Sneaky peek

Here are a few shots of the not yet finished jubilee buses. I think the new colours look great. I think they will probably be out by weekend.

Mad day

Just on the way home and noticed the bypass in Ashton was shut. Looks like this transit minibus has hit something or someone and because of that all the traffic is going up penny meadow. The rugby today at the etihad has caused so much hassle with the services which pass it. Far too many people with sadly not buses to get them there. Add to that the shooting in droylsden and all spells a really crap day. Home now and tomorrow I have the buses to the etihad to sort out so will not be looking forward to work tomorrow.

Blazing hot

Had a very sweaty day in Piccadilly today. Buses were all running well in the 216 service and everyone seemed in a good mood today which is always nice. Had one guy playing his accordion had the police on site and noticed even more branding on the first buses with Greater Manchester now on the sides of some of the fleet. I can't help but think now though that everyday the fleet seems to differ slightly and that they might be losing a bit of identity along the line. Just my opinion. Back in town tomorrow. No Ashton for a couple more weeks and I'm enjoying the change to be honest. Let's just hope the weather stays as nice as it is at the moment.

Odd

One joy of working in the city is you get to see some very odd things.

Another one

Are first branding all the buses in specific routes. First the 409 and now the 58 59 service.

Ready for action

Ex London trident 17200 is looking very well after its refurb. I think it's one of a few which are now being used for service. I'm not sure where the others are being stored though but in sure they will all be out whilst the Olympics are on. Just starting work, ended up with 4 late shifts this week but my long weekend starts tomorrow. Well after a day driving a bus at Ashton for overtime it does.

It's only a game?

Here are some of the pictures from yesterday. I was working on the 216 service in Piccadilly. Whilst the match was on there was nothing special going on but after it finished and the city fans started coming into town it started turning a little ugly. At one point we has to run the service from Stevenson square in case the buses turned into targets. Elsewhere a 219 lost a window and some buses were soiled by people who couldn't hold their drink. It went quiet about 10pm but I have no doubt there will be some sore heads today. I'm on the late today too which should be fun because the victory parade is on :( I'll just be glad to see the back of the season.

Nice app

 

I found this great app on iTunes the other day and thought I would share it. It's called nextbuses it finds where you are and tells you the next buses that are due from the nearest stop.

Unclean

This one must have escaped the wash last night. This is the 396 out of Ashton bus staton not looking in the cleanest of conditions have not been to Ashton all week which is a nice change and it looks like I Wont be here much for the next few weeks with holidays and other things going on.

Change of scenery

Not had much time to blog recently with lots going on at work. Today i'm in Stockport on the A6. Not sure if the schools are closed with the strikes but today has been very easy. Just hope the afternoon is the same. I heard there are 40 more hybrids being delivered for the 192 service but not sure when they are arriving. Apart from that not much else going on. New radio system is up and running although i have yet to see the benefits as not all buses are fitted with the new ones yet.

Problems fixed?

Got hold of this recently. It's a guide to driving a bus on the 409 service? Anyone who uses it surely knows that it's had it's problems. I have seen the gaps in service whilst being in Ashton and recently noticed i lot of older buses on the route. This guide tells drivers how to answer customer complaints and whats being done for the route. Will see if anything improves. But with oldham town centre being held to ransome by metrolink works and Oldham first depot suffering staffing shortages i doubt it will be anytime soon.

New buses

Nice to see more upto date First buses at Dukinfield at the moment. It seems the 419 and newly acquired 41 now have the new single deck hybrid things on them. Very wet week in ashton this week with today no exception. Got 9 days holiday after today to look forward to though. Not much else happening at the moment. A few major service changes on the way but will mention more of this very soon.

So different.

Just cycling home from work. It's been a very mixed day today but ended well. Thought i'd snap this horrid looking sky. Should just get home before it comes.

Ride out

Had a nice rise out on my new bike on Tuesday. I have not had time until now to post a few pictures. I ended up on the Rochdale canal at Middleton Junction heading to Littleborough, Hebdon, onto Brighouse then at SalterHebble Locks changing direction towards Huddersfield and onto Marsden to catch the train to Ashton and home. Total miles. 63. Was a great day with some fantastic scenery. I was intrigued to see the Huddersfield Narrow canal looking very dry in a few parts near to Huddersfield for no apparent reason.Apart from that not much going on at work. I see First have won the 41 service full time. Stagecoach have the 342 service for the next 3 years? and Bluebird have won the 395/6 service. Nothing spectacular but there you go. The weather has been great this week and i'm a little sad to see it cool down as it has but i'm sure it will be back soon enough.

Warming up

Have been doing a survey today in Longsight checking that the 192 is running as well as it should and noticed this come past. It looked in great condition, very well preserved. I assume it had been on a rally somewhere in Manchester. It has been a really nice day today. The warm spell is very welcome especially with the arrival of my new bike. I have opted for a Hybrid this time and I can really tell the difference. We are planning a charity ride in September from Liverpool to Hull so need to use it as much as possible. I decided to get another Scott as I found my last one so reliable.

There seems lots of Hybrids in service on the 219 route now and a whisper has hinted at another 40 but will see if and when they arrive.

 

First Day Out

Working in Ashton today and noticed this turn up to do a 168 service in the afternoon. Very odd seeing it come into the bus station and got a lot of attention from the public.

I think they got there first outing today. Managed to get a few pictures as it passed through. Been an odd day today as the 216 and 219 stands were closed for maintenance so I seemed to be all over the place today trying to see that everything was running ok. Very nice afternoon with everything running as well as it should. Who needs a tram!

 

Also got my new bike last week and as yet have not been anywhere due to an injury I sustained in the gym last week which kept me off work for a few days. Getting back slowly although I have been hobbling about all day.

New and old

I took this at Hyde road on sunday. There were about 8 new hybrids and i think i saw 7 old tridents painted up too. They do look pretty good if i may say so. Great paint job. Shame they will end up on magics.

Testing day!

It's not often i go into to much detail of what i do now but today has been one of the best days of my working life. It all started sadly with the misery that is the Metrolink, breaking down at 5pm and all service to Chorlton and Altrincham being suspended.
I noticed before an announcement was made so decided to take this picture.

As soon as an announcement was made it was all hands to the pumps so to speak. All the people on the platform and from nearby stations flooded the bus station in Piccadilly. Now lets remember that Manchester United have an home game tonight so there is already a lot of people trying to get home from work and to the match.
The passengers were all told that there tickets were valid on the buses and they should go to use them.
This would have been fine but Metrolink had sadly not called us to arrange for this to happen and as a result we could not take there tickets and passes.
Arriva however had been asked so hundreds of people swamped the 263 stand and waited for that.
This was followed by question after question after question. When yo wear a hi vis jacket, No matter who you work for you are supposed to know the answer. "whens the tram back one" Why are the 263s Small buses" "Can we use our tickets on your buses" The list was endless.
Between 5 and 6 it was a case of finding extra buses to run on the 41,250 and 256 service from nowhere. There were thousands of people in Piccadilly and i must say we pulled it off.
I do think that Metrolink and Arriva however were left looking somewhat amateur. As soon as we knew the tram was in trouble we got extra buses from everywhere. It was a huge undertaking and whilst i write this now at 9pm i can still feel the adrenaline working overtime and felt the need to say what happened. At one point i had a group of 45 school children who were going back to school following a day out and they were just left stranded. They had no money to pay for the kids to get back and there was no way they were all going to get on a service bus together. So following a phone call i arranged for a bus to take them back to school safely and away from the organised chaos that was going on around.

This was one of the first Arriva buses to arrive. It left totally full with still hundreds on the stand.

I know i shouldn't knock other companies but i have got to say the Metrolink has really let a lot of people down recently and i just hope that it gets fixed very soon. For this sort of thing to happen on match day is not acceptable i think. And i would hate to think what would happen if it was a Manchester Derby game.

Anyway we made sure the majority of peple got home tonight and it has really made me realise what a great job we can all do, drivers and Inspectors when things go a little wrong. I left work about an hour late but it was worth it and by that time it was just the usual footbal fans and the hundreds still waiting for the 263.
Whilst i do like to big our company up because i can. I will add these to even things out....

This is a 135 blocking the crossing near to the 216 stand earlier today...

Old stuff

I'm in Piccadilly this morning and noticed this bus done up for santander. If my info is right it's ex stagecoach london 17120. I'm just suprised it was sold off so soon considering we are painting up similar buses for service in the summer?

Trip Out

Decided to take advantage of the nice weather today so headed down one of my
favourite trails. The fallowfield loop. I ended up in Chorton and Sale
waterpark as always but was disappointed to see the Metrolink works coming
straight the scenery. Didn't realise it was heading that way.

It was the first time I have seen St Werburghs station too as I have not
been down this way for a while.

Nice to see the extra bike storage although I would prefer to see closed
storage instead of these bars.

Back to work tomorrow in Piccadilly for the week so that should be a nice
change.

trouble ahead

This was Wellington road in Ashton on Saturday. The English defence league decided to stop off for a few beers before heading to Hyde to do a march. didn't cause too many problems but it made the day slightly uncomfortable. Back in Ashton today and even cycled into work which was nice. Thought i would take advantage of the good weather.

New buses

Here are two new Enviro 200s delivered to Hyde road today. They will be going to Stockport when ready. There are a few differences than the last batch that went to Ashton. The most obvious being the Yellow wing mirrors. Always nice to see new arrivals coming to Manchester. Been working in town again today. Nice and steady week really with most of the kids being off. However with extra roadworks arranged next week around Ashton i'm sure the easy week will soon be over.

New colours

Working in town most of this week and i just noticed the new colours for First Manchester. From what i read each area will have it's own colour scheme. Not everyone likes it though. The First inspector on Oldham street today called it naff.

Ashton by pass

This is the bus diversion map whilst the roads are being finished off for the by-pass. It's all a bit complicated but means all stops get serviced. Especially the ones outside the market. Everything is coming in on time at the moment so it's not been too bad.

Popular place.

There must have been a sale on this morning at Droylsden post office. Or so you would think. This lot were waiting for it to open at 8am as i drove past on the way to work. I would rather sit at home than stand in the cold. Unless they just think all the money will be gone if they get there late.

Spot the difference

Something different about this solo. Any ideas?

Bit nippy

It might look like a nice spring morning but it's not. It's bitterly cold out and i have numb toes to prove it lol. Nice morning upto now in Ashton everything running well apart from a few little things. The new bypass doesn't seem to be causing any problems in fact i would say wellington road is quieter at the moment. Had a nice day out checking tickets yesterday. Caught a few fare dodgers yesterday which is always nice and the rain held off so we didn't get drenched. Off all weekend so here's hoping for a nice trouble free afternoon.