From the old

Thought i would come have a look at the new depot at sharston. I was expecting something like Ashton. Hardly! It's bigger than i thought and looks pretty nice. As new buildings go. They move on the 12th i believe so will have to come for a look after then as the gates are locked at the moment.

A bit odd

After a gruelling couple of days including someone trashing there car on the m67 and someone else bringing the city to a standstill by threatening to jump off the mancunian way. This made me chuckle a little bit. I have been in ashton today which has been relatively quiet. The crowd pictures are the greek fans on the way to eastlands last night at 530pm. Not what the 192 stop normally looks like anyway. Three days driving now so i'm looking forward to this. The bury metrolink is a great route to drive so 2 days on that and 1 day driving out of ashton will be a nice change.

It's here

Stood in piccadilly at the moment covering lunchbreak on the ever so popular 192. It's the first day since i started this job that i have been able to unzip my coat. I seen minus 9 on the plaza a few months ago and now i'm stood in the sun. Just hope it lasts.

Everyday is different.

I'm just on the bus on the way to town. It's nice sometimes leaving the car at home and having a chilled paper reading session on the bus. Especially after yesterdays events. Every bus that went within a 5 mile radius of Denton roundabout was caught up in the chaos due to an accident at midday. I was so Ashton bus station and it was a very very busy day for me. It was only a matter of time it was going to happen on my shift but we managed pretty well. Journey times were doubled but most passengers where very understanding. Although you can't please everyone. It shows everyday really can be a challenge doing this job. And it's not just about checking tickets and ticking boxes. On piccadilly today on the 200s bus stop. Should be ok as the kids are off this week so should have a clean sheet at the end of the day. Back in Ashton tomorrow followed by 3 of my 4 days off spent driving. Saturday and sunday is metrolink work on the bury line. Monday is a nice 1 - 9 duty at Ashton depot. If i can remember the routes lol.

Helping hand

This has been a familiar sight around Ashton for the past couple of months. We currently have 4 extra buses working on Ashton new road each day to help with the problems we have due to metrolink works. They are sent from Princess road depot and run for 12 hours each day. It's not hard from my point of view to see they are such a help. Especially at busy times. So expect to see a magic bus in Ashton for a while longer. Been very quiet in Ashton bus station today, which is where i have been. Nothing spectacular to report. Two days of lates coming up in Piccadilly so i think the thermals will be out tomorrow.

A different look!

These are two of the new Stockport free buses. I believe stagecoach are taking over the service from April. As most will know these buses came from Preston and were painted at Hyde road. Not sure why they are white. I can only assume it's a requirement of the contract to have no branding on the bus? Been a very cold very busy couple of months since my last post. I do miss sharing what i do so thought i would try again. I might not be able to share as much but will see how it goes. Thanks for all the kind messages on the last post. Didn't realised so many read this lol.