Greater Manchester Service Changes

[iMarkeh]

RE: Greater Manchester Service Changes

(02/08/2021 22:45)dounowhoiam Wrote:  From my personal experience of the 130, it has picked up the patronage to hold itself well between the Handforth - Macclesfield section.
With many frequent buses (such as the 11, 101 and 43) running between Wythenshawe Hospital, Interchange and the Airport (and a direct hourly 18 service) if any changes are made to save costs it should be cut to just the Airport and Macclesfield with the savings transferred to a Saturday service being introduced.
Weekend travel on public transport is increasing more than commuter travel (and sadly the 130 in GM hasn't been timed well for commuter use), which does open up travel not just for concessionary travel but also paying customers like myself.

I would say cut the airport and have Wythenshawe as the more important link. While yes the Airport can carry workers, Wythenshawe can offer much better onward connections as well as it having the shopping links for regular users. The Airport, with the exception of workers, does not attract very regular passengers.
The main issue with what you have said about cutting back the 130 (wherever it terminates) is that it will still use the same amount of buses so there isn't really any saving unless D&G work driver breaks into it. Other than that, there isn't really any savings since the resource is still being used.

(03/08/2021 08:19)knutstransport Wrote:  Not sure what you mean about Saturday service being introduced, do you mean the existing Macclesfield-Handforth service being extended to Wythenshawe on Saturdays too? I would have thought there would be less demand for Wythenshawe on Saturdays - fewer hospital appointments and the job centre being closed.

The imminent question is whether the 130 will change so that it doesn't compete with the new X1 between Macclesfield and Manchester via the airport, given that councils can't legally use taxpayers money to subside a bus service with competes with a commercial one. With various town and parish councils providing money towards the service it might be changing the route would upset one town or parish council, who could then withdraw their share of funding, which then puts the whole route up for review. If I was a local councillor for Handforth then I would certainly not see Handforth as an acceptable place to terminate Cheshire bus services such as the 130 and to not have them making connections to Greater Manchester services such as the 42C.

If the 130 remains as it is then the question next year will a new contract be awarded and what form does it take.

There would be less demand to Wythenshawe on Saturdays but there is leisure demand. People work through the week, shop in the weekend.


I think your obsession with the X1 and 130 competing maybe needs relaxing. They aren't meant to be competing routes and there are examples out there where the stopping bus is subsidised with a commercial express bus and there was going to be quite a high profile one in Merseyside when Merseytravel put the Runcorn to Liverpool X1 out to tender. Yes they cant compete but if Hulleys are so infrequent for it to be deemed a core route, they can continue to subsidise the 130. More so if Hulleys are limited stop. The Airport could become controversial but I question the actual demand anyway, in which case run via Heald Green into Wythenshawe.

(03/08/2021 09:43)dounowhoiam Wrote:  It's not so much the extension into Wythenshawe Interchange / Hospital, though if Jobcentre travel is the main target then it should be travelling to the Interchange on Saturday as well as it's open on that day. It could save a little bit of time going directly via Oatlands Road as well.

I don't think the job centre is a main target though it should be since for people from Wilmslow or Handforth, it's quicker to get to Wythenshawe than it is Macc. It would be even quicker if the bus didnt trek around the airport.