Stagecoach Manchester

[Mayneway]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(10/12/2016 16:23)Dentonian Wrote:  Actually, your "rant" covers the situation reasonably well, although I have no sympathy for the 38 as it was only introduced to fight a bus war with First, effectively at the expense of loyal passengers on Reddish Road and numerous other low car ownership corridors.

As you have inferred (sorry, Mayneway, you're "everything is TFGM's fault" is wide of the mark again), Portland Street is purely a Manchester City Council initiative. Yes, Oxford Road is largely a TFGM initiative, alongside LGB and Rochdale Road, but I can tell you from a recent meeting that I attended, that there is a lot of anger amongst front line TFGM staff at MCC's consistent refusal to enforce ANY of their own rules on either Portland Street or Oxford Road. Indeed, based on my last couple of journeys along Portland Street, there are MORE non-pcvs between Aytoun Street and Princess Street than ever.
Not quite sure how this will have a negative impact on trams though, and maybe that's where we (and certainly, wirralbus) should be looking for ulterior motives.

Incidentally, and noting you specifically mentioned MRI, when you say three knock downs in a week, what sort of "vehicles" were involved?

Without getting into a pointless debate on the good and the ugly of TFGM, as far as I'm aware the cycle system along Portland street was down to TFGM. Yes the council are involved setting up there nasty cameras on every section just for buses and taxis - proving it's another cash cow.
TFGM seem to have gone cycle crazy with there cycle priority traffic lights and carving up of town centres for these pointless stretches of cycle lanes that simply disappear into thin air.

On your recent trips to Ashton have you weighed up the cycle priority traffic lights outside the swimming baths?? It's fascinating watching all the buses and cars held up on a Saturday afternoon while the lights sit on green for 4 minutes every cycle (no pun intended) for the hundreds of invisable cyclists crossing Oldham road.


I'm sure in the long run the city centre may be a better place, obviously Rome wasn't built in a day but we carnt avoid pointing some of the blaim for congestion on TFGM. One major issue is their unwillingness to set traffic lights to work in conjunction with each other. As I've said in the past you don't have to travel far on a 216 out of Ashton so see this!