First Manchester

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(07/04/2016 05:44)Nicholas Wrote:  Just go on any local news social media page or local forum covering the Leigh area - the negatives far outweigh the positives. I know of people who are boycotting it and sticking with the 34/X34. Even I was against it, as I would have rather seen on-line improvements to the existing corridors to improve accessibility to locals closer to the existing roads - I felt that the building of the actual guideway was a waste of money, especially as austerity kicked in, and that on-line improvements would have cost much less. The cost just doesn't seem worth it for the sake of a couple of minutes (bear in mind the X34 end-to-end time off peak was 55 minutes prior to the Busway starting, and often done faster given the amount of running time between Pendleton and Piccadilly).

As for loadings, they could be healthy because of the vanity effect of it being new. Look at the numbers of enthusiasts taking a trip too - my FB feed is full of photos from enthusiasts taking a trip on it. Time will tell if it remains as healthy or improves.

To be fair I was exactly the same regarding the extending of Metrolink to Ashton. I thought it was complete waste of money and was a pointless exercise given that it would actually be no quicker than the exsisting alternative - 216!.
It's completly killed the trade in one town and has massively effected trade in another but to be fair despite everyone's negativity it seems to be doing ok.
I'm not 100% convinced it was for the better, the fact poor car drivers are constantly getting stuck on the lines isn't ideal - the road layout in some sections is quite confusing and could have been better designed.
But I suppose both are here to stay for the forseable