Greater Manchester Service Changes

[KXW212]

RE: Greater Manchester Service Changes

(29/07/2021 15:21)knutstransport Wrote:  I think we can be confident that the X1 won't serve Morley Green or provide a link from Altrincham to Wilmslow, so I don't think there's a real risk of it being seen as competing with the subsided 88. However, it does appear to be confirmation that the service will provide a link between Macclesfield, Wilmslow and Manchester Airport. That shouldn't prevent Wilmslow-Colshaw Farm-Handforth operating but it might mean the airport call has to go if it continues to Wythenshawe. I think the route out of Macclesfield will be key for whether it affects the 130 - the hospital and Alderley Park could be seen as places which have a need for bus links to Macclesfield and Wilmslow.

If the X57 times at the airport remain at similar times to the current times then we can expect a morning peak X1 from Macclesfield to Manchester Airport at a similar time to the peak time 130 and the reverse in the evening peak.

We also know from the past that CEC won't contract subsided journeys on a route just because the commercial service is only roughly 2 hourly.

Do we know CEC won't though ?. It would be a spectacular own goal to get rid of the 130 because of potentially 4 or 5 return journeys a day on a service that isn't all stops, disadvantaging intermediate passengers between Macc and Wilmslow, not mention the Wilmslow - Handforth section which has picked up patronage wise recently. Handforth - Wythenshawe could be sacrificed though, as it's very lightly loaded, so a one bus saving could be achieved there. That always was a daft idea. That extra bus should have been used to reinstate the Handforth - Cheadle link and push it on to East Didsbury, still maintaining a facility to Wythenshawe changing onto the 368 at Heald Green. A victim of this could well be the 109, by just extending the 108 to Leek, Sainsburys it could go. We'll see when the TT appears.