Cheshire Bus News (was East Cheshire Bus News)

[LOL The Irony]

Looks like D&G have got the Knutsford services

Oh joy.

 

[northwichcat]

Oh joy.

If they keep the Streetlites off them I don't mind. At least they are doing more than just providing the minimum service level set out by Cheshire East council, which is probably what Howards would have done.

 

[LOL The Irony]

If they keep the Streetlites off them I don't mind. At least they are doing more than just providing the minimum service level set out by Cheshire East council, which is probably what Howards would have done.

I don't want D&G anywhere near a bus service.

 

[northwichcat]

Seems Tomlinson Travel have got part of 'Route J' and will operate it as route 316, while D&G are also running part of Route J, I wonder if D&G are going to run part of it commercially or whether Tomlinson Travel only submitted a bid for part of it.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Seems Tomlinson Travel have got part of 'Route J' and will operate it as route 316, while D&G are also running part of Route J, I wonder if D&G are going to run part of it commercially or whether Tomlinson Travel only submitted a bid for part of it.

What low floor buses do they have?

 

[Danfilm007]

If you're going in to Knutsford in the morning and out in the evening I hope a 08:20 arrival in Knutsford suits you, if not you're a bit stuck! Going out of Knutsford in the evening times are pretty much the same as they are now.

It's more that there's 2 buses between 7:50 and 10am from Wilmslow Railway Station - admittedly not many people get on (normally me and a few others at 8:24) but it's more than anywhere else! I'm more surprised there's more capacity in the evenings than the mornings!

 

[northwichcat]

It's more that there's 2 buses between 7:50 and 10am from Wilmslow Railway Station - admittedly not many people get on (normally me and a few others at 8:24) but it's more than anywhere else! I'm more surprised there's more capacity in the evenings than the mornings!

It's because of that 188 school service that some bright spark in the Cheshire East office thinks should be run by taking a bus off 88 route instead of as a separate contract.

 

[northwichcat]

What low floor buses do they have?

I think an 06 reg Mercedes bus (not sure of model) and an 03 reg Dart.

 

[LOL The Irony]

I think an 06 reg Mercedes bus (not sure of model) and an 03 reg Dart.

I'm guessing that they no longer have the Harrier.

 

[northwichcat]

I'm guessing that they no longer have the Harrier.

Do you know that or are you just presuming because they got a Dart for the 319? Apparently they got the Dart and removed seats from it because a lot of pensioners were boarding the 319 with shopping trolleys.

 

[Martin1988]

For anyone interested the following article was in yesterday's Crewe Chronicle.
https://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/cheshire-east-retain-evening-bus-14255150

Proposals to cut vital bus services in Crewe and its surrounding areas have not gone ahead following a widespread consultation.

All subsidised evening services in Cheshire East were due to be withdrawn following proposals last year, but the 6E, 8, 37 and 38 bus routes will continue to operate.

It means that local evening bus services running in Crewe, Sandbach, Macclesfield, Middlewich and Congleton are being retained.

Monday to Saturday evening bus times for the 8 service, which runs from Sydney, Crewe, Wistaston and the 37, from Winsford to Sandbach, will remain the same.

The 6E service, which runs from Leighton Hospital to Shavington, will now finish after the hospital’s 8pm visiting time has ended.

The 38 Macclesfield-to-Crewe service via Congleton and Sandbach, which residents had thought would be finishing in the early evening, will continue with the same Monday to Saturday evening timetable.

The evening 8 service and part of the 38 service will be operated commercially.

It seems as though Monday to Saturday evening journeys on the 6E, 8, 37 and 38 are being retained although it would appear the 6E will have an earlier finish.

If anyone is able to answer I'd be interested to find out, roughly how long have Arriva operated the Monday to Saturday evening journeys on the 38 for? I thought at one time one of the other operators worked them (can't remember if it was Bakerbus, D&G or GHA)?

 

[northwichcat]

For anyone interested the following article was in yesterday's Crewe Chronicle.
https://www.crewechronicle.co.uk/news/cheshire-east-retain-evening-bus-14255150

It seems as though Monday to Saturday evening journeys on the 6E, 8, 37 and 38 are being retained although it would appear the 6E will have an earlier finish.

The new timetables are available for D&G services: http://dgbus.co.uk/buses-in-cheshire.html If you've visited the site it might load a cached version so press Ctrl+F5 on the timetables page if links to the new ones don't appear.

If anyone is able to answer I'd be interested to find out, roughly how long have Arriva operated the Monday to Saturday evening journeys on the 38 for? I thought at one time one of the other operators worked them (can't remember if it was Bakerbus, D&G or GHA)?

It was GHA

 

[Martin1988]

Thanks ever so much for your response. I've had a look at the D&G services and one that seems to have been particularly cut back is the 12E (which I think is the sunday equivalent of the 6E). Cut to only 4 journeys between Leighton Hospital and Crewe and no service between Crewe and Shavington).

Thanks for confirming it was GHA who used to work the evening 38 journeys. Do you happen to remember why Arriva ended up taking them on? Did it happen following the collapse of GHA or did Arriva win it from GHA on tender at some point?

 

[Bwsbro]

Thanks for confirming it was GHA who used to work the evening 38 journeys. Do you happen to remember why Arriva ended up taking them on? Did it happen following the collapse of GHA or did Arriva win it from GHA on tender at some point?

Arriva took it over straight after the collapse of GHA

 

[Martin1988]

Arriva took it over straight after the collapse of GHA

Thanks ever so much for confirming that.

 

[ag51ruk]

Thanks ever so much for your response. I've had a look at the D&G services and one that seems to have been particularly cut back is the 12E (which I think is the sunday equivalent of the 6E). Cut to only 4 journeys between Leighton Hospital and Crewe and no service between Crewe and Shavington).

I suspect that the Sunday 12E timetable on their website is wrong - the Cheshire East consultation definitely talks about Sunday buses between Leighton and Shavington, and the two-hourly service they have put up doesn't appear to interwork with any other routes so doesn't make much sense.

 

[northwichcat]

I suspect that the Sunday 12E timetable on their website is wrong - the Cheshire East consultation definitely talks about Sunday buses between Leighton and Shavington, and the two-hourly service they have put up doesn't appear to interwork with any other routes so doesn't make much sense.

No you've misunderstood the changes proposed. Currently Sunday morning journeys on 12E are subsided and afternoon ones are commercial. Cheshire East presumed D&G would keep the times and route of the commercial ones the same after they withdrew the subsidy for the morning ones. However, D&G have decided to run a shortened commercial service in the mornings and afternoons instead. I'm pretty sure the outcome of the bus review was there would be no money for subsides on Sunday on any route.

Also I think 12E might be interworked with 85. For example, 85 arrival at Crewe at 11:50, return working not until 13:35. That's enough time to do a 12E and back as well as leaving slots for statutory breaks.

 

[LOL The Irony]

Do you know that or are you just presuming because they got a Dart for the 319?

The words "I'm guessing" might answer that.

 

[northwichcat]

The words "I'm guessing" might answer that.

Your post didn't make any sense, so I was trying to prompt you to expand on it a bit more rather than point out what was wrong with it.

What is "The Harrier"? Googling it suggests a Toyota car and if googling 'The Harrier Bus' brings up a bus company. Are you trying to refer to the 06 reg Koch-bodied Mercedes 0616CDi bus they have/had that I was talking about?

Also do you regularly see Tomlinson Travel vehicles, meaning if you don't see the 06 reg Mercedes bus there's a high chance they no longer have it, or are you just guessing because you think they have no need for it if they have a different bus to use on the 319? I noticed their Toyota Coaster(?) in Northwich a couple of weeks ago, which I hadn't seen since they stopped operating the 300 evening service a few years ago.

 

[northwichcat]

Contracted timetables now available on Cheshire East site, but note that they only show contracted journeys which makes them useless for passengers in the case of the 88 route: http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/coun...ion-results/supported-bus-service-review.aspx

 

[LOL The Irony]

Your post didn't make any sense, so I was trying to prompt you to expand on it a bit more rather than point out what was wrong with it.

What is "The Harrier"? Googling it suggests a Toyota car and if googling 'The Harrier Bus' brings up a bus company. Are you trying to refer to the 06 reg Koch-bodied Mercedes 0616CDi bus they have/had that I was talking about?

Also do you regularly see Tomlinson Travel vehicles, meaning if you don't see the 06 reg Mercedes bus there's a high chance they no longer have it, or are you just guessing because you think they have no need for it if they have a different bus to use on the 319? I noticed their Toyota Coaster(?) in Northwich a couple of weeks ago, which I hadn't seen since they stopped operating the 300 evening service a few years ago.

AH! The Bus. It was a Rohill Harrier.

 

[northwichcat]

AH! The Bus. It was a Rohill Harrier.

So you were talking about this Renault bus

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/281/19801994862_4954ac26a0_h.jpg

Not this Mercedes bus

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8739/16772509669_e066d95a19_b.jpg

 

[LOL The Irony]

Yes the Renault.

 

[323235]

Contracted timetables now available on Cheshire East site, but note that they only show contracted journeys which makes them useless for passengers in the case of the 88 route: http://www.cheshireeast.gov.uk/coun...ion-results/supported-bus-service-review.aspx

One would expect that a timetable will be produced for passengers showing all journeys (as shown on D&G website) and these documents are simply showing the subsidised journeys.

 

[northwichcat]

One would expect that a timetable will be produced for passengers showing all journeys (as shown on D&G website) and these documents are simply showing the subsidised journeys.

I think both D&G and High Peak opted out of Cheshire East council printing timetables for their services because they decided it was cheaper to do it themselves.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

(deleted)

 

[northwichcat]

It seems the soon to be unserved bus stops will simply get a notice saying "No departures from this stop" and will remain in place, while they'll be no new bus stop signs installed even where a route has been revised to take in a different road or where the bus will stop on the other side of the road from where it currently stops.

 

[323235]

In Poynton we are lucky to have bus stops of some sort on all of the main roads served by our new 391/392 except for Clumber Road, Middlewood Road and Woodford Road (currently hail and ride). This being a concequence from having the 191/391/392/P1/379 (shortlived Manchester Airport service) and 108 on Sundays over the years.

 

[northwichcat]

In Poynton we are lucky to have bus stops of some sort on all of the main roads served by our new 391/392 except for Clumber Road, Middlewood Road and Woodford Road (currently hail and ride). This being a concequence from having the 191/391/392/P1/379 (shortlived Manchester Airport service) and 108 on Sundays over the years.

In Knutsford currently we're missing them on Beech Drive, Shaw Drive, the lower half of Boothfields and Lilac Avenue and it's been like that since the mid-90s when the 300 was re-routed. Once the 300 is replaced by 88A there will be the additional issue of all the Longridge stops are on one side of the road and buses will travel in both directions and Longridge doesn't generally even have a pavement on the other side of the road from where the bus stops are! It would also make sense to relocate the Shaw Heath Post office stops to be the other side of the Longridge Junction so that both 88 and 88A services can stop at them, which would also move the bus stops closer to the business park.

We'll have redundant bus stops at Canute Place and on Manchester Road from 1st April, as well as the one on Queensway which is already redundant. There's also an 'alighting only' one on Stanley Road (approaching the bus station) but most people (including drivers) don't know it's there as it's covered by tree branches and there's no bus stop marking on the road.

 

[LOL The Irony]

It would also make sense to relocate the Shaw Heath Post office stops to be the other side of the Longridge Junction so that both 88 and 88A services can stop at them, which would also move the bus stops closer to the business park.

I quite like them where they are.