Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(23/11/2016 12:33)acocker96 Wrote:  Either 18110 or 18111 was on the 84 this morning inbound to Piccadilly at about 8.44, I think it's usually 22098.

I rode 18110 on route 84 on Saturday 26th, on the first journey from Heaton Moor to Reddish.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(05/12/2016 00:08)Raawwwrrr! Wrote:  Same as 23/23A/24, Full map on the side of the bus and rear window covered

This full map of routes 250 & X50 mentions route X50 going via Media City UK. I never realised it went there.

[Nicholas]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(10/12/2016 20:46)Metroline1511 Wrote:  This full map of routes 250 & X50 mentions route X50 going via Media City UK. I never realised it went there.

It stops on the Trafford side of the canal, but it is a short walk over the footbridge from the bus route to Media City.

[Metroline1511]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(10/12/2016 21:10)Nicholas Wrote:  It stops on the Trafford side of the canal, but it is a short walk over the footbridge from the bus route to Media City.

Thank you for explaining this for me Nicholas.

On an unrelated note, Stagecoach are the only company in this area running services on New Year's Day. A typo at the publishers mean that the Stagecoach Christmas leaflet refer to Sunday 1 January 2016.

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(10/12/2016 16:23)Dentonian Wrote:  Actually, your "rant" covers the situation reasonably well, although I have no sympathy for the 38 as it was only introduced to fight a bus war with First, effectively at the expense of loyal passengers on Reddish Road and numerous other low car ownership corridors.

As you have inferred (sorry, Mayneway, you're "everything is TFGM's fault" is wide of the mark again), Portland Street is purely a Manchester City Council initiative. Yes, Oxford Road is largely a TFGM initiative, alongside LGB and Rochdale Road, but I can tell you from a recent meeting that I attended, that there is a lot of anger amongst front line TFGM staff at MCC's consistent refusal to enforce ANY of their own rules on either Portland Street or Oxford Road. Indeed, based on my last couple of journeys along Portland Street, there are MORE non-pcvs between Aytoun Street and Princess Street than ever.
Not quite sure how this will have a negative impact on trams though, and maybe that's where we (and certainly, wirralbus) should be looking for ulterior motives.

Incidentally, and noting you specifically mentioned MRI, when you say three knock downs in a week, what sort of "vehicles" were involved?

Without getting into a pointless debate on the good and the ugly of TFGM, as far as I'm aware the cycle system along Portland street was down to TFGM. Yes the council are involved setting up there nasty cameras on every section just for buses and taxis - proving it's another cash cow.
TFGM seem to have gone cycle crazy with there cycle priority traffic lights and carving up of town centres for these pointless stretches of cycle lanes that simply disappear into thin air.

On your recent trips to Ashton have you weighed up the cycle priority traffic lights outside the swimming baths?? It's fascinating watching all the buses and cars held up on a Saturday afternoon while the lights sit on green for 4 minutes every cycle (no pun intended) for the hundreds of invisable cyclists crossing Oldham road.


I'm sure in the long run the city centre may be a better place, obviously Rome wasn't built in a day but we carnt avoid pointing some of the blaim for congestion on TFGM. One major issue is their unwillingness to set traffic lights to work in conjunction with each other. As I've said in the past you don't have to travel far on a 216 out of Ashton so see this!

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
With thanks to stagecoach enthusiasts Facebook page, 12017 & 12022 left Oxford earlier today and should now have arrived at Hyde road. Presumably they will head straight for the paint shop.

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(10/12/2016 22:10)Dentonian Wrote:  I agree with you about cycles and traffic light phasing. However, the cycle lane on Portland Street is (ironically) not the problem there - its the sheer number of private cars, delivery vans and (private hire) taxis, that should not be there. That's your "cash cow" argument shot down straight away.
As regards traffic light phasing, TFGM management seem to have been reluctant in shaking the staff/culture inherited from the Councils back in 2011. The problem exists in Stockport as well as Tameside and Manchester

Finally we agree on something. The cycle lane might not be a problem re congestion but it's been moved there times now. Who's met the costs of that?? Us tax payers. I'm fairly certain it was TFGM who designed the cycle lane on the outside of the bus lane - something the poor cyclists didn't like so it was moved then moved again to keep them happy.

As for general traffic on Portland street, I'm
All for making a full stretch of road buses/taxis only but when you take a stretch of road and make certain sections no go areas it gets confusing. The fact after only 3 weeks of Portland street being open the cameras were turned off due to the number of people appealing and successfully overturning FPN's because of poor or confusing signage. I've made this point before regarding the pointless bus lanes along Oldham road in Ashton. Instead of having a continuas bus lane the entire length of road it runs in small sections then disapears yet each section has a camera! Inevatbly the bus dosen't get into Ashton any faster as it has to keep giving way to other traffic!

No much more i can say on the traffic light phasing but it is a big contributer to town/city centre congestion.

[M60lad]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Sorry for taking this thread slightly off topic but regarding traffic lights phasing quite a few First Manchester drivers on 409s are now opting to take the old route into Ashton Bus Station now instead of coming into Bus Station via Baths, now I'm not to sure whether their allowed to do this but some of them look at the queue when they get to Metrolink lights and if its bad they'll turn left and then right into Bus Station same route Stagecoach's 168/169s take.

[joe_alker]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
I've never understood why they started going via the baths, it's a tighter turn than if they turned left at oldham rd and often the journey can take a couple of minutes longer.

[Nicholas]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Putting my roadgeek head on, I would say the traffic signals issue is when TfGM contracted Siemens to upgrade the traffic signals across the county.

One thing I have noticed is that every set of traffic signals now seems to run on timers only, whereas the old type Mellors were often on a mixture of timers and loop sensors. This meant that when traffic was lighter, such as at night, at weekends, or even when there was just a decent sized gap in the traffic, the lights would cycle accordingly. Since the upgrade, signals are just on fixed phasings meaning you can be sat waiting for unnecessarily long periods. An example of this is the set at Applewood Farm in Astley... hardly any traffic comes out of the side road as only the pub has opened, but you can be sat waiting for the lights to change for what seems to be an eternity, even though nothing is exiting the side road.