North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

[Rick Hunter]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak
The driver coming off the 288 will likely use the airport toilet before running empty to Wilmslow. Management obviously haven't thought about such facilities when arranging the breaks. Most 88 drivers now take their break in Macclesfield so at least they can use the rest room on the bus station.

(02/06/2020 11:05)knutstransport Wrote:  Not sure where the driver could use toilet facilities though - the station facilities are usually off-limits to those not possessing a ticket, which then leaves the customer toilets in the supermarkets. There's certainly no public toilets at or near the main bus stands in Wilmslow, unlike in Altrincham and Knutsford.

[M60lad]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak
Are there any plans for 89 to Northwich to make a comeback now most operators are running near normal services?

I know Warringtons Own will be back running their Cat 9 service via the full route to/from Warrington from next week.

[knutstransport]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(02/06/2020 21:30)Rick Hunter Wrote:  The driver coming off the 288 will likely use the airport toilet before running empty to Wilmslow. Management obviously haven't thought about such facilities when arranging the breaks. Most 88 drivers now take their break in Macclesfield so at least they can use the rest room on the bus station.

With the interworking arrangements between the 88 and 288 being different to normal, are any workings specifically allocated one of the larger Enviros, or does it depend which vehicle the driver chooses or the mileage before next service figures?

Also on a related point are there currently 2 or 3 Versas at Wincham, given the 82 only currently requires 2 vehicles?

[knutstransport]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(03/06/2020 05:52)M60lad Wrote:  Are there any plans for 89 to Northwich to make a comeback now most operators are running near normal services?

As the 88 and 89 are part of the same contract I wonder whether the council have said to suspend the 89 in favour of keeping Macclesfield-Knutsford-Wilmslow-Altrincham services running, without them needing to provide additional subsidy.

Given the mention of a bus running empty from Wilmslow to Northwich and then back to Wincham, I find it strange D&G aren't even running a token 89 service that fits around everything else they are running.

[iMarkeh]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(03/06/2020 08:35)knutstransport Wrote:  As the 88 and 89 are part of the same contract I wonder whether the council have said to suspend the 89 in favour of keeping Macclesfield-Knutsford-Wilmslow-Altrincham services running, without them needing to provide additional subsidy.

Given the mention of a bus running empty from Wilmslow to Northwich and then back to Wincham, I find it strange D&G aren't even running a token 89 service that fits around everything else they are running.

The 89 is pretty dead so while it is part of the same contract, Macc takes priority as it is more useful to CEC residents. I think that if the timings worked out, they would just scrap the 89 but right now, you would have buses sat in Knutsford for 1h 30 so it's a case of, 'we might as well run the 89 because it saves a bus being sat around doing nothing'.

[knutstransport]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(03/06/2020 13:39)iMarkeh Wrote:  The 89 is pretty dead so while it is part of the same contract, Macc takes priority as it is more useful to CEC residents. I think that if the timings worked out, they would just scrap the 89 but right now, you would have buses sat in Knutsford for 1h 30 so it's a case of, 'we might as well run the 89 because it saves a bus being sat around doing nothing'.

It would be more financially beneficial to run an hourly service between Knutsford and Macclesfield. When Bakers, Bowers and GHA ran an hourly Knutsford-Macclesfield it had a higher average loading than the 289. Knutsford-Macclesfield journeys will probably be much higher once lockdown restrictions are lifted further and people start attending postponed appointments at Macclesfield Hospital, while the people (from both Wilmslow and Knutsford) who've submitted benefit claims due to loss of work and have not yet had to attend Job Centre appointments will find they start being asked to attend appointments at Macclesfield Job Centre, due to Wilmslow Job Centre having permanently closed.

The question with Tabley and Pickmere for CEC is whether subsiding the 89 is better value than money than their FlexiLink service serving those villages. I don't know if it's still the case but there were 2 or 3 commuters using the 89 to work in Knutsford, which is why the 06:45 Northwich to Knutsford was included as part of the tender requirement. When Howards ran the 289 they wanted that journey removed due to low numbers and being an operational inconvenience but it got deemed as essential due to transporting workers and not just being a left over positional move from when GHA operated the 289 from Tarvin depot.

The 89 is also used by some elderly residents from the Lilac Avenue area of Knutsford to get in and out of town, now that the 300 no longer exists.

[Rick Hunter]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak
The depot assistant manager allocates the buses, it's not down to driver choice which bus goes where. The free bus is contracted for a large Enviro200 and it had 32 on it today. 30 was on the 288 and 88 shorts on Monday but small Enviro200 54 was on that turn yesterday. All 3 Versas are now at Wincham with big Enviro200s 30, 32 and 33.

(03/06/2020 08:32)knutstransport Wrote:  With the interworking arrangements between the 88 and 288 being different to normal, are any workings specifically allocated one of the larger Enviros, or does it depend which vehicle the driver chooses or the mileage before next service figures?

Also on a related point are there currently 2 or 3 Versas at Wincham, given the 82 only currently requires 2 vehicles?

[Rick Hunter]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak
All Wincham depot buses now fuel at Northwich Tesco, regardless of which route they have been on. This is due to now using Centrebus fuel cards which are valid there and not at the other various filling stations that were being used.

(03/06/2020 08:35)knutstransport Wrote:  Given the mention of a bus running empty from Wilmslow to Northwich and then back to Wincham, I find it strange D&G aren't even running a token 89 service that fits around everything else they are running.

[Rick Hunter]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak
There are 2 staff that work in Booths regularly use the 89. Before the roster change in February the regular driver of the 16.02 Knutsford to Northwich used to wait for them and depart late as they finish at 16.00. At the moment they are using the train A woman that works in Knutsford dry cleaners was the regular 06.45 Northwich to Knutsford passenger.

(03/06/2020 14:01)knutstransport Wrote:  . I don't know if it's still the case but there were 2 or 3 commuters using the 89 to work in Knutsford, which is why the 06:45 Northwich to Knutsford was included as part of the tender requirement. When Howards ran the 289 they wanted that journey removed due to low numbers and being an operational inconvenience but it got deemed as essential due to transporting workers and not just being a left over positional move from when GHA operated the 289 from Tarvin depot.

The 89 is also used by some elderly residents from the Lilac Avenue area of Knutsford to get in and out of town, now that the 300 no longer exists.

[knutstransport]

RE: North West Bus Service Changes due to Coronavirus outbreak

(03/06/2020 19:43)Rick Hunter Wrote:  The depot assistant manager allocates the buses, it's not down to driver choice which bus goes where. The free bus is contracted for a large Enviro200 and it had 32 on it today. 30 was on the 288 and 88 shorts on Monday but small Enviro200 54 was on that turn yesterday. All 3 Versas are now at Wincham with big Enviro200s 30, 32 and 33

I thought the Handforth Dean bus got a large bus because it's the same vehicle that does the 188 now. It used to get a 28 seater Solo when it was the bus off the 08:00 Altrincham to Knutsford and the bus off the 188 went on the 89.