Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

[33109]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts
When are the results of the consultation due back? A lot of people are starting to get nervous about the outcome.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

(15/07/2017 09:28)urmstonian Wrote:  The TFGM timetable makes no mention of any TFGM subsidy. It only states "Bus 88 is provided with the financial support of Cheshire East Council"

Although the printed D&G timetable booklet says "Service 88 is provided with financial support from Cheshire East Council and Transport for Greater Manchester"

[urmstonian]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

(15/07/2017 10:18)knutstransport Wrote:  Although the printed D&G timetable booklet says "Service 88 is provided with financial support from Cheshire East Council and Transport for Greater Manchester"

Having looked into it in more detail that seems to be correct - TFGM pay a capped contribution to Cheshire East but don't appear to advertise that in their leaflet.

[urmstonian]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

(15/07/2017 20:08)Dentonian Wrote:  There might be other complications, as I've heard that Arriva are further reducing services in Trafford/South Manchester from September, and this could impact on existing tenders in the area (which may or may not involve 288).

Why doesn't this surprise me?! The September timetables are on the Arriva website already. The 18 seems to be re-routed to go direct to Altrincham down Chester Road from Stretford - no longer via Wythenshawe! It combines with the 245 to provide a bus every 15 mins.
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/north-west/s...ate=170903

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts
MCT charge £2.20 single from the Airport to Altrincham,£4.10 return or £13.50 for a weekly ticket. With D&G from Hales Barnes it's £3.50, £5 and £15. While MCT don't run the Sun evening 288 there's no 88 on Sun so the 288 is still the cheapest option available.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

(15/07/2017 20:08)Dentonian Wrote:  I would have thought the 88 was of far more value to East Cheshire than of Trafford, so 33% cost to GM tax-payers seems a bit steep.

I was making the point about how much of the route is in Greater Manchester, not how much of the funding should be from TfGM. It was recently reported the current 5/35 funding from TfGM is around 8% (which probably does relate to the amount of the route in GM) but Warrington Council wanted them to increase it to around 40% and something between the two has been agreed on.

You could argue the benefits are both ways e.g. someone unemployed in Altrincham who doesn't have a car might get a job in Wilmslow - so someone in Greater Manchester benefits but then the business in Cheshire benefits from having a greater pool of potential employees to choose from.

Quote:Presumably, the cap (mentioned later) is partly there in case East Cheshire decide to award based on percieved VFM rather than just price.

From what's been reported the overall 88 subsidy is a high fixed amount but almost all of the fare revenue goes back to the council, which isn't normally the way Cheshire East award contracts for 'higher usage' subsided contracts and is very different to the type of contract GHA had for the 88 route.

Quote:I would agree with you regarding 88/288, though it would probably need the 88 being reduced to hourly, intertiming with the 288 to give a straight 30 minute service on common stretches of route. Presumably your point about fare differentials only applies to single fares, as an AnyBus DaySaver costs £5.60 max, and as TFGM fares are based on "standard" commercial fares, I would have thought the 288 would cost at least £2.80 single from Hale Barns to Alty, never mind the Airport.

I posted some fare comparisons earlier. I'm not sure if MCT have a fixed single fare for the 288 or whether it would be cheaper for Hale Barnes to Altrincham than Manchester Airport to Altrincham. I was surprised when I got on a 288 bus at the Airport and asked for Altrincham for the driver to say £2.20!

I'm not sure how fare increases have affected people in GM but in Cheshire increased fares have resulted in shoppers walking in to town and getting the bus back (when they've got shopping), rather than getting the bus both ways.

Quote:There might be other complications, as I've heard that Arriva are further reducing services in Trafford/South Manchester from September, and this could impact on existing tenders in the area (which may or may not involve 288).

I think the Arriva 288 Sunday evening service is really a left over as they already had a contract to run Sunday evening services between the Airport and Altrincham when they decided it was no longer commercially viable to run them at other times. Hopefully the MCT 288 contract ends at the same time as the Arriva contract so any future contract can have one consistent operator.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts
I walked 2.5 miles each way the other day because there wasn't a bus where I needed to get to at the time I needed to go. Even where there is a bus it can be so infrequent or inconsistent that it's useless for everyone except ENCTS holders who can time their shopping trips around the bus. (The 289 route was the one in question.)

Some private driving instructors are only trainee instructors. They are legally allowed to take out learners but their ability to train learners is unproven. Consequently using one of them might mean you need more lessons than using AA, BSM etc.

£15,000 is probably a quote from an insurer who doesn't want to insure 25s, or a quote for insuring a new driver on a Ferrari.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts
Turns out Cheshire East have £408,000 of unspent S106 funds at a time when they apparently can't afford to fund bus services: http://www.wilmslow.co.uk/news/article/1...provements

[mikestone]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts
They could have started by saving some money by not mowing the verges on David Whitby Way which has footpaths and cycleways both sides despite only leading to the A500, and the vast majority of HGV traffic still uses Weston Road.

[knutstransport]

RE: Cheshire East proposed funding cuts

(10/08/2017 19:28)Dentonian Wrote:  Surely, if the intention was to improve the 312, then the money should have gone to TFGM, and not Cheshire East.

No S106 funding has to go to the same local authority as the one who grants the planning permission.

It's not clear from the article what the 312 improvements are set to be but the mention of 5 extra bus stops makes it sound like a short extension beyond Handforth Dean.