Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

[dca529x]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(30/07/2017 15:50)knutstransport Wrote:  I did think why are they terminating buses from Manchester at Wilmslow if they are Macclesfield depot buses.

Although this may be a 'mistake' in posting, the fact remains that it was compiled, and must have been done so for a reason.
That in itself is a concern about their direction of thought for this service.
The proposed Cheshire East cuts/revisions involving the 27, 88 and 289 are now floating around and you have to wonder how this sits against that.

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(30/07/2017 13:38)CKC 312L Wrote:  I know how an independent operator works having close to 20 years in the bus industry both as a driver and a supervisor and I have also worked for both big group companies as well a small indies not all small companies have a break in service to facilitate a driver break plus a company like Howards could look at using a school driver who just does am/pm schools to cover meal breaks
It would be a shame if an all day service was lost because of managed decline by whoever the operator might be big or small

I was simply pointing out what has happened with a number of routes which are being operated by smaller operators - 87/99, 300, (D&G) 378 are all examples where a replacement driver is not sourced to cover driver breaks.

Of course the issue with using the 'school bus driver' to cover a lunch break is what happens in school holidays. You suggested Howards who do currently operate existing services to both Macclesfield and Wilmslow but that might not be the case from next April.

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(30/07/2017 16:19)dca529x Wrote:  The proposed Cheshire East cuts/revisions involving the 27, 88 and 289 are now floating around and you have to wonder how this sits against that.

I imagine Cheshire East will try to avoid getting involved in the Mon-Sat 130 service unless Arriva withdraw the service and even then their first action will probably be to try and find another operator willing to run, at least part of the route, on a commercial basis.

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(30/07/2017 15:15)Dentonian Wrote:  Before everyone gets carried away, it looks like somebody at ANW has dropped a massive b*****k. I'm not saying which version is correct and which is wrong - especially as a certain other Operator in GM make far more mistakes on EBSRs than they did on proper paper registrations - but this attachment bears NO relation to the Registration supplied to TFGM.

Cheshire East have also been shown a different version to the one they've advertised

Cheshire East council Wrote:130 Arriva PC0002598/290 Macclesfield - Manchester: route and timetable revised with service improvements.

I wonder if someone's forgot to include the services which follow the revised route?

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot
Arriva have confirmed the revised 130 timetable on their website is incorrect.

[dennis-loline]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot
the 130 route on arriva site as now been updated and makes more sense when read.

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(11/08/2017 10:32)dennis-loline Wrote:  the 130 route on arriva site as now been updated and makes more sense when read.

New corrected timetable: https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/GetTimetable...903-171108

I've noticed the last bus to Macclesfield from Wilmslow is now 20:00 on weekdays and 19:02 on Saturdays. Evening peak departures are still inconsistent though - after 15:08 from Macc the departure times are 15:48, 16:35, 17:10 and 18:25 and from Wilmslow southbound departure times are 15:40, 16:20, 17:34, 18:14, 18:47, 19:29 and 20:00.

[dca529x]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(11/08/2017 10:48)knutstransport Wrote:  New corrected timetable: https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/GetTimetable...903-171108

I've noticed the last bus to Macclesfield from Wilmslow is now 20:00 on weekdays and 19:02 on Saturdays. Evening peak departures are still inconsistent though - after 15:08 from Macc the departure times are 15:48, 16:35, 17:10 and 18:25 and from Wilmslow southbound departure times are 15:40, 16:20, 17:34, 18:14, 18:47, 19:29 and 20:00.

There some improvements :
Later departures from Manchester through to Macc on Mon - Sat
Very early departures from Macc to Manchester Mon - Fri, similarly on Sat, but not as early.
No doubt this reflects the all Macc allocation.

The peak service although hardly changed, is still a mess, with increased running time busting the clockface frequency, which doesn't bother me, but is hardly attractive to ordinary punters.

The 5 min layover at Macc during the midday period, one of the main causes of unreliability (lack of recovery) remains.

On Saturday the ridiculously last bus out of Macc stays at 1708, another disincentive to anybody working there and using the service for work.

Probably works nicely for driver duty efficiency and compilation though.

Overall, a disappointment.

[knutstransport]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(11/08/2017 13:27)dca529x Wrote:  There some improvements :
Later departures from Manchester through to Macc on Mon - Sat
Very early departures from Macc to Manchester Mon - Fri, similarly on Sat, but not as early.
No doubt this reflects the all Macc allocation.

The peak service although hardly changed, is still a mess, with increased running time busting the clockface frequency, which doesn't bother me, but is hardly attractive to ordinary punters.

The 5 min layover at Macc during the midday period, one of the main causes of unreliability (lack of recovery) remains.

On Saturday the ridiculously last bus out of Macc stays at 1708, another disincentive to anybody working there and using the service for work.

Probably works nicely for driver duty efficiency and compilation though.

Overall, a disappointment.

With the 27 service being cut back so drastically in recent years it seems Arriva don't have to make any effort to get the Macclesfield to Macclesfield Hospital/Broken Cross/AstraZeneca passengers, as the 27 service is so unattractive in it's current form.

[dca529x]

RE: Arriva North West - Winsford Depot

(11/08/2017 15:23)Dentonian Wrote:  "Busting" clockface frequencies is a necessary evil nowadays I'm afraid. Layover times however are not the problem. Increased layover indicates either insufficient running time or inefficient crew changeovers, so do not address the route cause. Most bus stations - in GM, at least - are tight for slots so "on paper" 5 minutes is both the minimum allowed by Unite (occasionally 4 minutes is accepted at less busy termini) and the maximum allowed by TFGM unless on a double stand occupied by just one Operator.

In the case of the 130, the running time is insufficient. to increase it would reduce the stand time to a 'minus', in reality increasing it to around 25 mins, that means increased resource, which just isn't on. So, leave r/t alone, run it round on tight turnrounds and watch the service gradually collapse as the day progresses. This is what has been happening for quite some time, and the new TT just doesn't address that issue.

The bus station at Macc could accommodate increased stand time, it already does for the 27. No doubt to get efficient duties for that with culmulative stand time there, throughout the day.