New Cheshire East bus review

[knutstransport]

RE: New Cheshire East bus review

(08/07/2020 10:24)Rick Hunter Wrote:  The 27 wasn't chopped and changed every 3 months, it was on an alleged 5 year contract which in the case off Howards ended up being 18 months. During that time only 1 person used to get on and off at Astra Zeneca. Now part of the 88 it isn't chopped and changed with D&G either. There have been slight tweaks to the running times and timing points to improve punctuality which in the main do work. I seem to remember the Beggarmans Lane journeys also going round Queensway in Knutsford.

I'm not sure all the D&G 88 changes could be described as minor changes. OK changing the standard pattern departures from Macclesfield to xx:45 and the departures from Knutsford to xx:58 are. However, changing the last bus from Macclesfield to Knutsford from 17:45 to 18:15 isn't a minor timing change if you finish work in Macclesfield between 17:00 and 17:30. Sending the 16:50 Altrincham to Northwich service to Macclesfield instead isn't a minor change - although probably a welcome improvement if you work in the Knutsford area and live in Chelford or Macclesfield. I also don't think routing peak time buses to not go through Over Peover village is a minor change if you live there. Also originally there was a c.08:45 Altrincham to Macclesfield bus in the 88 timetable, that got changed to two separate services with a 35 connection time in Knutsford - I'm not sure that's a minor change.

Howards did not get the 27 route as soon as GHA went bust. They got the Saturday service first and ran it to the weekday timetable minus the AstraZeneca diversions. Then they took over the weekday service from High Peak. Then they were awarded the new '5 year contract' which saw timetable revisions like earlier last services on Saturdays.

Regarding Queensway you may recall selected 300 Knutsford circular services went that way. High Peak decided to withdraw those journeys, at the same time they decided to withdraw their 27 commercial service. Cheshire East wrote a timetable for a 2 hourly 27 service with some Queensway extensions to replace what High Peak had withdrawn and put it out to tender. GHA decided to register that timetable commercially - they then later added in extra journeys using a vehicle between it's morning and afternoon school run which led to a strange timetable where it was hourly from 9am to 3pm but less frequent at peak times!

I recall one day close to the deadline for step entry single decker buses, GHA had a 50 seater coach on the 27 service and it left Knutsford bus station for Queensway with a single passenger on board!

There was also a short lived 87 Knutsford circular which D&G operated using the 88A layover - which ran Knutsford bus station to Lilac Avenue to Queensway to Knutsford bus station, which obviously ended when the 88A was withdrawn.