D&G Bus

[Rick Hunter]

RE: D&G Bus
I've yet to see 38 kids on the afternoon 188 and there are at most a dozen kids catch the 15.35 88 from Knutsford to Altrincham.

(01/09/2020 18:21)knutstransport Wrote:  It was a Cheshire school referring to all dedicated school buses, including ones where children pay the driver. They even produced diagrams showing how it is to work for standard single deckers, standard double deckers and variants with high capacity 3+2 seating.

Based on the Knutsford Academy site it sounds like they've agreed special arrangements with Elite but for other services it says to contact the operator for further details and that includes a mention of D&G's phone number.

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus

(01/09/2020 20:39)Rick Hunter Wrote:  I've yet to see 38 kids on the afternoon 188 and there are at most a dozen kids catch the 15.35 88 from Knutsford to Altrincham.

I've seen the morning 188 quite full (on a big Enviro) in the 19/20 academic year. I don't think I ever saw the afternoon service in the 19/20 academic year but in 18/19 it was normally a 28 seater Solo and wasn't full. I would have thought by December they'll be more pupils using the afternoon buses than the morning ones given that:
a) After school activities are unlikely to be taking place in the autumn term (There can be school pupils on the 16:35 and 17:35 buses, in the case of the latter smelly ones who have being doing after school sport. )
b) A section of the B5085 is unlit between Knutsford and Mobberley which will mean it won't be a suitable walking route for walking home for a number of weeks in the winter.

I also observed in 18/19 the c.07:00 Altrincham to Knutsford bus was rammed after leaving Longridge but in 19/20 it had a more manageable load for the morning peak (not necessarily seats for everyone boarding in Knutsford but not too crowded.) I wonder if that change was due to pupils being encouraged to use the 188 where possible instead of the 88 even if they don't have a pass for the 188.

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus
So it looked like there may have been a 28 seater Enviro on the 07:00 Knutsford-Altrincham this morning, despite St Ambrose fully reopening today and that being a service the contract says a minimum of 35 seats are required due to the school loading. There was also a 28 seater on the 07:00 Altrincham to Knutsford but due to fewer commuters than usual it wasn't crowded. (The latter being a service Cheshire East think is OK as a 28 seater as long as the 188 is a 35 seater.)

Some unusual allocations this afternoon - it looks like one of the 35 seater 55 reg Solos will be on the 15:35 from Knutsford to Altrincham and one of the Versas will be taking the 15:55 from Altrincham which will take the St Ambrose pupils home.

Regarding seating on buses for school children it appears Trafford schools have told parents where double deckers are in use on designated school buses they are to sit in designated areas for their year group bubble, for single deckers and public buses they must remain in their year group bubbles unless it's not possible to do so.

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus
One of the small Enviros now has an all over advert for 88 Vape, which covers most of the side windows, as well as the back window.

[Rick Hunter]

RE: D&G Bus
Bus 35 It turned up at Wincham on Saturday afternoon and has been on the same 88 working yesterday and today.

(08/09/2020 08:47)knutstransport Wrote:  One of the small Enviros now has an all over advert for 88 Vape, which covers most of the side windows, as well as the back window.

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus
The new 130 service will be an hourly Macclesfield to Handforth service, funded until the end of the financial year using funding which was allocated by the government for bus improvements pre-COVID through the 'Better Deal for Buses.' The use of some of that funding for the 130 will reduce the chance of the withdrawn services being reinstated. There is also a question mark on what happens from April 2021 onwards if there's no further government funding for buses and the 130 doesn't return to operating commercially. New operator still TBC but as D&G have not said they will no longer be running the route and are usually quick to pick changes on their website I presume they are either the contract winner or think there's a chance they might still get it if a problem is found with the winning bid.

[iMarkeh]

RE: D&G Bus

(25/09/2020 08:42)knutstransport Wrote:  The new 130 service will be an hourly Macclesfield to Handforth service, funded until the end of the financial year using funding which was allocated by the government for bus improvements pre-COVID through the 'Better Deal for Buses.' The use of some of that funding for the 130 will reduce the chance of the withdrawn services being reinstated. There is also a question mark on what happens from April 2021 onwards if there's no further government funding for buses and the 130 doesn't return to operating commercially. New operator still TBC but as D&G have not said they will no longer be running the route and are usually quick to pick changes on their website I presume they are either the contract winner or think there's a chance they might still get it if a problem is found with the winning bid.

When did D&G say that they won't be running the new service?

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus

(25/09/2020 18:53)iMarkeh Wrote:  When did D&G say that they won't be running the new service?

Re-read what I wrote.

[Rick Hunter]

RE: D&G Bus
On the Arriva Winsford thread post 2134 it is mentioned D&G have given Cheshire East council notice of their intention to withdraw the 130 from October 3rd.

(25/09/2020 18:53)iMarkeh Wrote:  When did D&G say that they won't be running the new service?

[knutstransport]

RE: D&G Bus

(26/09/2020 07:25)Rick Hunter Wrote:  On the Arriva Winsford thread post 2134 it is mentioned D&G have given Cheshire East council notice of their intention to withdraw the 130 from October 3rd.

The point I was trying to make is while D&G will no longer be running a commercial service there's no mention of them no longer operating the 130 on their own website. Given that D&G normally update their website fairly quickly when they plan to withdraw a service that suggests they think they have either won the contract (but can't publicise it yet) or have submitted a bid, have not won but the winning bid has been questioned.

Cheshire East said they couldn't confirm what the timetable would be (suggesting there were different options available to bidders) but this week Wilmslow.co.uk has now confirmed it will be an hourly Macclesfield-Handforth service with no mention of who the operator will be.