10/01/2020, 08:20
The 38 will be completely seperate as it's worked by a different depot. On Monday to Friday there are 3 duties and on Saturday 2 duties. Drivers keep their bus all day. One of the duties works 09.30 to 19.40 It does the 10.15, 12.15, 15.15 and 17.40 from Macclesfield. Meal break is from 14.09 to 15.10 in Macclesfield. Runs back empty from Handforth. At the moment there is no interworking with other routes. As suggested some times are to cater for workers, also allowing more time in the peaks helps with reliability. One of the 88s, the 16.50 from Altrincham is timed to sit in Wilmslow until 17.35 for that reason to allow people finishing at 17.30 to catch the bus.
(09/01/2020 20:32)knutstransport Wrote: [ -> ]If Wincham drivers are running it, I imagine the 38 will stay completely separate and it's only the 88, 288 or Handforth Dean shuttle where there could be interworking.
I don't really see the 11:45 working as an anomaly. It's a 60 minute frequency in the morning, reduces to a 90 minute and then returns to a 60 minute frequency in both directions. It's similar to how the High Peak timetable for the 19 operates following the subsidy reduction and means a reduced frequency service to allow for driver breaks rather than a 'missing service' like used to be the case with the 300 Knutsford Circular and the old GHA commercial service between Macc and Congleton.
Possibly the first and last service times are because some people work on Saturdays and when Cheshire East did the bus review some people commented that a 17:35 last bus from Macc was too early as they finished work at 17:30 and that only gave them too little time to make the last bus.