Manchester bus franchising

[Mrboo]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(12/01/2023 23:48)Michael Wrote:  I would have thought tfgm will give diamond direct tender awards to maintain the services till September when the franchise starts

And what if they say no thank you. As they maybe want the drivers at Eccles also means they will find less buses and drivers at Bolton at take over. a better move would be to move the 163 to GNW Queens road permanently. As less dead mileage

[MTL0201]

RE: Manchester bus franchising
163 has a large section were that's the only route, & i believe it's quite a busy route too, & only direct link between Heywood & Manchester City Centre, so i doubt that route will be lost forever, 163 needs another operator when Diamond withdraw.

[Michael]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 04:55)Mrboo Wrote:  And what if they say no thank you. As they maybe want the drivers at Eccles also means they will find less buses and drivers at Bolton at take over. a better move would be to move the 163 to GNW Queens road permanently. As less dead mileage

And what happens if drivers say no thank you I'm not moving to Eccles...

[KXW212]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 05:59)MTL0201 Wrote:  163 has a large section were that's the only route, & i believe it's quite a busy route too, & only direct link between Heywood & Manchester City Centre, so i doubt that route will be lost forever, 163 needs another operator when Diamond withdraw.

This only covers the interim period between proposed withdrawal and the start of Phase 1, when GNW take it.
So a 'direct' tender award looks likely, to cover the gap.

[Mayneway]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 04:55)Mrboo Wrote:  And what if they say no thank you. As they maybe want the drivers at Eccles also means they will find less buses and drivers at Bolton at take over. a better move would be to move the 163 to GNW Queens road permanently. As less dead mileage

Queens road are at full stretch which was one of the reasons they withdrew the peak X63. The resources were used taking on additional AM/PM schools.
One potential idea would be to replace the 163 with a Middleton-Heywood-Bury tendered service as passengers already have a link between Manchester and Middleton.
If you look at the 162 that’s been withdrawn from end of January, TFGM are simply paying GNW to extend some 17 journeys from Rochdale to Norden.

Diamond Bolton are desperately short of drivers. It’s a mess. There’s a long way between now and September and this is clearly a business decision.

[Mayneway]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 05:59)MTL0201 Wrote:  163 has a large section were that's the only route, & i believe it's quite a busy route too, & only direct link between Heywood & Manchester City Centre, so i doubt that route will be lost forever, 163 needs another operator when Diamond withdraw.

I wouldn’t say it’s that busy. Once it’s served Langley it’s quiet. It’s also become very unreliable over the last few months with gaps sometimes of over an hour.

[urmstonian]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 04:55)Mrboo Wrote:  And what if they say no thank you. As they maybe want the drivers at Eccles also means they will find less buses and drivers at Bolton at take over. a better move would be to move the 163 to GNW Queens road permanently. As less dead mileage

They always have the option of tendering it out. I doubt they would miss out on the extra income

[Mrboo]

 RE: Manchester bus franchising

(13/01/2023 08:25)Michael Wrote:  And what happens if drivers say no thank you I'm not moving to Eccles...

Well could tell them redundancy as you pick drivers who have less then two years on books to move. There maybr some who be happy to move anyway. Think of the arriva and vision bus drivers and Atlantic & Tyler's too

[Mrboo]

RE: Manchester bus franchising
Manchester Evening news has run a story about the route cuts with DNW giving there reasons.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/...r-25986859

[Michael]

RE: Manchester bus franchising

(16/01/2023 23:48)Mrboo Wrote:  Manchester Evening news has run a story about the route cuts with DNW giving there reasons.
https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/...r-25986859

If Diamond are serious about refusing a subsidy to continue operating the services tfgm are going to have a significant problem covering the services for the five month gap till go take over...there must be at least 12 buses on the 163s alone