TfGM-website, timetable updates and general news concerning TfGM bus stations.

[Bletchleyite]

If you go back far enough places like Glossop, Poynton, Wilmslow, New Mills, Handforth were to be part of the SELNEC area but I think some of the people there voted against joining what became Greater Manchester.

This (like something else I can think of) is something that should never have been subject to a referendum. An emotional vote (which is what the feeling of where you live is) is not helpful here.

 

[jfollows]

If you go back far enough places like Glossop, Poynton, Wilmslow, New Mills, Handforth were to be part of the SELNEC area but I think some of the people there voted against joining what became Greater Manchester.

I remember the "Keep Poynton in Cheshire" campaign which I think will have applied to the 1972 Local Government Act and the changes it introduced; this was where we lived at the time and I remember my father was in favour of joining Greater Manchester but the campaign prevailed. Subsequently, I occasionally used the 190 bus from Manchester, and there was a flat 2p child fare to the Greater Manchester boundary (Fiveways in Hazel Grove I think), plus an additional 7p (or whatever) from there for the couple of miles home. The 190 went through Poynton and then terminated back in Greater Manchester at Woodford Church.

 

[lincman]

Burnham has announced that Manchesters buses will be yellow, so so does that mean that Merseytravel and Manchester buses will both be the same colour.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Burnham has announced that Manchesters buses will be yellow, so so does that mean that Merseytravel and Manchester buses will both be the same colour.

I always thought the move to yellow on Metrolink was a bit of Merseyrail envy

But yes, it does appear so.

 

[daodao]

I remember the "Keep Poynton in Cheshire" campaign which I think will have applied to the 1972 Local Government Act and the changes it introduced; this was where we lived at the time and I remember my father was in favour of joining Greater Manchester but the campaign prevailed. Subsequently, I occasionally used the 190 bus from Manchester, and there was a flat 2p child fare to the Greater Manchester boundary (Fiveways in Hazel Grove I think), plus an additional 7p (or whatever) from there for the couple of miles home. The 190 went through Poynton and then terminated back in Greater Manchester at Woodford Church.

I recall that Poynton was served by 3 cross boundary bus services, North Western Road Car Company (NWRCC) services 20 (later 190) jointly operated with Manchester & Stockport Corporations, and NWRCC 32 (from Manchester Lower Mosley Street to Higher Poynton via Southern Cemetery) and 7/8 from Macclesfield to Stockport. All that now remains serving Poynton is a limited (every 90 minute) service (391/2) based on a variant of former route 8.

The Tory government of the time (Heath was PM) was very sympathetic to the gerrymandering of boundaries to favour the prosperous outer suburbs of Greater Manchester and keep them in Cheshire. However, if you go back far enough, Poynton was not affluent commuterland but a pit village with a number of coal mines served by a network of tramroads linking to the LNWR and NSR/GCR railway lines and before then the Macclesfield Canal.

 

[RELL6L]

I always thought the move to yellow on Metrolink was a bit of Merseyrail envy

But yes, it does appear so.

If they want to snap up a few buses already painted the right colour, then now is a good time....

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

If they want to snap up a few buses already painted the right colour, then now is a good time....

Were you thinking of Yellow Buses in the Bournemouth area, that I am told are closing their operations early next month?

 

[RELL6L]

Were you thinking of Yellow Buses in the Bournemouth area, that I am told are closing their operations early next month?

Er, they closed last night!

 

[323235]

They were part of SELNEC for 5 years but people there voted against joining Greater Manchester. It’s a pity that they couldn’t be an associate member of Greater Manchester Combined Authority similar to SELNEC to get some of the government funding benefits particularly of bus franchising without being fully committed.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

They were part of SELNEC for 5 years but people there voted against joining Greater Manchester.

Nothing wrong with democracy in action at times of voting. You have to see both sides of the coin and remember that public transport is only one part of whole picture, much as many people would appear to place it at the top of the options pile.

 

[johncrossley]

They were part of SELNEC for 5 years but people there voted against joining Greater Manchester. It’s a pity that they couldn’t be an associate member of Greater Manchester Combined Authority similar to SELNEC to get some of the government funding benefits particularly of bus franchising without being fully committed.

Nothing wrong with democracy in action at times of voting. You have to see both sides of the coin and remember that public transport is only one part of whole picture, much as many people would appear to place it at the top of the options pile.

There's no rule meaning that public transport always has to be worse once you cross an arbitrary boundary. There are plenty of examples worldwide where urban transport works across notional lines as if those lines weren't there.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Burnham has announced that Manchesters buses will be yellow, so so does that mean that Merseytravel and Manchester buses will both be the same colour.

I can only see one positve with this and that is the flexiblity between the two combined authorities when it comes to this franchising thing especially when it comes to any cross boundary work. I would have though the new, unified, Manchester fleet would have been some variant to the Metrolink livery. Regardless of what the paint job is where will this leave certain communities without a bus service, as I presume the GM bus franching will probably spin round at the county boundary. I can't see High Peak wanting to set up a "Glossop Town Service" to cover parts of the routes lost with Stagecoach retreating.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Not sure what thread (if any) exists to cover this query. For what seems like ages, I have used the TfGM website to monitor all "Future Bus Changes" which has been very easy to access, but today, when I logged on the TfGM website, it looked strange and I could not find that part which I normally look at.

When was the format of that website changed?

 

[py_megapixel]

Not sure what thread (if any) exists to cover this query. For what seems like ages, I have used the TfGM website to monitor all "Future Bus Changes" which has been very easy to access, but today, when I logged on the TfGM website, it looked strange and I could not find that part which I normally look at.

When was the format of that website changed?

It was changed around the middle of last week.

I believe the information you are looking for is still available - open the menu using the yellow button in the top right, choose the "Bus" option, then click on Planned Service Changes under the "Journey Planning" heading.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It was changed around the middle of last week.

I believe the information you are looking for is still available - open the menu using the yellow button in the top right, choose the "Bus" option, then click on Planned Service Changes under the "Journey Planning" heading.

Thanks for that. I now have what I wanted,

 

[323235]

I can only see one positve with this and that is the flexiblity between the two combined authorities when it comes to this franchising thing especially when it comes to any cross boundary work. I would have though the new, unified, Manchester fleet would have been some variant to the Metrolink livery. Regardless of what the paint job is where will this leave certain communities without a bus service, as I presume the GM bus franching will probably spin round at the county boundary. I can't see High Peak wanting to set up a "Glossop Town Service" to cover parts of the routes lost with Stagecoach retreating.

Derbyshire County Council are working proactively with TfGM to retain and improve cross-boundary services. They had a significant amount of Bus Back Better funding and with such a fantastic Bus Service Improvement Plan could have access to more funding in the future.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Derbyshire County Council are working proactively with TfGM to retain and improve cross-boundary services. They had a significant amount of Bus Back Better funding and with such a fantastic Bus Service Improvement Plan could have access to more funding in the future.

That's good to hear.

 

[py_megapixel]

Apparently Diamond have picked up some services in Stockport from today (which is a first for them; I don't believe they were operating in Stockport before).

Diamond have also picked up the X50, the fast route from the Trafford Centre to Manchester, "with the financial support of Transport for Greater Manchester". I don't really understand why TfGM would be paying for a half-hourly service on this route; it's less frequent and barely faster than the new tramway they've just built, even accounting for the extra change, and will almost certainly be slower when (if?) the tram service is extended into the city centre.

Also, route 374 has apparently transferred to a company called Nexus as of tomorrow. I've never heard of them, and googling "nexus bus" predictably shows up results about buses in Tyne & Wear! Does anyone know anything about them or what sorts of vehicles they will be using?

 

[317 forever]

Apparently Diamond have picked up some services in Stockport from today (which is a first for them; I don't believe they were operating in Stockport before).

Diamond have also picked up the X50, the fast route from the Trafford Centre to Manchester, "with the financial support of Transport for Greater Manchester". I don't really understand why TfGM would be paying for a half-hourly service on this route; it's less frequent and barely faster than the new tramway they've just built, even accounting for the extra change, and will almost certainly be slower when (if?) the tram service is extended into the city centre.

Also, route 374 has apparently transferred to a company called Nexus as of tomorrow. I've never heard of them, and googling "nexus bus" predictably shows up results about buses in Tyne & Wear! Does anyone know anything about them or what sorts of vehicles they will be using?

Diamond are introducing routes 370/71 from Stockport to Altrincham as a replacement for route 11a. These are not identical to previous routes of the same numbers. Diamond did operate route 197 Stockport - Manchester during the evenings and Sundays in April - July 2020.

Nexus Move already run journeys on 3 routes in Oldham (184 to Marsden, 356 to Ashton and 402 to Shaw).

 

[gnolife]

Diamond have also picked up the X50, the fast route from the Trafford Centre to Manchester, "with the financial support of Transport for Greater Manchester". I don't really understand why TfGM would be paying for a half-hourly service on this route; it's less frequent and barely faster than the new tramway they've just built, even accounting for the extra change, and will almost certainly be slower when (if?) the tram service is extended into the city centre.

The main thing of the X50 is that it goes quite deep into parts of Trafford Park that the tram and the 250 bus don't really touch.

 

[RELL6L]

Diamond are introducing routes 370/71 from Stockport to Altrincham as a replacement for route 11a. These are not identical to previous routes of the same numbers. Diamond did operate route 197 Stockport - Manchester during the evenings and Sundays in April - July 2020.

Nexus Move already run journeys on 3 routes in Oldham (184 to Marsden, 356 to Ashton and 402 to Shaw).

Nexus Move appear to run mainly Mellor Strata minibuses.

Diamond have picked up the 370/371, the 150 and the X50. Only the X50 is operating today- Citaros are running it at the moment.

 

[py_megapixel]

Nexus Move appear to run mainly Mellor Strata minibuses.

In fact, if Bustimes is to be believed, they don't have any full-sized buses at all, though it's possible they've just never appeared in the tracking system. They also have no offical online presence whatsoever (unless you could 1.8/5 stars on Google Reviews).

Doesn't bode well!

 

[WibbleWobble]

Apparently Diamond have picked up some services in Stockport from today (which is a first for them; I don't believe they were operating in Stockport before).

Diamond have previously run into Stockport, doing after Manchester Community Transport closed down.

This included some local circulars, X5 Sale express, and a previous incarnation of the ever-changing 44 to/from Manchester.

 

[APT618S]

I found this article on Nexus Move from 3 years ago:

Linking Saddleworth with Tameside: Focus on Nexus Move

East of the M60 looks at Tameside’s latest bus operator The Tameside bus scene is in the midst of far-reaching change. With the exception of three routes, FirstGroup are pulling out of the bo…

mancunian1001.wordpress.com

...The smallest operator of stage carriage vehicles is Nexus Move, who operate two routes in the borough, and a shuttle service from Greenfield railway station.


Nexus Move may be one of Greater Manchester’s smallest bus operators, though they are not really minnows. Their main business activity is private hire minicabs, and they have a sizeable market share in that field in Tameside...

So they are not a new company.
Have ridden on 3 of their Mellor Stratas around Ashton and they were well presented and seemed more modern than some of the other buses around the town.

 

[markymark2000]

In fact, if Bustimes is to be believed, they don't have any full-sized buses at all, though it's possible they've just never appeared in the tracking system. They also have no offical online presence whatsoever (unless you could 1.8/5 stars on Google Reviews).

Doesn't bode well!

Nexus Move, the bus company, is linked mostly to some local taxi companies and so the minibuses are of the right sort of size for them as progression versus a full size bus.

I agree with you though on online presence.

 

[blindio]

Apparently Diamond have picked up some services in Stockport from today (which is a first for them; I don't believe they were operating in Stockport before).

Diamond have also picked up the X50, the fast route from the Trafford Centre to Manchester, "with the financial support of Transport for Greater Manchester". I don't really understand why TfGM would be paying for a half-hourly service on this route; it's less frequent and barely faster than the new tramway they've just built, even accounting for the extra change, and will almost certainly be slower when (if?) the tram service is extended into the city centre.

Also, route 374 has apparently transferred to a company called Nexus as of tomorrow. I've never heard of them, and googling "nexus bus" predictably shows up results about buses in Tyne & Wear! Does anyone know anything about them or what sorts of vehicles they will be using?

On paper the trams go from Altrincham to the airport. That's about the worst way to make the journey (closely followed by train), so long as the bus route isn't exactly parallel to the tram all the way (looking at you, buses going from Ashton to manchester) then it serves a purpose.

 

[daodao]

Nexus Move appear to run mainly Mellor Strata minibuses.

Diamond have picked up the 370/371, the 150 and the X50. Only the X50 is operating today- Citaros are running it at the moment.

On the revised 370/371 and 150, which are now entirely subsidised tendered routes, there is now the ludicrous situation where the Mon-Sat daytime service is run by a new operator (Rotala trading as Diamond NW), but Stagecoach continue their existing Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operation. TfGM should have terminated the previous tender award for the Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operations and put the whole service out to tender as a single package for each route, so that the fully tendered service for each route would be provided by a single operator. Different operators for the same route at different times confuses the public and is user unfriendly due to the absence of ticket inter-availability for returns, day riders and season tickets.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They can of course tender for that interavailability though it'll cost them more. It used to be a standard Milton Keynes Council tender stipulation. Plus there are the System One tickets.

 

[markymark2000]

On the revised 370/371 and 150, which are now entirely subsidised tendered routes, there is now the ludicrous situation where the Mon-Sat daytime service is run by a new operator (Rotala trading as Diamond NW), but Stagecoach continue their existing Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operation. TfGM should have terminated the previous tender award for the Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operations and put the whole service out to tender as a single package for each route, so that the fully tendered service for each route would be provided by a single operator. Different operators for the same route at different times confuses the public and is user unfriendly due to the absence of ticket inter-availability for returns, day riders and season tickets.

TFGM will keep doing stuff like this as then when passengers complain, they then reply spouting pro franchising/anti deregulation propaganda to try and increase their fight against the big bad private bus operators. TFGM has no intention of a joined up network until franchising comes in and then the joined up network will be kicking everyone off buses at tram stops so that they can get rid of all buses within the city centre as per Manchester City Councils aims.

 

[323235]

On the revised 370/371 and 150, which are now entirely subsidised tendered routes, there is now the ludicrous situation where the Mon-Sat daytime service is run by a new operator (Rotala trading as Diamond NW), but Stagecoach continue their existing Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operation. TfGM should have terminated the previous tender award for the Sunday and Mon-Sat evening operations and put the whole service out to tender as a single package for each route, so that the fully tendered service for each route would be provided by a single operator. Different operators for the same route at different times confuses the public and is user unfriendly due to the absence of ticket inter-availability for returns, day riders and season tickets.

Most people will now be buying £2.00 singles, £5.00 System One day tickets, £20.60 system one week tickets etc, so it doesn’t matter whether 2 different companies run the service all that much anymore. If anything it encourages the transition towards bus franchising fares.

Soon buses in Greater Manchester will all be in the same colours regardless of operator.