On Trains & Buses

Here is the latest news of bus service changes from the Cheshire East website. The forthcoming timetable for service 130 adds later departures between Wilmslow and Macclesfield on Monday Friday evenings and leaves me wondering if the route is now shared between their Wythenshawe and Macclesfield depots. If so, let’s hope that these attract decent and growing usage since the service finishes up to early at the moment and there is a paucity of evening peak time journeys that looks set to be addressed.

Monday 4 September 2017

• 43 Network Warrington PC0001977/101 Partington – Lymm – Little Bollington: commercial registration cancelled, service withdrawn.

Sunday 3 September 2017

• 78 D&G Bus PC1090231/75 Nantwich – Rode Heath: D&G have registered to change their commercial journeys on the 78 service. The D&G commercial journeys have been shortened to start or end at Coppenhall instead of operating from or too Rode Heath and Scholar Green. There are no changes to the evening and Saturday journeys paid for by Cheshire East Council.
• 130 Arriva PC0002598/290 Macclesfield – Manchester: route and timetable revised with service improvements.
• 1A, 1B D&G Bus PC1090231/96 Crewe – Nantwich: registration cancelled, service withdrawn. See new 85, 85A service for replacement.
• 61 D&G PC1090231/39 Hankelow – Brine Leas High: timetable revised.
• 72 D&G Bus PC1090231/106 Nantwich – Whitchurch: timetable revised.
• 73 D&G Bus PC1090231/105 Nantwich – Whitchurch: timetable revised.
• 85, 85A D&G Bus PC1090231 Nantwich – Crewe – Newcastle – Hanley: route and timetable revised. Now incorporates 1A, 1B sections of route covering Dunwoody Way, Rolls Avenue, Business Park, Macon Way as well as being extended to Nantwich and Hanley Monday to Saturday.
• 94, 94A D&G Bus PD1128125/74 Newcastle – Congleton: route and timetable revised.
• 863 D&G PC1090231/101 Wrenbury – Sound – Brine Leas High: route and timetable revised. St Thomas More and South Cheshire College section of route withdrawn.

Though I had thought these ended for good in 2014, it appears that bus services are being operated by New Adventure Travel on 2017 Summer Sundays that get you between Swansea and the Gower. All started running from the end of May (2017-05-28) and continue until the start of October (2107-10-01). These timetables are below:

116 Swansea – Rhossili via Sketty, Dunvant, Gowerton, Penclawdd, Llanrhidian, Llanmadoc, Llangennith and Reynoldston

118 Swansea – Rhossili via Sketty, Killay and Parkmill

Also, here are those for the weekday services for reference, so you can leave your car after you instead of trying to negotiate often narrow roads:

115 Llangennith – Port Eynon

116 Swansea – Llangennith

117 Killay – Oxwich – Port Eynon – Scurlage

118 Swansea – Rhossili

119 Swansea – Rhossili

Let’s hope that all these see good patronage for this is an attractive part of the world that often gets thronged with motor traffic. On one of my visits there, that was the cause of buses being delayed for hours. The Gower deserves better than this.

Stagecoach has lost out heavily in recent Highland Council bus service contract tendering for the Isle of Skye and there are service cuts too. Ali’s Taxis may have become one of the beneficiaries of the upheaval but it does mean that the number of journeys between Broadford and Elgol has taken a hit along with others.

It is only now that I am getting to share some bus fare information from my Yuletide trip to Mallorca. Here are a few example fares so you get an idea as what prices are like:

Adult Single from Palma to Palma Airport: €5.00

Adult Single from Palma to Port d’Andratx: €5.55

Adult Single from Palma to Sóller via coastal route: €3.98

Adult Single from Sóller to Palma via tunnel route: €2.65

The coming Sunday seems to be a day when bus companies are introducing changes to their bus networks around Greater Manchester. Both First and Stagecoach are doing so with the latter shortening its service 378 to operate only within Greater Manchester and not into Cheshire East as at present. Otherwise, we are talking about tweaks rather than any upheavals.

From next week, Stagecoach no longer will operate service 378 within Cheshire East; instead, it is sticking to serving Greater Manchester. That leaves a gap that D&G Buses are going to fill with Monday to Friday daytime hourly service between Wilmslow and Handforth Dean. There currently is a Saturday service so it will be interesting to see if that direct connection gets restored.

After a weekend spent on the Isle of Man, here are some bus fares that may allow your budgeting should you decide to do the same as I did:

Adult Day Ticket: £7.00

Adult Return between Douglas and Castletown: £5.00

Adult Single between Douglas and Laxey: £2.70

Adult Single between Douglas and Onchan: £1.30

In addition to the NoWcard smart travel pass, there is also the NoWStar smart card in operation across Lancashire and Cumbria. While these undoubtedly are good things to have, there remains something to be said for all England smart travel cards in place of the regional versions that we are seeing. After all, the Oyster card has been a big success around London and Ireland’s Leap card got extended across the whole country. There is a place for joined up thinking even some reject the concept.

Transpeak

Introduced new stop on Duffield Road in Derby. The 1605 journey from Manchester to Derby on weekdays re-timed.

Services 185, 186, 442, 190

Changes made to peak weekday journeys to Harpur Hill together with afternoon and morning journeys on services 185 & 186. Services 442 & 190 now provide extra peak-time journeys through Harpur Hill and Fairfield. Through tickets are available and a combined timetable will be made available shortly.

Service 68

Journeys now start from and end at Buxton Market Place.

Service 69, 69A & 69B

Morning journeys now operate five minutes earlier.

The Nottingham City Transport Navy 3 service has been improved as follows:

• Monday to Saturday daytime buses increased to run up to every 20 minutes
• More peak time buses and earlier buses to Ruddington – every 20 minutes
• More early evening buses – with buses up to every 30 minutes until 20:00
• Reinstatement of Sunday buses between Ruddington and Clifton