Stagecoach Manchester

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester

(08/11/2014 17:47)Dentonian Wrote:  No cheap points here, totally agree. IF the buses had been purchased without tax-payers money, then if I was Stagecoach Manchester's MD, I would be running the 216s with wi-fi fitted Hybrids *instead* of the 219, but the original commitment was to the 219. Therefore 219s should categorically not be interworking with anything else, and the Ashton Engineers should ensure that all available hybrids are routed out on to the 219. If there is a spare then yes, put on 216, 330, 347 or anything. Equally, if there is a breakdown or unexpected congestion, then obviously a diesel is better than nothing. However, for three to appear on 216s on a Saturday morning suggests no attempt to allocate the buses properly in the first place.
Incidentally, the reason why I seem a bit "obsessive" about this, is because for so many years attention to detail and standing by their commitments (Easy access buses; branded buses on the right route; and various other measures beyond just fundamental reliability, were Stagecoach Manchester's hallmark. But in the last year or so, it all seems to have disappeared - and just as their "Friends in the North" are getting their act together.

I do agree with you 100% regarding the hybrids. Route branded vehicles are a slightly different in that they are standerd vehicles with some exterior branding for a certain service, but as you have rightly mentioned above one could argue that the tax payer has been duped.