First Manchester

[SF07]

RE: First Manchester

(20/08/2012 14:34)P528LND Wrote:  37384 was branded originally for the 184, and in fact retained it's front branding after repaint for a short while. It's comparable to other B9TL's at Oldham depot because it jumps through gears quicker, seems faster and doesn't have the stereotypical whine in either 3rd or 4th gear as most with the ZF 6 AP 1200 B 'Ecolife' transmision do.

I think it was then branded for the 184 again, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

37384 was branded for 184 but since it has been painted in the new livery, it hasn't gained any route branding or even the temporary 'we believe in improving your buses' branding.

(20/08/2012 14:59)P528LND Wrote:  Can I ask if anyone knows anything about this timetable change and route change of the 425?

I was thinking possibly rerouting it so that it does the evening circular of Fitton Hill 100% of the time which would shave some time off the journey, bringing the frequency back up to 6 per hour.

Also, maybe they're making the route skip the bus station again, as it used to do. It would also save a lot of the time and most people get off at the Tommyfield Market stops anyway, as it's quicker to walk to Cheapside than being driven right around it to go to West Street. Even then King Street is only a short walk away, and since it takes anything between 1 and 5 minutes to call at West Street (which is effectively up to around 8 minutes per round trip) that could solve some timing issues.

Either way that frequency needs to be pulled back up to scratch, and since First only brand services every 10 minutes or better in Greater Manchester, maybe this is will lead to the big relaunch of the route! (Bahahahahaha....)

New 425 timetable is up on the First website. A quick glance at the current non-summer timetable and the new timetable and it looks like that the Sunday daytime service will run along the Monday-Saturday route. This means running along Fir Tree Avenue, Keswick Avenue and Honeywell Lane in both directions and serving Alt Estate.

Current timetable
New timetable