First Manchester

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: First Manchester

(26/12/2016 15:53)Alexw12 Wrote:  Since Its a bank holiday, it's nice to see Enviro400s on the 471, but then again it will soon to happen more often

Who's to say Queens Road don't keep the bendies, they seem to be doing a great job

[NorthernCounties]

RE: First Manchester

(26/12/2016 18:36)SF07 Wrote:  Manchester depot buses with Oldham drivers once again on the 81, 83, 184 and 409 for Boxing Day. From what I saw, B9s on the 83 and 409, B5H on the 81 and B5H and B7RLE on the 184.

Saw a hybrid on 409 but I was driving and didn't see which fleet number

[AlexBus12]

RE: First Manchester

(26/12/2016 19:39)T42 PVM Wrote:  Who's to say Queens Road don't keep the bendies, they seem to be doing a great job

All those bendies to fit round Queens Road Bus Depot? The bendies don't fit around the depot when all of the other buses are parked up...

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: First Manchester
Theres nothing to say other routes wont move to other Depots before Bury shuts

[AlexBus12]

RE: First Manchester

(26/12/2016 20:06)T42 PVM Wrote:  Theres nothing to say other routes wont move to other Depots before Bury shuts

Okay, lets say the bendies move to Queens Road. Which routes would you say would have to move, and to were?

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: First Manchester
That is something that would take me a couple of hours to look into, One note i will make now is when Bury and Ashton Under Lyne close the Service level is staying the same so no PVR drop therefore the Bendies have to move over anyway

[Solo40336]

RE: First Manchester
The Bendi's won't fit around Queens Road while the depot is full in the evening/night so can't be going to Queens. There's always the possibility that they will go to Bolton for the 471's as they run that route regularly anyway. The only thing that strikes my mind is the capacity of Bolton and Queens. If the 163s and 135s move to Queens there's quite a few buses to fit in and Bolton can't be far off capacity with the Bury local routes. I've been told Oldham already runs nearly 40 buses less than its full capacity so even if all the Tameside tenders are kept they won't struggle

[Mayneway]

RE: First Manchester

(26/12/2016 21:07)Dentonian Wrote:  What makes you so sure the service level will stay the same? The closure of Dukinfield (the depot is actually nearer Hyde than Ashton) coincides with Tameside local tenders expiring, and there's no guarantee that they will all be renewed by TFGM in the current climate, never mind First winning/retaining them. As for commercial stuff, I know there was a commitment that services would be "unchanged" from Depot closure date, but even if that was true for commercial services, I'm sure its just to stock up more cuts for July. By then, they will have lost passengers alienated by the 7% fare rises and the removal of bus station based Inspectors.

I know you wernt a huge fan Dentonian but it's a pitty a certain Hyde independant isn't still around as they potentially could have done well out of Duky's closure.
Could Stagecoach's Ashton depot become a threat to First once services move to Oldham.

In a way it's a bit like history repeating itself. GM Buses closed thier Tameside depot, despite claiming services locally wouldn't be affected they clearly were so former managers set up a new independant Pennine Blue who took up the slack on services and frequencies that GMB dropped but also ran against them on other routes. Pennine blue was taken over by PMT who became part of First and the rest is history.

[AlexBus12]

RE: First Manchester
Does anyone else think that the Volvo B7LA Wright Streetcar, which they currently use in Yorkshire, could be used on the 135? It would upgrade the current buses and make the route look more appealing!

[Raawwwrrr!]

RE: First Manchester

(27/12/2016 11:00)Alexw12 Wrote:  Does anyone else think that the Volvo B7LA Wright Streetcar, which they currently use in Yorkshire, could be used on the 135? It would upgrade the current buses and make the route look more appealing!

Definitely not. It has an extremely low number of seats (42 in fact!) and requires someone on board to take fares as the drivers cab is isolated from the passengers