Manchester for the first time in years! Plus some of the routes could be shifted around to different depots, for example you could have the 135 run by both QR and HR, the 22 would solely be Stagecoach based, making it easier for users plus run by both Bolton and Stockport! Hopefully they get them all (totally not a pokémon quote) making Manchester better (bus service wise).

I am not disputing your rumours, but just because Stagecoach have placed an offer doesn't mean it will get accepted. First would be foolishly to sell Greater Manchester whilst keeping The Devon and Cornwall division that has near a (10%) net profit margin.

Don't get me wrong I hope it does, Stagecoach grows services and doesn't cut them very often and have a more modern fleet.

The implications could be good in terms of cross-city routes, like re-jugging Salford services and contuning some 192 journeys to Salford for example, or expanding some more traditional First services to Didsbury for better access to the Universities. Or perhaps combining/extending some routes from Ashton to the Trafford Centre.