(21/12/2019 08:42)iMarkeh Wrote: [ -> ]All this said, it's interesting to see how the 130 has become. Running half hourly to Manchester and even making enough money to be Sapphire and then it has kept being killed off to now an hourly Macclesfield to Handforth service which, if D&Gs previous attempts at the area are anything to go by, will be dropped within 6 months.
Well the 82 seems to be going OK for them, despite the very changeable loads. Although, I still don't get the point of the Gadbrook Park extensions which are off-peak only.
The changes to commercial services which were implemented at the same time as the new Cheshire East contracts were a disaster for D&G. Apparently they lost so much money on the Manchester Airport to Macclesfield service that they cancelled services which they were more or less breaking even on, like the 88A, as they didn't want to continue operating services which may be a financial risk.
I think whoever came up with the 130 Airport to Macclesfield service and 88A Knutsford-Colshaw Farm service overlooked the following:
1. Loadings were very low on the old 200 service and the additional train services introduced at Styal reduced the need for a replacement service.
2. Wilmslow job centre closing meant services were transferred to Macclesfield. That reduced the number of journeys being made between Knutsford & Wilmslow and also the number of journeys being made between Colshaw Farm & Wilmslow only - someone from Colshaw Farm wasn't exactly going to use 2 D&G buses to reach Macclesfield when Arriva offered an hourly direct service.
3. Manchester Airport station offers services to a number of stations across the north so gets used by people who aren't airport passengers. As Macclesfield and Wilmslow stations already have a mix of local and long distance services, people from those towns are perhaps less likely to want to travel to the airport station than people from Altrincham and Knutsford.
4. A lot of people arriving to check in at the airport need to do so between 4am and 8am due to the number of morning departures from the airport, especially on a Sunday. If you want the airport passengers then starting a service with the first departure at 7am and not running it on Sundays means it's not suitable for a lot of airport passengers.
5. The size of a town isn't proportional to the number of people who will use an airport bus. People from the more affluent areas are more likely to be able to afford to go abroad and are more likely to go on business trips abroad. (There's a reason why some of the Trafford taxi companies advertise Knutsford-Airport fares but don't advertise fares from some Trafford towns.) While business trips usually result in taxis being booked and going on expenses many businesses have a policy that say you should use the cheapest available option (within reason) to get to the airport.
6. There were probably many people who planned to use the 130 Macclesfield-Airport service but never got the chance as the service was cancelled between when they booked flights and when they actually travelled.
Also on the job centre point anyone applying from out-of-work benefits in Knutsford and Wilmslow is assigned to Macclesfield job centre. However, you can ask to transfer to another job centre if public transport is poor. I know that a number of people from Knutsford have asked to transfer to Northwich due to the low frequency of the 88 service to Macclesfield. Those from Wilmslow may find Stockport more convenient than Macclesfield. It's up to D&G to ensure Macclesfield is more attractive by public transport than Northwich/Stockport, through a good frequency and bus fares being lower than train fares, if they want those passengers.