Greater Manchester bus questions

[yorkie]

Can anyone recommend buses in the Greater Manchester area (preferably double deckers) using a System One Bus+Train DaySaver between the following railway stations:

• Manchester Airport - Altrincham or Hale
• Rose Hill (or Romiley) - Hazel Grove or Middlewood
• Appley Bridge (or Gathurst) - Orrell (or Pemberton)
• Any buses that link the line towards Greenfield with the line towards Littlebrough

Thanks in advance

 

[radamfi]

There is no longer a bus from Milnrow to Littleborough so you can no longer get to Littleborough using that ticket except via Rochdale. The 409 is a frequent double deck route between Ashton, Oldham and Rochdale.

The Arriva service 18 goes from Altrincham to the airport, run by a single deck.

http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/409.pdf
http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/18-TraffordCentre.pdf

 

[bb21]

Dunno about the buses but there some fairly comprehensive maps on the PTE website.

 

[yorkie]

Dunno about the buses but there some fairly comprehensive maps on the PTE website.

I've seen them but it would take a very long time to figure out which of those routes are suitable and double deckers. (I know that by searching for a route number & destination, you can usually find photos, but it's not always that straightforward and it may be out of date)
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

There is no longer a bus from Milnrow to Littleborough so you can no longer get to Littleborough using that ticket except via Rochdale. The 409 is a frequent double deck route between Ashton, Oldham and Rochdale.

Sounds good thanks.

The Arriva service 18 goes from Altrincham to the airport, run by a single deck.http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/18-TraffordCentre.pdf

If Altrincham - Airport isn't possibly by double decker, any chance of a double decker from the Airport to somewhere like Cheadle Hulme, Bramhall, Hazel Grove, or Stockport?

Double deckers are best for a large group of us. I find single deckers usually end up crowded with people on free passes so you have to pay to stand up while they sit for free That clientèle tends not to venture upstairs Also, you get a much better view from the top deck!

 

[radamfi]

If you change at Northenden then you should get a double deck the whole way from the airport to Altrincham.

http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/43.pdf
http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/X41-Altrincham.pdf

There is a 369 between the airport, Cheadle Hulme and Stockport but I'm not sure if it is always a double deck.

http://www.tfgm.com/journey_planning/RouteMaps/369.pdf

 

[northwichcat]

If Altrincham - Airport isn't possibly by double decker, any chance of a double decker from the Airport to somewhere like Cheadle Hulme, Bramhall, Hazel Grove, or Stockport?

Route 199 Buxton-Hazel Grove-Stockport-Airport is operated by High Peak buses and the route is not suitable for a double decker. The one occasion when they put a double decker on that route this happened: http://news.sky.com/story/1121181/bus-roof-ripped-off-after-hitting-railway-bridge

I think the majority of buses from Manchester Airport are single deckers. The Arriva buses to/from Altrincham are usually Wright Pulsar 2s and have ample spare seats at off-peak times, the one to avoid would be the 200 route which has a high chance of being a Solo.

 

[Shrimper]

Stagecoach 43 and 105 are always doubles; the 369 is usually a mix - usually a single, but Enviro 400s do turn up fairly frequently. At night it could be anything from a Solo to a decker!

 

[brompton rail]

Route 199 Buxton-Hazel Grove-Stockport-Airport is operated by High Peak buses and the route is not suitable for a double decker. The one occasion when they put a double decker on that route this happened: http://news.sky.com/story/1121181/bus-roof-ripped-off-after-hitting-railway-bridge

Are you sure this vehicle was on 199? From the photo it appears to be going south west on St George's Road having come from the Manchester direction. This would fit with the Trans Peak (Manchester - Derby) livery. I can't quite see how a service 199 would get to that position as if it was using Wellington Street to get to the Motorway there is a "No Left Turn" into St George's Road. Made a mess of the bus though!

 

[northwichcat]

Are you sure this vehicle was on 199? From the photo it appears to be going south west on St George's Road having come from the Manchester direction. This would fit with the Trans Peak (Manchester - Derby) livery. I can't quite see how a service 199 would get to that position as if it was using Wellington Street to get to the Motorway there is a "No Left Turn" into St George's Road. Made a mess of the bus though!

I heard a report it was the 199 but that may not have been correct.

What livery a bus is in doesn't automatically indicate it was running that route. GHA Coaches regularly use buses in "Connect 88 Knutsford-Wilmslow-Altrincham" livery on the RR3 Disley-Macclesfield and 130 Macclesfield-Manchester services. High Peak don't have that many route liveried vehicles - they used to have a Connect 19 Macclesfield-Prestbury Dennis DART which managed to find it's way on to the 300 Knutsford Town Service on day.

 

[Amberley54]

Are you sure this vehicle was on 199? From the photo it appears to be going south west on St George's Road having come from the Manchester direction. This would fit with the Trans Peak (Manchester - Derby) livery. I can't quite see how a service 199 would get to that position as if it was using Wellington Street to get to the Motorway there is a "No Left Turn" into St George's Road. Made a mess of the bus though!

It was on the 199 but was off route for some reason.

 

[neilmc]

Airport to Altrincham - service 18 is single-deck as is service 19 via Sale.

However by changing at Northenden the 43 is every 10 minutes and the 105 every 30 and always double-deck worked as already stated.

From Northenden to Altrincham the Stagecoach X41 is half-hourly and also always double-deck. If you're travelling in the evening the First service 41 is extended from Sale to Altrincham (the X41 doesn't run late evenings) and varies but is normally single-deck I think.

Stagecoach 370 can also be caught from Northenden to Altrincham which is also usually single-deck.

Don't know the bus types for any other area sought.

 

[Andyh82]

The bus that was damaged was on the Transpeak. New owners High Peak wanted to introduce a double deck on the busiest journeys. Not long after they started using that vehicle, a journey was diverted due to a road closure and then that happened.

 

[northwichcat]

The bus that was damaged was on the Transpeak. New owners High Peak wanted to introduce a double deck on the busiest journeys. Not long after they started using that vehicle, a journey was diverted due to a road closure and then that happened.

It can't have been that soon afterwards considering for the first two years they borrowed double deckers off Centerbus (Leicester) which were in standard Centerbus livery. It was much later when they got their own double deckers and painted them in a route specific livery, after the Bowers livery had been phased out on their other buses.

 

[Jeni]

Route 199 Buxton-Hazel Grove-Stockport-Airport is operated by High Peak buses and the route is not suitable for a double decker. The one occasion when they put a double decker on that route this happened: http://news.sky.com/story/1121181/bus-roof-ripped-off-after-hitting-railway-bridge

Route 199 is nearly always surprisingly busy and could do with DD operation and there is no realistic reason why a DD couldn't be used.

(The article you linked to is about the TP service hitting a bridge when it went on a diversion, there is no link with the 199 and it would be extremely difficult for a bus on the 199 to end up going under that bridge!)

 

[ValleyLines142]

Is the 375 operated by double deckers or single deckers?

I know the 192 from Piccadilly to Hazel Grove is Hybrid Enviro 400s.

 

[gnolife]

Is the 375 operated by double deckers or single deckers?

I know the 192 from Piccadilly to Hazel Grove is Hybrid Enviro 400s.

375 is an almost guaranteeed Optare Solo. Anything longer will struggle to use the Shiloh Road terminus in Mellor. There is a bit of variation where the bus is going only as far as the Devonshire Arms

Going back to Yorkie's original question, Greenfield line to Littleborough line is impossible direct. You have to connect at Oldham (180/184, double decker) and Rochdale (409, double decker) to get to Littleborough (its the Halifax or Burnley buses, but can't recall the number), or from Mossley, change at Ashton (350, mix of single and double deckers) and Rochdale

I also don't think Gathurst/Appley Bridge - Pemberton/Orrell is possible direct, you must change at Wigan North Western station to make those journeys as far as I know.

 

[yorkie]

Thanks for all the info, I will do a plan for GM Ranger trip - Wednesday 27 August on Tuesday using this information.

 

[Deerfold]

Going back to Yorkie's original question, Greenfield line to Littleborough line is impossible direct. You have to connect at Oldham (180/184, double decker) and Rochdale (409, double decker) to get to Littleborough (its the Halifax or Burnley buses, but can't recall the number), or from Mossley, change at Ashton (350, mix of single and double deckers) and Rochdale

The Rochdale to Halifax (590) and Burnley buses (589) may be double deckers but often run with single. The faster bus to Halifax (528) must be run with a single decker as it goes under a low bridge just outside Littleborough on its way to Ripponden.

 

[Bungle965]

hi to go to littleborough from rochdale there is a number off options you can take you can take the 590 (which goes to halifax) the 589 (burnley) 454 (littleborough then up to shore) 457 (littleborough then up to stansfield) 456 (which goes everywhere hollingworth lake etc) so there is a number of options you can take

 

[radamfi]

Of course, they could get the train from Rochdale to Littleborough given that they will have a ticket for that. So it might be worth knowing that you can get off the 409 on Oldham Road at the railway bridge and walk along High Level Road and the tram line to get to Rochdale rail station. That saves the walk from the bus station, or a trip on the 471 between the bus and rail station.

 

[Andyh82]

The Rochdale to Halifax (590) and Burnley buses (589) may be double deckers but often run with single. The faster bus to Halifax (528) must be run with a single decker as it goes under a low bridge just outside Littleborough on its way to Ripponden.

The 589 is always a single deck, never a double deck as it is run from Todmorden depot which has limited clearance. The 590 is mostly single deck but has a few double decks on any one day. The 528 is an Optare Solo.

 

[radamfi]

The 589 is always a single deck, never a double deck as it is run from Todmorden depot which has limited clearance. The 590 is mostly single deck but has a few double decks on any one day. The 528 is an Optare Solo.

Have they stopped using Optare Tempos on the 528, like this:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancunian1001/5614015245/

 

[Bungle965]

Have they stopped using Optare Tempos on the 528, like this:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancunian1001/5614015245/

from what I know of they use a mixture of optare tempos and solos.

 

[Deerfold]

From my experience Solos usually appear in the evening and on Sundays. I'm not sure how common bigger buses are on the route as I usually only see it on weekends.

 

[Andyh82]

Have they stopped using Optare Tempos on the 528, like this:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mancunian1001/5614015245/

Yes the Tempos have been moved to Leeds now, so it will be solos at all times.

 

[radamfi]

Yes the Tempos have been moved to Leeds now, so it will be solos at all times.

That's pretty poor if they can't fill a Solo on that route.

 

[Welshman]

Yes the Tempos have been moved to Leeds now, so it will be solos at all times.

The Halifax-Rochdale service 528 is interworked with the Halifax-Booth/Midgley service 574.

A driver on the latter route was telling me that tempos were too long for use on the roads around Midgley and Booth, so perhaps that could be why they've been transferred, as I presume a solo, with a wheel at each corner, is an easier proposition.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

That's pretty poor if they can't fill a Solo on that route.

Apparently not.
According to the recent Calder Valley Bus Consultation, this route is one from which Metro intends to withdraw support, so it seems it will be withdrawn altogether in the New Year.

 

[radamfi]

Wow, the withdrawal of the 528 is a great shame, and a surprise, as I always thought that route was particularly resistant because it has always run every hour, seven days a week for as long as I can remember. For at least 30 years. Normally routes get cut in frequency and lose their Sunday service before being withdrawn altogether.

When the Oldham to Halifax route was cut, I thought that would mean better prospects for the 528, as passengers for Oldham would have to go through Rochdale. But I suppose the 528 doesn't serve many populated areas that aren't served by other routes.

 

[neilmc]

For some reason I'm suddenly seeing a lot more double-deckers on the First 41 from Manchester to Sale, after assuring everybody it was almost always single-deck worked.

 

[Welshman]

Wow, the withdrawal of the 528 is a great shame, and a surprise, as I always thought that route was particularly resistant because it has always run every hour, seven days a week for as long as I can remember. For at least 30 years. Normally routes get cut in frequency and lose their Sunday service before being withdrawn altogether.

When the Oldham to Halifax route was cut, I thought that would mean better prospects for the 528, as passengers for Oldham would have to go through Rochdale. But I suppose the 528 doesn't serve many populated areas that aren't served by other routes.

I agree. It's a historic route, begun, in think, in the 1930s and operated by a variety of operators, from Ripponden & District, through Hebble, Halifax Passenger Transport, First and now Yorkshire Tiger. IIRC, Yelloway also operated it for a short while.

In Hebble's time, it was even a through service [28], Leeds, Halifax to Rochdale.

The proposal is here:-

http://www.wymetro.com/consultation/busreview/calderdale/