(20/06/2012 20:54)bolton bus basher Wrote:  does anyone remember what the start date for the new 319 timetable is? not been posted since we got new fourm

(17/06/2012 17:57)M60lad Wrote:  As I've mentioned before SLTs 126 seems to be tight for running time with no leeway what so ever in the timetable and that's before we start with any problems that the wonderful M60 like to throw at it from day to day, I've seen it quite a few times in Leigh running anything upto 15mins late which is why I think on Saturdays they have a vehicle spare in Leigh that goes out on time if the original bus is running late.

One thing I'd love to know is why in the past 126 hasn't been used much when it ran on Sunday's surely if loadings on Saturdays are anything to go by (I know it seems to be mainly schoolkids) then it should have been busy if not busier on the Sundays

(24/06/2012 12:33)FirstGroup Wrote:  

(17/06/2012 17:57)M60lad Wrote:  As I've mentioned before SLTs 126 seems to be tight for running time with no leeway what so ever in the timetable and that's before we start with any problems that the wonderful M60 like to throw at it from day to day, I've seen it quite a few times in Leigh running anything upto 15mins late which is why I think on Saturdays they have a vehicle spare in Leigh that goes out on time if the original bus is running late.

One thing I'd love to know is why in the past 126 hasn't been used much when it ran on Sunday's surely if loadings on Saturdays are anything to go by (I know it seems to be mainly schoolkids) then it should have been busy if not busier on the Sundays

They seriously need to do something about the 132, its by far the most unreliable service in Tyldesley and Atherton, used on both a schoolday where it was fair quiet and yesterday when it was busy, it should of arrived on friday at 1109, it arrived at 1121, yesterday the 1209 did not arrive till 1226!!! The amount of times they have changed the timetable and have still not resolved this problem is a joke! can't say its a one off thing too, the 12 is due at xx19 the hour and near enough always arrives before it!
Rant Over

Wonder what buses will operate the new 126's, new singles or the 2 double deckers?

(24/06/2012 13:50)South Lancs Travel Wrote:  

(24/06/2012 12:33)FirstGroup Wrote:  

(17/06/2012 17:57)M60lad Wrote:  As I've mentioned before SLTs 126 seems to be tight for running time with no leeway what so ever in the timetable and that's before we start with any problems that the wonderful M60 like to throw at it from day to day, I've seen it quite a few times in Leigh running anything upto 15mins late which is why I think on Saturdays they have a vehicle spare in Leigh that goes out on time if the original bus is running late.

One thing I'd love to know is why in the past 126 hasn't been used much when it ran on Sunday's surely if loadings on Saturdays are anything to go by (I know it seems to be mainly schoolkids) then it should have been busy if not busier on the Sundays

They seriously need to do something about the 132, its by far the most unreliable service in Tyldesley and Atherton, used on both a schoolday where it was fair quiet and yesterday when it was busy, it should of arrived on friday at 1109, it arrived at 1121, yesterday the 1209 did not arrive till 1226!!! The amount of times they have changed the timetable and have still not resolved this problem is a joke! can't say its a one off thing too, the 12 is due at xx19 the hour and near enough always arrives before it!
Rant Over

Wonder what buses will operate the new 126's, new singles or the 2 double deckers?

Hmmm... I'll add the 132 to my list of services to look at. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. A lot of the problems on this route are caused by the never-ending stream of roadworks that seem to blight the Wigan area.

As for the 126, the plan is to continue using the current double-decker, plus one of the Scanias (probably 71 or 72). On a Saturday there will be three buses, so one double-deck and two singles. The older double-decker is destined for service 300.

(24/06/2012 16:28)Nicholas Wrote:  Bear in mind D&G has a tendency to buy fairly young second hand buses instead of brand new vehicles so there may be no new buses planned for SLT in the near future. However, the Leigh to Bolton QBP may mean some new buses do come into the fleet as I believe the Tempos were originally the first for use on the service, but there were not enough to cover the whole service.

The 132 is a difficult service because of the two congestion hotspots at either end of the route (Ince/Hindley and the M60). It doesn't matter what day it is or what time it is, you'll always find an issue with traffic along the A577. The timings aren't so much an issue (although extending the running time to 55 minutes will help a little), it is the unpredictable nature of the traffic that is the problem.

As Chris has said, roadworks don't help especially at the moment because there is a massive gas main renewal project going on that will take five years to complete. It doesn't help that you'll have works in one place for a few weeks then they'll go away and do the next bit a couple of months later rather than just getting the whole lot done as a job lot in one big go. This is definitely the case with Atherton Road as there are still pockets of work planned, well over 12 months after the first set began!