Magic with a stripe

As mentioned the magic bus with a stripe. Looks pretty groovy. Hope they all go like this.

Wrong way round.

I'm just at belle vue bus layby waiting for my 168. The bus that i'm taking off is 17626 which is a decent trident but the bus thats being used for taxi to belle vue is 19326. A nice warm 08 enviro 200. I'd rather keep this lol. It's been a while since i did change over here took me a while to figure out where i got my bus from. It certainly beats the pensioner express that is the 345.

Nice change

I was supposed to be on a pretty mundane day of 345s and 330s today but i was asked if i would come to hyde road to cover there driver shortages. So i have. Always something interesting here. The enviro200s are still here doing very little and there are some new enviro400s also doing nothing. Well they are waiting for ticket machines and manchester stickers to be put on. Also i have just seen the new magic bus design with the yellow stripe across the bus. If i get chance i will get a picture later. Doing a 4 hour stint on the 168 and 169 today so should be a nice change.

Here we are again.

I'm on the second part of my bank holiday late at the moment. Sat at the royal oak in glossop waiting to leave on the 236. It's a good duty this one. I get to keep the same bus again on both parts so my break ended up being a trip to kfc at ashton moss. It's always funny seeing peoples faces when you pull up outside in a bus and call in for food. You would think a space ship has landed lol. Anyway the first part was two trips on a 347 which was mental. Crown point retail was hammered which ment busy traffic. I managed to finish the part on time though. It's not helped with it only being a 30 minutes service on sunday which is what we have been running today in case you wondered. Back to ashton now. Got another two trips which sees me finish in glossop town centre at 2155 then its back to depot empty.

Desperate measures.

So much for my three days off. The depot was a bit short of drivers today for some reason so i been drafted in to do a late. I'm on the 346 at the moment at hyde bus station. It's very quiet out tonight. I only picked 3 people up on the way up. The 169 i did before was also very quiet. Got 2 trips on the 330 next which is nice in the evening. Finish at 12 and i'm on a late tomorrow too which means a nice lie in tomorrow too.

All done.

After a tough week it's finally over. Well for three days anyway. I'm finished now until bank holiday monday. No buses back in the depot yet. I think they are back about 7. So for a few days happy christmas and have fun. I will.

Where am i

This one is a joke. Not literally but for an a road this is ridiculous. For some reason a heavy snow fall that lasted only an hour has brought a standstill to the region. An example is a 347 taking almost 3 hours to do a trip around haughton green. A 45 minute gap between 216s and it took me 2 and a half hours to got from glossop market hall to ashton. This picture is mottram road on the way to stalybridge. The 346 is not running the 389 217 218 and 345 are only just surviving with a reduced route and everyone is moaning lol. Anyway is was supposed to finish work at 1220 and i finished at 1355 so i'm going for a few beers to cheer the day up lol

Snowing again

It's snowing again now i'm just waiting for my bus which might be a while. I hear there are serious problems in glossop due to the fire at the caravan place. All traffic is going through hadfield and it's gridlocked now. Not good as i don't really want a long wait sat on a cold man bus. Will see.

Far too early.

It's the last of three very early starts today. I will be glad of the lie in tomorrow. Was dreadin this morning. Have two trips on the 7 and thought i might end up with a cold dart. Luckily i have ended up with one of the scania things we got from maynes which is nice and warm. Off to glossop later although we are still not servicing hadfield and now due to a fire at glossop caravans we are using an alternative route. Not sure where we go yet but will find out later. Everything else is running ok apart from no buses up ridge hill.

Rough day ahead.

I don't think you need me to tell you there has been a lot or snow fall over the past 24 hours or so. I just came down the m60 to stockport and that was bad enough but it looks like the bus stations have not been gritted yet as well as a lot of smaller roads. The a roads are slightly better but i think it's going to be a pretty tough day. God help anyone who complains about late running. I believe the glossor buses were running about an hour late yesterday. I think the major services are running which is more than can be said for first who pulled almost everything off the road for the second year running. Will see how the day unfolds. I'm on 389 later which i don't think will run. We had to leave a bus overnight on that route on saturday night because it got stuck on yew tree lane.

Oh the joys.

With an early start comes an early finish. I have not done a single bit of christmas shopping so i am doing it now. It's mad in ashton at the moment but it needs doing. Then home and to bed i think.

How cold is it today?

I just got to work on a very cold day. This is the reading as i got into the car this morning. The other pic shows the state of the buses after 3 days without a wash. Because we are outside with no roof the wash system at ashton freezes up. We had the same problem last year. Looking at the forecast they might not get washed for another week or so. Once again. Easy to spot an ashton bus. Got 4 trips on the 216 to look forward to this morning. So i'm heading out early to hopefully warm the bus up.

Different day

I was supposed to be on the 237 and 330s today from 1 till 8. It's all been changed because a driver didn't know a couple of schools. I went to Droylsden high to pick them up and they must have finished early because the place was deserted. The next school is st damiens on lees new road. The school is being rebuilt in front of the old one so the bus stop is well set back at the moment. This ment i had to go to holts estate to turn around. Took a while but i'm here now. This one takes us to waterhead. After that it's empty to piccadilly to do a trip on a 219. Very mixed bag from what i was expecting. Although there doesn't seem much life here yet either.

Change of plan.

The 1759 217 is missing so i'm covering that now instead. Happy days lol

Brrrrrrrr

This is the scene along ashton new road at 1630 tonight. Not good weather for driving. Luckily this heavy storm only lasted half hour or it could have been a lot worse. On the 216s at the moment. It's so busy with shoppers tonight.

New territory

I'm not in until 1 today so i thought i would have a look around stockport town. It's raining so i won't be doing too much so called sight seeing, i have never looked around the town before it's a funny hilly place. This part i have never driven past it's the market hall which is up near a church in the centre. I bet it's a nice place to shop in the warmth lol. I found a costa coffee so i'm happy.

Tough luck.

Just on my second half at the moment. Lucky me. I am doing two trips on the 330 in a man bus. To make it worse i am 1701 out of stockport. Just in time for all the people to finish work and come and get on my 42 seater bus. Excellent. We also have a magic bus at our place at the moment. I don't know what it's covering for but its am old bullocks bus 161 something i think the number was. It was on the 237 yesterday i believe. Did 2 trips on the 347 earlier which were boring although a crash at crown point made it slightly interesting!

Look whos in town

It's been a while since i have seen a stotts bus in Ashton. I know they have recently taken over the 407 in Oldham and have a route around stockport. Now they are in Ashton doing the 41 and the 337 i think. Nice to see more competition in the area. Was off all weekend as it was the works chrsitmas outing on saturday night. Even today starting at 12 noon i didnt feel myself lol. Hope to be back to normal in the gym tomorrow morning before another 12 oclock start.
Been chaos in the hills today on the roads. Wakefield road was shut so all traffic was diverted through top mossley. I believe the 217/8 suffered this morning at peak times. There was a crash at Thompson Cross in Stalybridge approx 4pm which had the road closed for a while and the roadworks at the two roundabouts in Glossop are still causing delays in the 236/237. Meanwhile i have been on the 216s today which ran very smoothly and on time on all 3 trips. Sorry the pic is rubbish i was in a rush to get my bus and was not able to post it earlier so i'm doing it now from home.

Here again.

Down the motorway to start from stockport once again so this beast is nice and warm. Well the cab area is. It says - 3 this morning and it feels it out here. I had this bus last night but had to take it out of service because someone dropped a bottle of wine in the lower saloon. Because of this i had to take everyone off straight away and take the bus in to be cleaned. The 30 or so people on the bus were not best pleased with him.

What time!

It's 4am and i'm off to work. Not good at all. On a normal day i would swap this duty for a later start but i have a very busy weekend and need to get finished early. I just come through ashton and noticed the temporary market hall has been levelled into a car park. Didn't take too long i bet as it was just a prefab. Got 5 hours on the 330 and a couple me trips on the 345 today. Really not in the mood for it today. Can't wait for summer lol i miss my bike.

How very DAFt

One of the old scania buses (15382) has taken a knock today whilst it was on the taxis. Might not look bad but there is some bent metalwork inside that means it will be off the road for a while. The replacement we have received is another old shed. The clue is in the posting lol.i have never driven it though so should be fun tomorrow when i get to have a nosey around. Also some posts have been lost somewhere so if they turn up duplicated this is why lol.

Off home.

It's not often i get to finish at this time. It's just gone 3pm and i'm off my 330 and onto the speedwell super bus that is the 396. I got the staff bus in this morning for a change. Save a few quid on fuel. It's a busy trip this one in this little bus. Not as busy as some 216s have been today with 2 man buses and the b10 on there. Whilst 2 enviros are on the 217. Make of it what you wish. There are 4 bank holidays this christmas. 3 are being run from princess road the monday one is a sunday service run from ashton which i will be working. Hopefully a late as always on a bank holiday. I cannot be doing with buggie wars when it's sunday service. Will see. Off to gym after then i'm in on a split tomorrow which is ok i suppose. Friday will be tough with a 430 am start :(

Short week.

First day back after a couple of days off. Not bad considering i am off saturday and sunday too. Just using up excess holidays. Plus it's the ashton driver christmas outing on saturday. Should be fun. Anyway, i'm doing 5 hours on the 217 at the moment. It's been very very quiet on the roads today. I can only assume the lull is down to people being off work. The christmas duties are up at work too so all i heard this morning was moan moan moan. I'm not too bothererd what i do as long as i'm not sat around doing nothing.

Just me

I feel a bit like billy no mates here at the moment. I just got to stockport and there is only me here. There isn't even another bus here yet. I see a 192 and a 42 left as i got in. Got the 17642 trident today which is nice and warm and i keep it all day which is good for my 231s later.

Early morning

It's been a while since i have done an early on a sunday. Just passing katherine street in ashton. It looks so peaceful with no traffic or people about. This morning is empty to stockport then a couple me trips on the 330. I'm first in and first bus out this morning. I'm just happy we don't start at 4am on sundays although i have one of them on friday.

Let down.

This is the taxi bus at the moment. I'm was sat behind this on the way to work earlier. Not in the best of moods today. We have been told that we are no longer getting any new buses because the enviro 200s are being used on the 11 service instead of coming to us. We are getting more man buses instead which will be put on the 7s. Not good news for us. And bad news for the customers too.

This is good.

Nice to see the police are out with the inspectors today. It's always funny seeing the overriders and ticket fraudsters getting what they deserve. I'm waiting for my 7 and saw these getting off the 347 stand! It's just a shame they are never there when you want them to be.

Dont Play Chicken With Buses

Just got back. Not sure if i'm going home yet or not. I don't fancy the 216s now till midnight. Looks like we will be one marshall less in the morning. This has been involved in a bump this evening which is why i just covered the trip.

Mixed bag

This is the plaza theatre in stockport. Was hoping all the neon was turned on outside. It's being done up at the moment from what i see. It's a lovely building. Will get a better picture when it's finished and all the lights are on. Started at 2 today. I was spare but ended up with 3 trips on the blood boiling 216. It's wasn't too bad tonight considering manchester city are playing arsenal tonight at home. Been busy though. I had my break now i just come to stockport to cover the 2017 number 7. Something happened to the bus that was supposed to do it so i been sent. Not a bad thing considering i was going to be floating on the 216s all night.

Winter has come

First day of december has brought us some nice cold weather. It's -4 outside right now and i don't envy anyone sitting upstair on my bus at the moment. The window is all frozen still even though i just run to stockport on the motorway. The cab and lower saloon isn't too bad but could be warmer. This is the joys of a depot based outside i suppose. At least the canteen is nice and warm at work. Last year we just had portacabins which were very cold. One and a half 330s to do now. I just hope i can feel my toes soon.

Bad day.

Today started off very well. Gee cross, glossop, super and easy. Then came the trip and a half on the 7. As soon is i loaded, the half wit at the back of the bus decided that my marshall dart was a party bus with mobile phone music playing very loud. I won't go into any more details but the dummy left the bus before his stop although it was a challenging time. Anyway, the headlights also failed on the bus and once again i ended up in stockport depot getting something fixed on my bus. I did manage to have a peep at the new enviro whilst i was there. Looks nice. There are so many stories about what we are getting at ashton i have stopped believing anything till i see them with my own eyes. Got my training on friday morning before my duty and today i also completed my nvq so some good came from today. Split shift tomorrow so a long day with the gym inbetween. The pic is from the stand on piccadilly last week very peaceful for by change lol.

Perfect day

It might be cold and wet but today is going well. I'm on the 330s which apart from more roadworks at gee cross are pretty simple today. The morning made better by having one of the tridents. Later is a couple of trips on the 7s so i also avoid the football traffic. And then tonight i might pop out for a few beers as i am off tomorrow. Happy days.

Look What I Found

I just finished work and noticed we have driver training next week on the new Enviro 200s. Then when i went outsie look what i found. it looks a nicer bus than i first thought. Can't wait to have a go. I have had to touch the pics up slightly but im sure you get the idea.

Almost goodbye

I heard today that the enviro 200s have started to arrive at hyde road. Thats good because today i have a crap marshall dart. The only good things about the ones we have is the screen can be taken up to there is nothing between you and The passenger. I hate the assault screens, most the time i cannot hear what people are saying and it can cause more problems than it saves when it comes to customer service. Apart from that this bus is rubbish. It's even raining more on the inside than the outside lol. Rant over. Back to ashton for lunch i think.

Royal visit

Just got off the taxi bus to start my day. I noticed the police at the probation officex next to the bus station. Someone said princess anne was visiting for some reason. It's a bit wet to hang around to see so i'll go wait for my 389 instead. Got one trip again followed by 5 hours on the 217. Although i'm pretty wet and cold already so my bus had better be warm.

Long week

I'm just sat at gee cross on my 389. Only got one trip then it's off to glossop which then does the 1850 from town to glossop with about 4 people on. Was hoping to get to hyde road before work to get a picture of the bus which caught fire on gorton lane last night. Not sure of any details but sounded like it's a nasty fire but no casualties luckily. Not had time though so i might nip down tomorrow.

Welcome

Just arriving into work. I remember when i got my transfer up here last year. It took me three attempts to find the place. These two signs were all there was and they are very easy to miss. The bigger of the signs has taken a bit of a beating from the current winds and rain and makes it almost impossible to find us without directions. I just hope today isn't as bad as yesterday. Had a nightmare journey on the 7s last night which started with a breakdown then followed on with bad passengers and a blocked road. So hoping today will be kind.

Break time

Just finished my two very hard trips on the 216. I'm just having my lunch in ashton bus station. Was hard finding something to eat in ashton tonight. The break time on this duty makes it hard to find anywhere still open. So i have opted for the unhealthy option of chippy. Normally a weekend treat but will pretend it's weekend today lol. 7s next. Hope it's an easy couple of trips. Feel drained after them 216s.

Long wet day.

Just on the way to work. Got a long tough day today with a couple of trips on the 216 followed by 2 trips on a 7. This is the council offices in ashton. Interesting building. Not sure which looks worse, this or the civic in oldham.

It's here again.

This stupid thing that is supposed to look like a christmas tree is back in piccadilly this year. I am glad this year it's been tied up properly as last year it fell over. I have a picture of it somewhere will look when i get home.

Another sunday

Just started work. I'm doing the 217 which only goes from stalybridge to piccadilly on a sunday. Nice and simple. I have done it before and picked about 3 people up. Just waiting to start the trip and noticed these ads although i don't think anyone else will because they are on the roof of the lower saloon for some reason. Few problems coming up this week with a diversion being applied on the 216 in clayton. Just when things were getting easier!