Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

[M60lad]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
Contiuing the theme of branded buses on the wrong routes and the way their routed out, there's obviously a HE board on 250/X50s that starts of on Traffords and then the bus goes on to do the 16:04 42B Piccadilly-Woodford service as this is virtually always a 250/X50 branded MMC400 on this duty as I usually see it when I'm on my way into work.

[Owl]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
SKM have reported that the first of the 22 Enviro 400MMCs due for delivery have started to arrive in Manchester, with SN17MHY and SN17MHZ (10844/45) reported at Hyde Road.

[Solo40336]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
I think those registrations have been made up at some point, as I've not seen them in person the picture I've been sent of one shows it as SN17 MJE. Should be entering service with Middleton from late next week

[gka472l]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(24/02/2017 15:54)Solo40336 Wrote:  I think those registrations have been made up at some point, as I've not seen them in person the picture I've been sent of one shows it as SN17 MJE. Should be entering service with Middleton from late next week

Perhaps more have been delivered and MJE is another one numbered higher than 10845?, certainly the last two Merseyside ones have been reported on the Gillmoss thread as MHV/X (10842/3)

HTH

[ant17612]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
MHV, MHX & MHY are Gillmoss' 10841/2/3.

[gilbert]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(19/02/2017 16:23)GRIMSTER02 Wrote:  The branding of buses is great

I totally disagree. I dislike branding because all passengers should have an equal chance
of travelling on new as well as older buses. Some buses look tacky with the branding on-the 330 branding[Ashton-Airport]is a mess-pure and simple.

[gilbert]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(24/02/2017 20:17)Dentonian Wrote:  Unfortunately, bus company marketing people don't agree. Whether that is right or wrong is a matter of opinion, but the whole thing is undermined by putting either branded buses or any other sub-type on the wrong routes - or not on routes at all! Today, I travelled on the 76 (on branded 10048) and as with a previous mid morning weekday journey, it was obvious how poorly loaded the service is, with probably four full fare paying passengers on the whole journey to Oldham. Also, even with a diversion round the by-pass and the inevitable German-built saloon cutting across the front of the bus on Manchester Street, we still arrived on West Street two minutes early. I would say only 7 of the 10 branded buses was on the route, leaving five workings with standard Enviro400s. Actually, that wasn't the main example of what I was talking about. As some may know, crew reliefs for the 76 are done at Phillips Park Cemetery (just north of the Etihad). One was being effected as we passed in the opposite direction. And the "taxi" bus being used to get the driver to the unbranded 76 parked up was: 10475. The opposite side of the equation being when I got back to Piccadilly, the 2.03 (pm ie. still off-peak) 203 was standard Enviro400 19417. I'm sure the business plan for Hyde Road's MMCs wasn't to use them earning 0p a day on taxi buses, when the allocation of MMCs is insufficient to cover 201, 203, 250 & X50 in the first place.

I agree with the point about the 330; The child-like drawings look like they've been plajeurised from the Koln-Bonn Airport website, and the claim it runs every 30 minutes is a joke, as the advertised timetable varies considerably during the day, and is then undermined in practice - apparently because someone has totally c**ked up Traffic Light cycle timings in Bredbury and refuses to fix it. The only good thing about the service is that the drivers I've seen are able to keep professional and polite in their jobs, despite the often horrendous punctuality.

Someone mentioned that the use of branded 330s on other routes was down to being instructed to "spread the word" as part of the subsidy agreement. This might well be true, and I can see the point of said buses appearing on such as 216 & 236/7. Might be a "mixed message" on 347 though, given Denton used to have a direct bus to the Airport, and far more frequent connections to Stockport.

Do these ''bus company marketing people'' ever travel on buses themselves or do they remain in their ivory towers and then jump back into their cars at the end of their day?

[gilbert]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(24/02/2017 21:19)Dentonian Wrote:  Probably the latter. They certainly have no respect for customer loyalty, and judging by the poor loadings (off-peak, at least), branding doesn't work. I suppose they would argue that on "captive market" routes people will board a bus whether its got a 66 plate or a 51 plate. Also, they are less likely to be bothered about frippery like wi-fi and "real time" information. The latter still doesn't work on our multi-billion pound Railways after more than a decade, so why would it be expected to work on buses?

About time they got off their rear ends and joined the real world then.

[M60lad]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan
as well as one being used on Taxibus dutues from HE there was unusually a MMC400 out on 205/206 duties yesterday afternoon as one was on 15:00 206 Hyde-Piccadilly service as I saw it in entering Piccadilly as I was on my way into work about 15:55

[Solo40336]

RE: Stagecoach Manchester and Wigan

(25/02/2017 17:02)Dentonian Wrote:  I should have read your comment more pedantically. Just because you haven't seen the buses in person, what makes you claim the registrations are "made up"? Are you Stagecoach Manchester's Engineering Director?

Calm down, it's unhealthy to get so wound up over something as simple as buses fleet numbers!

I've mentioned I've not seen them in person because I haven't, therefore I may not be in the full picture. But my logic is that at the time SN17 MJE had been the only one delivered, and considering how it usually works, it's extremely unlikely that they start delivering the middle of the batch first.