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.

Bad Driving?

Was working yesterday and got called to this outside Piccadilly station.
Looks like a council parking enforcement truck had a bit of a run in with a
cyclist. You can still see the bike trapped underneath the wagon. Luckily
there were only minor injuries but it sure brings home the risks of cycling
around the city centre. This could have been a whole lot worse.

It was a nice duty though yesterday which finished at 1130pm which I don't
mind because I get all day to myself before work. I have never been one to
shy away from late duties.

Oddly enough I have another today which suits me fine. Make your own mind up
who was in the wrong in this accident.

Back to normal!

Been a bit busy today so this is the only chance i got to take a picture of a Bluebird bus. Nice to get back to work after such a long break. Felt very refreshed. Even took time out to reclaim a television that some scroat decided to walk out of Argos with. He was never going to get far with it lol.
Looks like all the replacement Speedwell services are going well and i even heard reports that the 343 was being well accepted by it's passengers. Thats probably the only one i would like to keep but the problem, as with a lot of these tendered services is that they are shared and i have made it clear previously that this not how services should be run. It's unfair on the passengers. Makes me wonder if the aim is ensure more System 1 weekly passes are purchased rather than operators own weekly tickets.
Sunday  and Monday are going to be very trying days in the town centre as the new By-pass opens and Penny Meadow is shut. from what i read today the diversion is a little complicated and will be done in stages over the next few weeks to ensure buses get as close to the market as possible. Personally i would just bring them in the back way and alight everyone in the bus station but thats not to be.
Apart from that not much else going on. everything just where i left it before i started my holidays.

Speedwell GONE!

It's always sad to see a bus company go under. But whats even worse is when you see it coming from a mile off. Only a few days ago Speedwell Bus was told they were going to lose there licence from the end of March and as predicted within a week they have decided to cease trading forcing TfGM to find alternative operators for the routes.
Now i don't know all of the routes they do but i think everything will be covered.

Today i noticed a Bluebird 59 plate Solo on  the 396 service and i believe that from tomorrow all the 202 journeys and the weekday 343 will be run by Stagecoach out of Ashton depot. this is at least until April, when i assume tendors will be submitted by whoever wants to run them.

There are a few Glossop schools being covered too, these will be done by Magic coloured Volvo Olympians. The 202 will be run with Darts and there will be 3 man buses covering the 343 service.
It's sad that driver have been made redundant and i wish them all the best in finding work with other companies.
I'm still off this week and back in work next Wednesday so not got too much info on the other routes. Only stuff i am reading on Facebook and by chatting with people i work with.

Picture accredited to  Stuart Valentine

Mumps station

It's hardly the old station which looked a bit more substantial than this one but this is the new Mumps tram stop. Well thats until the tram comes through the town centre. Been for a bike ride today to have a look at how the works are coming along. I was hoping to see some trams on test but no luck today. I ended up riding down the Bridgewater canal a little bit before heading back. It was a tough ride because of injury a few weeks ago but hoping to get out more very soon. Have added a few pics i took whilst i was out. Including a drained Ashton canal near to Edge lane. Looks like they are installing new lock doors but i could be wrong.

Time out

Yesterday was the first day of my holidays. Found this as i was heading into Oldham. This is the old warehouse on Park road. It was listed but sadly the building became unsafe so they has started pulling it down today. Off for 19 days so i'm hoping for some days out on my bike weather depending of course.

Happy new year.

First post of 2012. I took this picture on Thursday at Glossop. I was doing a spot of driving as overtime and ended up at the new terminus in Glossop. I can't believe it took so long to send us this was. It's so much easier. Today however i'm in Piccadilly working. Got a three week break at the end of this week so thought working the bank holiday should be easy enough. And it is. Manchester is pretty quiet today. Finish at 4 so not too bad. Apart from that not much else to report. Back in Ashton most this week. I'll just be glad to see things back to normal.

Off out.

I just want to start by saying I appreciate the comment of anon on a previous post. It's the kind of comment that makes me want to keep blogging. He is clearly well upto date with movements within management and cares about the company he works for. And i agree! . I must apologise if i sounded a little biased about the fare increase. Lets not forget i wouldn't be able to comment in a negative way or would want to if it was stagecoach. So lets not also forget that first do run very quality services. Including the one i am on now. I'm on the last 83 to Manchester which is the 2325 from oldham. Always turns up and it's free. Lucky me. I can sit here chuckling away at people paying. Anyway. Nice to see some great constructive comments on something i do to pass some time. I'm off now until the 28th so Happy Christmas and see you all soon. X

New cleaning routine

This is the new way we are cleaning the tops of the buses. Just so they look nice from the flats above the bus station.

FARE INCREASE

This Huddersfield bus was in oldham today on the 184. Thought it different as they normally run double deckers. Bad news though for First bus passengers. fares are on the rise from January the 2nd. Day tickets will be 4.50 monthly will be 59 quid. The 1.90, 2.50 and 3.10 fares will all increase by a massive 30p each. There is more increases but i cannot remember them at the moment. The company is blaming new buses and new ticket machines which are being introduced next year. My opinion is that these rises are a huge insult to the passengers and cannot be justified.

Oh dear

Just on a first bus dart running on the 64 and notice this sign on the emergency exit at the back of the bus. Someone should use a spell checker or pay more attention to thier work.

Off out

Just heading off out for the day. Luckily the first bus of the day is this very nice old volvo. Old but the engine still sounds as if it just come out of the factory. This is on the 425 to oldham. On the 64 after this. There is method in the madness but i won't bore you with the details. Long weekend off so no work until Wednesday.

Shocking

I'm just on a 216 heading to Piccadilly. We were making good progress until we passed Ryecroft hall then all of a sudden long slow moving traffic. I can see 5 buses in the traffic which is not very good and i blame Tameside council. I think there organisation along with help from the pte or whatever they want to call themselves is absolutly disgusting. I feel so sorry for the residents and people who have to use public transport along this route. This service was brilliant before use stupid tram works started and all we hear now is how bad things have become. There is nothing coming the other way but yet we are still sat at temporary lights surrounded by workers who are doing very little. With a bit of luck i might get to piccadilly by lunchtime!

The future?

This is something different, Noticed this 219 yesterday with a bit of sparkle on the advert that is on the side. Its got little sparkly leds built into it which is somehow wired into the bus electrics. The advert is for the Trafford centre. I only saw it in the daytime but i bet it looks better at night.
Had a little browse at the service changes which are taking place in January yesterday. Some interesting ones such as 216s being extended to Stamford Park! Will wait till i get the full list before going into it.Off into Piccadilly today again on whats looking like a really poor weather day :(

Something different.

This East midlands dart called into Piccadilly today after a day at the museum of transport. Certainly made a few people turn as it passed through. Had an entertaining day today. Ended up watching a march head along Wilmslow road for a few hours. It moved very slowly and caused a bit of disruption but nothing to bad.

Bit miserable

Lucky me. Stood in Piccadilly on this horrid wet Sunday. Not much going on yet. Plenty of shoppers about though. Seems nothing keeps them in. Here till 6 so well wrapped up. Does make a nice change though being in town.

Wow!

I've not been down to Hyde road for a few weeks and was amazed to see this monster in the back car part. It's the new mast for our radio system which we are getting in the new year. Should hopefully make contacting the buses a little easier. It's hard to show how big this thing really is but it does cause a creek in the neck looking up at it.