Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

[Scania3379man]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(22/02/2016 16:45)Scania1996 Wrote:  It's 27208 and will be repaired

That brand newish, SL64 oh dear. thank scania1996.

Martyn

[gilbert]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(13/02/2016 19:53)Mayneway Wrote:  Noted both 19623/33 working on AZ services today so deffiantly at AZ. Was talking to a driver on his break who reckons there's a third but he wasn't sure which one it was. He also suggested some if not all will move to AZ over the next few months to allow for further older Enviro400's to become Magic buses.

Would be good to see younger deckers at AZ and to be honest they have there haters but I don't mind the MAN engined examples.

19633 is on the 378 today

[SF07]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Bit of an upgrade for the 141 service this afternoon as 38-branded Enviro400 19502 was on the route.

[SLTRegular]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Sad to hear the 32 is being cut short

[St Helens Rider]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(27/02/2016 01:57)SLTRegular Wrote:  Sad to hear the 32 is being cut short

Wouldn't it make sense to extend the 34's to Wigan as it's looking like Stagecoach have sort of thrown the towel in with First doing all the Guided Busway services.

[Jack]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Bit of a long way round from Manchester to Wigan if it was the 34, the train would be more likely as a direct route and locally the 600 already covers Leigh to Wigan. An alternative could have been the 32 a variation of the 34, as it is at the Wigan end but then following the 34 route to Manchester rather than the East Lancs.

[rod_259]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(27/02/2016 01:57)SLTRegular Wrote:  Sad to hear the 32 is being cut short

Maybe I missed the post, how is service changing?

[rod_259]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(27/02/2016 14:27)Dentonian Wrote:  Not sure of the exact route, but I'm told it will be current 634 route between Wigan and Belle Green then existing 32 route to Ellenbrook before finding its way to "Roe Green Park'n'Ride", which I assume is near the Guided Busway.

Thanks for that

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(27/02/2016 17:39)Dentonian Wrote:  This row between TFGMC and the Operators has sprung up again. This time, its TFGMC on the front foot, and having seen the details of April 3rd changes, and noted the Operators' (predictable) response, I have to say that The Operators are losing this battle.
For Stagecoach's part, they have again made no changes at all to services supposedly affected by these cross-city roadworks, confining their (known) changes to self financing (ie. cutting the number of journeys, rather than increasing resources) punctuality tweaks to peak hour services only. Drifting off thread, First are making widespread reductions to commercial services from 3rd April, just as TFGMC feel forced to slash subsidised services.

TFGMC's Chair has gone to the MEN (unfortunately the story just slipped off the website) accusing Operators of making "Super Profits". Stagecoach's reply has been to repeat the cross-city argument, claim that fares have increased below inflation since they acquired GMS in 1996, and are investing an average £5 million a year in "vehicles and services".
As regards the investment, this comes just as its reported elsewhere that the six MMCs diverted to Devon, will NOT be replaced after all, although I doubt Councillor Fender would know that specific detail. The main point though is that at current prices, £5m buys little more than the 25 'deckers a year that are actually here. As Stagecoach Manchester currently have some 800 buses licenced, that suggests an expected vehicle life of over THIRTY years!
I haven't got 1996 fare tables to hand - or can recall the price of off bus tickets 20 years ago - but having done previous calculations based on 1986 (De reg), I know single fares have increased MANY, MANY times the rate of inflation. For the argument to hold water with off bus tickets, then a MegaRider equivalent would have needed to be £8.70 or more, and a DaySaver £2.40 or more in 1996.
First's response was a stock "we continue to work with our partners" comment.

Presumeably, this attack by Councillor Fender has been prompted by First's cuts to commercial services (not listed on any MEN news item) totally unconnected with Leigh Guided Busway, but Stagecoach's "city centre" this, "city centre" that diatribe, certainly doesn't help their cause.

From internal comments I've heard, TFGM (never mind TFGMC) are "angry" that both First (in terms of quantity) and Stagecoach (in terms of quality) seem to be abandoning the districts. I think their anger is heightened because things are deteriorating quickly, just as you'd think the Operators would try to prove Bus Services are better off in a commercial environment.

Remember Stagecoach Manchester's record (single fares apart) was very good from 1996 until probably 2014, and relations with First improved dramatically when off-bus fares were cut across their network and punctuality improved (on some routes, at least) a few years ago.

Arh I wondered why Councilor Andrew Fender was on the radio today spouting on about things getting better in 12 months time and that 'were all in it together' and that him and his colleagues at TFGM are badly affected as they all travel Into work and to meetings by bus and they are often held up and can understand passengers frustration - the big difference being that him and his colleagues travel for free I believe so it would be a little rich if they started complaining.

I seem to remember just after new year Clr Richard Lees making the big gesture by offering motorists free Sunday parking as an apology and that things would improve over the next few WEEKS yet Clr Fender reckons it will be 12 months. Big difference of opinion there.

We need to get back to basics. Things won't improve in a few weeks or months because the very infrastructure we're all relying on is decaying beyond repair - ie the roads. Instead of these daft notions of closing Portland street for bus priority work and the chaos of Oxford Road not to mention the roadworks on deansgate, we need to go back to basics and fix what's broken first ie the roads. Apparently our so called local councils are sitting on big pots of cash that there unwilling to use and instead simply 'Patch and Go'.
In my hometown of Ashton it dosen't get much better. Cash strapped TFGM decide to open a cycle hub outside the bus station, basically a shed with automatic doors, then 18 months on decide it's not attractive enough to cyclists, so on a major route though the town centre (Oldham RD) right slap bang at the bus station exit (Stockport/Manchester), they decide to put up temp lights for 2 weeks while they insert cycle priority crossings/lights. So now the traffic lights chengd to red for motorists, the pedestrian crossing goes green for 45 seconds, then the green light for cyclists lights up for 2 minutes, then the lights for the buses exiting the bus station change to green but because of the very tight corner created by the cycle path bollards the lights allow 2 buses through (if your lucky) then change to red - today I counted 8 buses (7 stagecoach, 1 MCT) waiting to exit. So all these fancy illuminated bollards, funky green Tarmac for the cyclists, not to mention the cyclists traffic lights look really good and expensive yet just yards either way of it the roads are crumbling and full of potholes and sinking manholes.

Then there's the massive issue of badly timed and synced traffic lights everywhere. Infact going back to Ashton again, the new cycle lights outside the baths are so badly timed that when the lights at ikea change to green for traffic coming from Oldham towards what was the asda roundabout there's often cars left blocking the tram tracks - it's not good when we carnt even get 2 sets of traffic lights on the same stretch of road to work in conjunction of each other!


And as for the bigger operators retracting from the suberbs, that's nothing new. Look at Glossop in 2001/2002 with all the mini bus circular services Stagecoach operated from the Glossop depot compared to what they operate up there now, or even Ashton or Hyde. It's frightening to think of the number of services that have completly gone or been cut short so god knows what things will be like this time in 20 years.
Perhaps bus franchising is the future!

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(27/02/2016 20:25)Dentonian Wrote:  I think the argument about sitting on pots of cash is to do with "reserves" - partly to do with sinkholes/sewer collapses, flooding etc, and involves all Councils. I accept your point about Cycling, and about Highways problems in general, but a lot of it is to do with the "Capital spending good; Current spending bad" attitude that pervades amongst politicians at all levels. I also suspect that Highways are not happy aboit working with a Transport Authority originbally charged with favouring public transport (of all modes).

Interesting you talk about Ashton, exemplifying delays to (7) Stagecoach buses. The point is that Stagecoach's management/media relations people don't care about that, because Ashton is not in the city centre.

Completly agree regarding the highways etc but depending on the cause of a sinkhole determines who pays for it. The recent small sinkhole in Broadbottom was entirely paid for by united utilities as it was caused by a burst water main- I suspect it was the same re the mancunion way sinkhole. The current situation regarding the roads is like decorating a house internally with no roof on.

I merly used Ashton as an example, Manchester is very much the same. Why slice up a major road and add sets of complicated signals that simply cause further congestion. Im not anti cyclists but unless TFGM are going run cycle lanes seperated by illuminated metal bolards along every major road what's the point, very much like the pointless bus lanes along Oldham road in Ashton that run for small sections then disappear forcing the buses to try and merge into the normal traffic further on, but of curse the tiny sections of bus lanes are covered by cameras and are huge cash cows for the cash strapped councils who refuse to spend any money on the crumbling roads lol - I still haven't established if TFGM receive any revenue from these bus lane cameras.

As for stagecoach, I'm sadly well awear that they only recognise the major services in the city centre as there bread and butter. It's strange that Mr Bowles has been so outspoken on the issue compared to First but I do suspect an alternative reason for it and I wouldn't be surprised if we see small minor fare rises next month as a result of the 'congestion' in the city centre.
Incidentally im a member of the Stagecoah yahoo group as you are Dentionan and read with interest the discussion on the Hyde road MMC's and one members post suggesting all passengers should get use of new buses and that they shouldn't be destined for just one route - clearly he dosen't know Ashton depot where we seem to be going backwards and loosing 08 reg Enviro400's in return for older 06/56 reg examples not to mention the loss of yet 2 more of the 11 plate Enviro200's.