Lost Bus Routes of Greater Manchester: The Not So Perfect 10

Defunct bus routes in Greater Manchester formed after deregulation day

For the most part of the last 25 years, bus operations outside London have been subject to the worst excesses of neo-liberal economics.  Networks have continuously shifted to meet ‘market demands’, resulting in an unstable system which has seen falling passenger numbers.  This has seen inferior service quality, higher fares and older vehicles on our streets.  Greater Manchester is no exception, and even more so, having had at one time some 71 operators within the GMPTE ticketing boundary.

Despite all this it has given us many weird and wonderful routes.  It has also done more to increase the use of minibuses on streets once unserved by standard buses, and brought competition to soap opera type proportions.  Bad points aside, there has been few dull moments.

As the creative genius behind East of the M60 has missed more buses than the average car loving Tory voter, this installment of The Not So Perfect Ten focuses on lost bus routes in the Greater Manchester area.  All routes suffixed with an asterisk denote the ones I have travelled on myself.

Each entry includes reference to its replacement routes, correct to August 2009.

• X5: Stockport – Cheadle – Trafford Centre (Limited Stop);
• 600: Mossley (Hey Farm) – Ashton-under-Lyne – Trafford Centre (Limited Stop)*;
• 341: Uppermill – Ashton-under-Lyne  (via Mossley);
• D32: Ashton – Hyde Circular (via King Street, Dukinfield);
• 333: Ashton-under-Lyne – Hyde – Hattersley*;
• S36: Ashton-under-Lyne – Glossop*;
• 398: Grotton – Oldham – Ashton-under-Lyne*;
• P1: Dukinfield (Yew Tree) – Ashton – Oldham (via Crowhill)*;
• 434: Manchester – Ashton-under-Lyne (via Newton Heath and Failsworth);
• X9: Bolton – Manchester (Express)*.

1: Stockport – Trafford Centre (X5)
On our imaginary journey, we take the X5 from Stockport bus station to the Trafford Centre.  To commemorate the opening of Peel Holdings’ cathedral to consumerism, Stagecoach Manchester launched limited stop route X5 in September 1998.  This followed the 371 route up to Cheadle before joining the M56.

What happened next: the route was withdrawn after 2 years.  For most passengers it was easier to get a 371 between Cheadle and Stockport.  Given the high concentration of car ownership and affluent population, it lost out, unanimously to the car.

2: Trafford Centre – Mossley, Hey Farm (600)
Launched also at the same week as the X5 was the 600 from Mossley, Hey Farm estate.  Whereas the X5 had an hourly frequency on Monday – Saturday, the 600 was a much more limited affair (1 return journey, Saturdays only).  Operated by First Pennine, it was a limited stop route which called at Mossley (Hey Farm, Bottom Mossley and Brookbottom), Ashton-under-Lyne, Denton and Brinnington, before joining the M60 motorway.  There was also further stops at the Portwood junction of the M60 motorway and Stretford Arndale Centre.

What happened next: the route withdrawn in August 1999.  A faster option for most Tameside residents would have been the car: the journey took 50 minutes from Hey Farm.  With its pitiful frequency, a train to Manchester Victoria, and the 100 from Arndale Bus Station would have been a better alternative.  Even now, it is more convenient for Tameside bus users to change at Manchester city centre (for example, 216/219 from Ashton then the 250).


3: Mossley – Ashton-under-Lyne (341):
Between these two points, I could in 2009 catch the 350, or (from the 3rd August) the S50.  From the start of deregulation, two independent companies made an impact in Mossley: one was Checkmate Coaches, the other, Dennis’ Coaches.  The latter company, from the 27th October 1986, launched a new service to Ashton.
            Compared with the 350, Dennis’ used standard excursion coaches for their service.  It also differed from the GM Buses service by being the first bus route in Tameside to stop at an ASDA store.  Along with sister route 342, it gave Uppermill and Mossley a link with the store on Langham Street.

What happened next: the route was an early casualty of deregulation, being withdrawn by the summer of 1987.  Most of the route is covered by First Pioneer’s 350 route with the section to Langham Street covered by Stagecoach Manchester’s 231 from Queen’s Road to Waterloo (Oldham Road/Wilshaw Road junction).  The ASDA store moved to its present site on Cavendish Street in April 1989, served by the 41/330/335/345 bus routes.

4: Ashton-under-Lyne – Hyde Circular (D32):
Dukinfield in the latter part of the 1980s and early 1990s saw a glut of minibuses on short distance local routes.  For example, GM Buses had the number 1 route, which competed with Pine Coaches’ P1 route, and Bee Line Buzz Company service 14.  Lesser known was Dennis’ Coaches route D32, launched in May 1990.  The route whisked passengers in the direction of Hyde via King Street and Ashton Road before returning to Ashton.

What happened next: there is little reference of this route (though I would be grateful if anyone had any further information).  However, most of the route was replaced by extensions of their 216 and 219 services to Manchester – calling at the forecourt of the Morrisons store off Foundry Street.  The Dukinfield extensions of the 216 and 219 were withdrawn by February 2001.

5: Hattersley – Hyde – Ashton-under-Lyne (333):
Another pioneering operator of the late 1980s and early 1990s was Stuarts Bus and Coach.  Formerly known as Trimtrack, the coach company started bus operations on Deregulation Day, carving a niche around Hyde, Newton and Hattersley.
             Our imaginary journey has taken us to the 1981 version of Hyde bus station with its draughty stands.  I take my place at Stand D for an Ashton bound 333, operated with an Alexander bodied Daimler Fleetline, de rigeur for 1991.  The 333 began at Hattersley, continuing to Hyde and Ashton, via Dukinfield Town Hall.

What happened next: the route was renumbered 3 to avoid confusion with the Ashton – Smallshaw Circular service.  It outlasted Stuarts Bus and Coach’s stage carriage operations, following the company’s loss of GMPTE contracts and safety record.  The route was taken over by Stagecoach Manchester who extended it to Glossop and renumbered them as two routes (398/399) in 1998.  The section between Ashton – Hyde was withdrawn, due to duplication of sister route 330. 
               The Hyde – Glossop section remains, albeit with some journeys amalgamated with former Glossopdale route 341 and other journeys renumbered 397.  Since 2007, both routes have been operated by Speedwellbus.

6: Ashton-under-Lyne – Glossop (S36):
In 2002, Speedwellbus was established as a private hire company in Glossop.  Two years later, it began bus operations with the S36 service to Ashton-under-Lyne, competing with Stagecoach Manchester’s 236/237 services.
             Back in Ashton, our imaginary journey has taken us to 2004 with the sight of one of Speedwellbus’ pristine Optare Solos.  The S36 continued to Tameside Hospital, Stalybridge, Mottram-in-Longdendale and Hollingworth, before stopping at Glossop.

What happened next: the S36, which entered Glossop via Back Moor, lost out to Stagecoach Manchester.  Their 236/237 routes were rerouted via Back Moor, with another route (238) being diverted to serve Tameside Hospital.  Being robbed of these unique selling points saw the withdrawal of the S36.  Soon after, Speedwellbus won the tender for the 238 (formerly the Ashton – Hattersley – Hyde extension of the 201) and the 239.  The 238 has since been renumbered 387 and is operated by First Pioneer.

7: Ashton-under-Lyne – Oldham – Grotton (398):
After a pint at The Star Inn near Glossop railway station, our imaginary journey sees us returning on the S36 to Ashton.  We finish up at Stand M of Ashton bus station and see a crowd of people leaving the then new Arcades Shopping Centre.  I was back in 1995 and realised that I had left my Teen Travel Club card at home and didn’t want to pay GM Buses North fares aboard the 409 to Oldham.
             I chose the Stotts service 398, operated by a former South Yorkshire PTE Leyland Atlantean.  The Alexander bodied bus in its smart livery whisks me to Oldham for the princely sum of 90p (actual 1995 adult fare to Oldham from Ashton aboard their route).  The service followed the 409 route up to Oldham (West Street) before continuing to Grotton via St. Mary’s Way and Lees Road.

What happened next: the service was withdrawn by 1996, giving GM Buses North (and ultimately First Manchester) monopoly status between Ashton and Oldham on the 409 route.

8: Oldham – Ashton-under-Lyne – Dukinfield (P1):
The P1 was for a short time Pine Coaches’ sole route, linking Dukinfield (Yew Tree) with the Morrisons store and Ashton-under-Lyne.  It differed by dedicating one stretch of its route (Armadale Road) to genuine hail and ride operation, without the need for conventional bus stops.
             On my imaginary journey back to Ashton, I am back in October 1991 where I eschew the Leyland Atlanteans of GM Buses (Northern Counties) and Bee Line (Eastern Coach Works) on the 409 for a Mercedes minibus.  The route followed that of the 409 between Oldham and Waterloo (Dog and Partridge), entering Crowhill via Littlemoss Road, and continuing to Ashton bus station.  The Dukinfield section followed the 340 route up to Armadale Road, which it would take to reach Morrisons, before terminating at Yew Tree.

What happened next: the P1 service was withdrawn in 1992, a year after its extension to Oldham.  Much of the route lives on in the form of the 41 (except for the Morrisons link via Armadale Road North) and the 337, both operated by Speedwellbus and First Pioneer.

9: Ashton – Failsworth – Manchester (434):
After returning home to find my lost Teen Travel Club pass, I get the P1 back to Ashton and return once more to the late 1990s in my fantasy time-travelling mission.  Waiting in the same bay as the 419 route (M stand again, with the 400/401), I board the 434 operated by First Manchester.
             Much of the 434 service had its roots in Citibus service 428.  The main variation was its route out of Ashton.  Whereas the 428 followed the 409 up to Hollins Road junction in Hathershaw, the 434 followed the former 332 route via Turner Lane, then followed the 428 route via Hollinwood, Failsworth and Newton Heath.

What happened next: the 434 was renumbered 396 in 2001, terminating at Newton Heath.  The route was operated by Vale of Manchester till 2004 before its present operator Speedwell Bus (along with sister route 395, Limehurst Farm) took over.

10: Bolton – Manchester (X9):
I am more or less back in the recent past of 2004.  After winning the 400 Trans-Lancs Express the previous year, Horwich based independent Blue Bus launched a new express service to Bolton from Manchester.  With a journey time of 38 minutes, it followed the number 8 route up to Moses Gate, with non-stop running on the A666 bypass.  From there it joined the M60/M61 motorways before joining the A580 for Swinton, Pendleton and Salford, before reaching Manchester.  Within Manchester, the service stopped at Albert Square and Piccadilly Gardens, before calling at Deansgate and returning to Bolton via Bridge Street.
             A small number of buses, including an Optare Metroliner minibus received promotional liveries.  This had its roots in an earlier plan to add a special livery for the 400 route.

What happened next: September 2004 saw the withdrawal of the X9 due to low usage.  As Blue Bus was having some financial problems at the time, the business was sold to Arriva North West on the 31st July 2005.  The limited stop section between Manchester and Swinton is covered by Stagecoach North West on their X61 route to Preston.  A slower link to Bolton via Swinton is maintained by First Manchester in the form of their 12, 22, 36 and 37 routes.

Postscript:
With the network continuously changing, it is a task of Herculean proportions to keep up with the times and route revisions.  I know myself being a long-time bus and rail enthusiast for the last 25 years.  Though the timing of service changes seemed to have settled in recent years, updates to the network, could seem more frequent to the average user than his/her software patches – if he/she uses more than one company’s routes.

Whoever gets elected by 2010, there is half a chance that the Greater Manchester bus scene would be as interesting in the next five years as of now and before then.  Though the Big Three (FirstGroup, Stagecoach and Arriva) remain dominant at this moment, I could see in five years from now smaller companies taking a greater share of routes deemed unprofitable by the Big Three.  These would not only include local independents (Jim Stones Coaches, Speedwellbus and JP Travel for example), but third sector groups (for example Partington and Cadishead Transport) and taxi companies.

If the free market model of the 1985 Transport Act remains in place, I could see this happening more within 2 – 3 years.  In fact it is already happening in some parts of Greater Manchester, so we should expect more weird and wonderful routes.

As usual, any comments are welcome, on the routes covered.  Expect to see a follow-up pretty soon (possibly embargoed till the 26th October).

S.V., 30 July 2009

Leylands, Daimlers and Guys… Ooh My!

The Colours of Greater Manchester: Michael Eyre and Peter Greaves (Capital Transport, £22.00)

Tram Sunday: I hate that day with a passion.  This is not so much for the lack of buses, but more so the stalls.  It is an absolute incitement for me to spend silly money on transport books and DVDs.  This year’s was no exception, returning home with three DVDs, two books and a handful of antiquarian bus tickets.

One of my two books is a recently published work by Michael Eyre and Peter Greaves entitled ‘The Colours of Greater Manchester’.  The book focuses on the many liveries used by municipal and private bus operators between 1955 and 1969 in what is now Greater Manchester.  Chapters are devoted to each of the constituents which made up SELNEC, Greater Manchester Transport and its forerunners.

Also covered is Lancashire United, the UK’s biggest independent bus operator before deregulation and its takeover by Greater Manchester Transport.  There is also reference to Hubert Allen’s famed Yelloway coaches and a short chapter devoted to A. Mayne and Son.

As well as displaying the liveries through the ages, photographs have been carefully chosen to give the reader a wide variety of buses used by each operator.  As well as Ralph Bennett’s Mancunian bodied Atlanteans (and his Bolton Transport ones before then), Manchester City Transport airport services and SHMD’s dual-door Daimler Fleetlines are also covered.

For your £22.00, you get an A4 hardback book with 100% full colour photos accompanied with details about the place and the route itself.  The book is an absolute must for any Greater Manchester bus enthusiast.  It’s a great book for the coffee table, suitable also for bogside/bedside reading.

I enthusiastically await a follow-up focusing on deregulation era liveries (which may well be as thick as an Argos Catalogue).  Nice work guys!

S.V., 24 July 2009

Turkeys voting for an early Christmas

A succession of hollow victories or The Great Leap Backwards?

Recent by-election results have seen the Tories gain ground over Labour in their former seats and wards.  The most recent one was Norwich North where the Conservative candidate got twice the number of votes of the second place Labour candidate.  Though third place, the Liberal Democrats saw a drop in their vote.  Is this a Labour problem, or a problem facing the parties on the centre-left to centre of politics?

Critics would state that the expenses scandal, courtesy of the Daily Torygraph, had a main influence on the vote.  This was the claim made after the European Elections where Britain warmed to the right-wing parties.  However, it was not just Britain, but most of the EU Member States’ electorate which swung to the right.  Instead of turning to the left-leaning parties, Little Englander style rhetoric has been exported to mainland Europe, small wonder why UKIP was the second most popular party in Britain at Strasbourg.

Are we voting Tory because we really want a change, or are we really mean spirited enough to vote for cutbacks?  Do we really give a stuff about the unemployed, or would we rather make them suffer?

Cutting jobs would see a reduction in High Street spending due to reduced income, thus reducing income tax and VAT receipts for the chancellor.  Result: reduced receipts leading to further cuts in public spending.  Alternatively, VAT could be extended to more pervasive avenues like transport fares, books and children’s clothing – which would be massively unpopular.

The recession would also see an increased need for public services.  By this I mean the local Jobcentre Plus, the NHS, municipal social services provision and the emergency services.  Cutting jobs in the public sector would be a false economy.  How do we know if private sector or third sector organisations would provide adequate replacements?  Personally I think not.

The third sector should have a complementary role to existing public sector provision rather than as a replacement role.  As for the private sector, well, they have to make a profit and answer to their shareholders.  Therefore, the latter may only cherry-pick the most profitable areas.

Does Tameside need a Tory Government by 2010?  Absolutely not.  With few major employers besides superstore chains, the public sector accounts for more than half the borough’s workforce.  This is not only Tameside MBC but also the NHS.  The borough has already lost jobs from private enterprise with one of its constituencies (Denton and Reddish) reporting a 111% increase in unemployment.  Tameside needs further cuts in employment like I need a hole in the head.

Cutting back the public sector could mean the end of Tameside’s ‘Tameside Works’ programme, designed to help local businesses weather the worst effects of the recession.  Fewer bus services may be subsidised with service cuts reducing employment opportunities (thus exacerbating the recession).  Events like ‘Party in the Park’ would also be a thing of the past.

It doesn’t take a genius to work where the cuts are going to go in Messrs Cameron and Osborne’s Utopia.  If recent reports are anything to go by, they are chomping at the chance to cut and privatise anything at free will.  To be totally honest, Britain needs a Tory Government like we all need holes in our heads.

For anyone wishing to see the reasons against, one should take a trip to South Elmsall, a place which has not recovered from the last Conservative government.  Houses dating from the 1950s are boarded up, examples of which likely to fetch respectable prices – even in this downturn – in more affluent areas.

A Cameron led government could see the gap between the rich and poor widen even further – even though social mobility under this Labour government, is worse than the Great Dole Age of 1980 – 1993.  The recession could mutate into a depression with the unemployed bullied even more.  The public sector could go the way of the dinosaurs. 

As for the North West, there will be several thousand Beasley Streets served by antiquarian trains and buses, taking tourists to the post-historic ruins of 1990s retail parks.  All this would be amid the background of champagne quaffing City bankers, still not taking responsibility for the recession.

Still want to vote Tory?  I take it you don’t remember Toxteth, the Miners’ Strike, the Falklands conflict, the abolition of GLC/GMC and other metropolitan counties, the castration of the trade unions, Poll Tax and privatisation…

I could go on, but that’s best left for another subject.

S.V., 27 July 2009.

Buses in Popular Music: The Not So Perfect Ten

For the purpose of this Not So Perfect Ten, I have decided to focus on the best ten pieces of music featuring buses.  This may include direct or indirect reference to buses in its lyrics, song title, or instrumental pieces.

1. Magic Bus, The Who (1967);
2. Little in the Way of Sunshine, Half Man Half Biscuit (2008);
3. Last Bus, The Salford Jets (1979);
4. The Bus to Crookes, The Human League (1995);
5. Tour Jacket with Detachable Sleeves, Half Man Half Biscuit (1995);
6. Cardiac Arrest, Madness (1982);
7. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, Dawn (1973);
8. The Wheels on the Bus, Mad Donna (2002);
9. Lucky Stars, Dean Friedman (1978);
10. Bus Stop, The Hollies (1965).

First and foremost is a more obvious entry; The Who’s Magic Bus.  There is no reference to defective services nor high bus fares, just a straightforward plea to board their Magic Bus.  Both The Who’s tune and Magic Bus played a part in the early years of bus deregulation.  The first Magic Bus service began on the 26 October 1986 in Glasgow.  Using an AEC Routemaster in an early version of the Stagecoach livery, Brian Souter launched Magic Bus’ cheap and cheerful service taking fares whilst dressed in a rabbit suit!

The Who tune was adapted for a GM Buses advert.  Shown in the run-up to deregulation in the Granada region, it cheerfully announced the dawn of GM Buses, ‘picking you up tomorrow as usual’.  What happened on deregulation day and the day after seemed to be opposite.  On the same day was the first televised Manchester Derby game, resulting in a sub-40,000 attendance (at the time, the lowest ever at Maine Road).  The lure of Brian Moore/Martin Tyler or the fear of bus deregulation chaos?  You decide.

The second is a surreal piece from Half Man Half Biscuit.  On their most recent album CSI:Ambleside, Little in the Way of Sunshine is peppered with references to bus routes around Shropshire.  Parts of the lyrics include advisory signs seen on buses.

From Shropshire to Salford, we see a different side to bus travel immortalised in Last Bus.  Written by The Salford Jets in 1979, it is a wry observation and warning on boarding night buses in Greater Manchester.  Recently, this track has been reissued as part of their ‘Greatest Hits’ album ‘Manchester Boys’.  Headed by Rock Radio DJ Mike Sweeney, they are well worth seeing live.  I saw them perform an acoustic set at The Railway in Greenfield recently and they were great.

On the B Side of The Human League’s comeback single Tell Me When is The Bus to Crookes.  This is a track about the 51 service to that part of Sheffield which begins at Gleadless Town End.  At present, First South Yorkshire operates this service (please tell me if anyone knows different).

Another good bus related song also released in 1995 was Tour Jacket with Detachable Sleeves.  As part of the Half Man Half Biscuit album Some Call It Godcore, the song starts well with a few friends going to a gig at the local polytechnic.  That is until they find it was full of tribute acts, finishing with a bus journey from Hell, ending in an accident.  There is reference to the 71 and 72 bus routes from Liverpool to Heswall via Birkenhead, operated by First Crosville.

Madness’ Cardiac Arrest is more to do with a hellish commute to work.  In the narrative of this song, a time pressed commuter feels frustrated by the slowness of his bus.  Fearing a late arrival, he gets wound up, hence the “I wish this bus would get a move on; driver’s taking his time”.  It almost reminds of some of my bus based commutes from Hell in Greater Manchester.  At least he had a conductor (as seen in the video) aboard his AEC Routemaster rather than a flustered driver trying to balance promptness with encapsulating weekly or monthly bus tickets.

The ninth one has nothing to do with buses whatsoever.  Lucky Stars by Dean Friedman was his biggest and best known UK chart hit.  The conversation with uncredited vocalist Denise Marca could have been anywhere other than aboard the Hale Barns Express.  Its link with buses was Greater Manchester Transport’s ‘Sounds in Motion’ experiment, as (according to anecdotal evidence; my parents) it seemed to have been the only tune played!

The purpose of GMT’s ‘Sounds in Motion’ was to generate extra advertising revenue whilst keeping its passengers aboard the top deck entertained.  8 minutes per hour was allocated to advertising, with 52 minutes for music.  If anybody else could remember ‘Sound in Motion’ (and as to whether they played anything by Supertramp or any other artiste(s) besides Dean Friedman), feel free to comment.

My final one is Bus Stop by the Hollies which is a gentle observational piece of waiting for a bus by the great Graham Gouldman of 10cc fame.  It paints a picture of the boredom endured by passengers at Ashton bus station whose 346 is forever delayed by the schools traffic.

Any further suggestions are welcome.  Cushty!

S.V., 17 July 2009

Feast of the M60: Pie Review

New from East of the M60 – Food Reviews

• Pie: Chicken Curry pie

• Maker: Peters, Bedwas, Caerphilly

• Location: Blakeway’s Chippy, Brighouse, West Yorkshire

I was in search of something suitable to me on till teatime at around 1650 hours.  We thought that a carton of chips or a chip butty would have been too much between our last meal at 1050 hours and our Sunday dinner.

Along with my old man I was watching the 10th Brighouse Brass Band Contest and having a most enjoyable time.  We chose to go to the chippy whilst there was a 4th section band on as we most wanted to see Marsden Silver who were on afterwards.

At Blakeway’s Chippy I stumbled upon the ultimate compromise between chips with curry or a chip muffin.  A Chicken Curry pie.

I have experienced the delights of the Balti Pie from my local Morrisons store and the pie hut at Redditch United’s ground.  Those two specimens were gorgeous so I expected the same high standards of this one.

It didn’t disappoint!  The pastry, though flaky wasn’t the sort of flaky pastry seen in a Greggs sausage roll or some frozen pies.  Whereas my previous two pies had Indian style curry, Peters went for the Chinese style chip shop curry.  It worked like a dream!

The pie had generous chunks of chicken and good pieces at that.  It was well worth the £1.50 price tag and a very moreish pie to boot.  For the health police, there is no MSG, artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and hydrogenated fat.  According to Peters’ website, you can also buy these at Tesco and Sainsburys stores.

FotM60 Rating: 8.5/10

S.V., 07 July 2009.

Give This Man A Job

East of the M60 says ‘no’ to the extradition of Gary McKinnon

A young man highlights the insecurities of US Federal computer system by sending a message about its lack of security.  One would expect the message to be returned more favourably and thank you for exposing this situation.

Now imagine if the message was sent soon after 9/11.  Instead of the kind thanks for acknowledging this error, they go down on this person like a ton of bricks.  They threaten him with 60 years behind bars, some informally wish to ‘let him fry’ by putting him on death row.  Being as this fellow is a British citizen, he is being threatened with extradition.

The subject in question, Gary McKinnon, has an autism spectrum disorder like myself which has led me to follow this case.  This has meant the grotesque shambles of a socialist reading the Daily Mail which has picked up on the campaign this Friday.  I abhor the aforementioned paper’s politics and Conservative leanings but they have succeeded in making this a more mainstream issue beyond the broadsheets and the internet.

Worse (and this is explained most explicitly in the Daily Mail given its Tory stance, as you would expect), it is claimed that the UK Government are in some way favouring the extradition plans.

A trial in the UK is overloading enough for a person with Asperger’s syndrome – let alone extradition and the possibility of a 60 year sentence – or Guantanamo Bay – if taken to America.

Instead of sentencing him for any amount we should give this fellow a job!  He might even make Windows 7 more secure than that present and without any yawning gaps.  Instead we could be sleepwalking towards sending a fellow Aspie to jail in America or worse, Guantanamo Bay.  Oi!! Labour!!! Deal with this at once, on behalf of your fellow brothers and sisters on the autism spectrum.  Like the author of this post.

To sign the petition sponsored by the Daily Mail, click here.

S.V, 06 July 2009.

Tameside Service Changes: Staley Road loses link to outside world

Except on Saturdays

Recent service changes have seen Micklehurst Road and Staley Road disappear from the Greater Manchester bus network, with the exception of a Saturday only service.

Monday to Friday daytime journeys on the 343 (Oldham – Mossley – Hyde) route will follow the evening and Sunday route.  Speedwell Bus, operator of the weekday daytime service has since lost the subsidy from GMITA resulting in this change.  Passengers using the bus from Staley Road or Micklehurst Road will need to walk to Egmont Street or Winterford Road.  Also scrapped is the Buckton Vale Road link which would mean Carrbrook passengers will have to change at The Carrbrook (late Buckton Castle) for the 348 to South View.

Passengers of the 343 from Dukinfield will however see a reduction in journey times to Mossley, equalling First Manchester’s evening route.  The Saturday service operated by JP Travel (which along with the First Manchester service is subsidised) remains unaffected.  The revised timetable also offers better connections for Dukinfield passengers with Flowery Field railway station.

Other changes:

• Passengers of the 219, 330, 347 and 201 routes will benefit from shorter journey times from the 19th July to the end of August.  Stagecoach Manchester will be introducing a summer timetable for these routes;
• The 330 will also have an additional evening journey from Stockport on the Monday – Saturday timetable.  The last bus will leave Stockport at 2345 hours;
• Elsewhere, Speedwell Bus will launch a new service from Mossley Hey Farm to Manchester.  Entitled the S50, it will follow First Manchester’s 350 route to Ashton and the 216 route from there to Manchester.  Its aim is to provide a quicker bus based alternative to the longer 217/218 routes;
• The end of July will see changes to the Haughton Green – Denton – Stockport route 324.  Operated by Stagecoach Manchester in the daytime, there will be a change of operator for its evening journeys.  Monday – Saturday evening services will be operated by JP Travel with the Sunday evening service operated by Travelmaster.

East of the M60 Comment:

To compensate for the lost journeys on the 343, I would like to see Staley Road return to the bus network full time.  This could be achieved by rerouting the 217/218 service via Staley Road.  Another idea could be the rerouting of the 217 via Micklehurst Road with the 218 serving Staley Road.  However the former could be problematic due to the gradient and the width of Micklehurst Road.

S.V., 02 July 2009