Commuters left stranded as bus link to city is axed
OH my God, that’s very bad for me”,
says shaking his head in disbelief.
The fast food worker is sitting on the 130 bus, which takes him from his job at Godfather kebab house in Didsbury to his home in Macclesfield.
And he’s just discovered that Arriva will be withdrawing the service - a vital link between Manchester and the Cheshire town - on January 26 due to low passenger numbers.
This has now happened and a new operator, D&G Bus, took over the following day. But they will only run part of the route, between Macclesfield and Handforth.
Bosses at the company said they made that decision as 75 per cent of current 130 passengers only use that part of the route.
But it means it will be useless for scores of people like Hashem, who need to get all the way to Manchester for work, or for appointments and to see family.
“It will affect me a lot. The train is very expensive - I’m on minimum wage,” the 49-year-old shrugs.
Christine Rose is sitting at the front of the bus. She’s travelling home from Cheadle.
“It’s just going to be unbelievable. It’s going to be a b*ll ache. Not everyone can afford to run round in cars and live in big houses in Wilmslow. They are going to get rid of one bus service for another, worse one.”
The 70-year-old, a retired office clerk, regularly goes into Stockport and south Manchester to go to the shops and visit family - including her disabled sister. Christine suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“I’m not in good health. I’m one of them, I plod on”, she adds coughing.
“It’s unbelievable what Cheshire (East) Council are letting happen. They want people to use public transport more and they don’t put on a proper service.”
Dorothy, 93, sits opposite Christine, next to her large shopping trolley.
“The problem is, we don’t have any Manchester buses. If it stops at Handforth, we don’t have any way of getting to Manchester or Stockport”, she says.
“I can’t use the train, it’s the steps at Handforth (station). I can’t walk much without a trolley. I haven’t got the balance.”
Molly Lockett-Wilson sits reading with her hood up. She recently moved to Handforth, and still regularly travels on the 130 to south Manchester.
The 19-year-old, who is on Universal Credit, gets the bus to East Didsbury.
She then travels on another bus to Longsight to go to the doctors.
She’s midway through a series of medical tests - and so doesn’t want to change doctors before they are finished. Her partner also uses the bus to get to work It means she doesn’t like the idea of the takeover ‘at all’.
“To get to Didsbury on the train, you’d have to get to Stockport and change over. It’s just a hassle.”
An Arriva spokesperson said: “Passenger numbers have been falling for a number of years and Arriva have made several changes to attempt to make the service sustainable; unfortunately passenger numbers have continued to decrease.
“Therefore, the 130 is no longer commercially viable, low passenger numbers and increasing running costs means that this service will be withdrawn.”
Chris Almond, bus network manager at D&G Bus said: “We are only operating between Macclesfield and Handforth because following extensive surveys it was determined that 75pc of the passengers currently using the service only use that part of the route. In order to serve East Didsbury it would increase our vehicle resource by 33pc and driver resource by 50pc, so basically the numbers don’t stack up for us to run into the Greater Manchester area. We have discussed various options to extend the route with Cheshire East Council, but all of these were discounted due to the cost.
“The majority of the stops within the GM area are covered by other services, albeit to different places, and there are rail links into Manchester from our new 130 route at Macclesfield, Alderley Edge, Wilmslow and Handforth.”
Cheshire East Council deputy leader Councillor Craig Browne said: “We can confirm that the council has agreed to provide a modest amount of financial support to help cover the cost of operating the service on Saturdays (between Handforth and Macclesfield). This has been accommodated within existing budgets.
“An analysis of passenger numbers showed that 75pc of journeys are within Cheshire East, nine per cent within Greater Manchester and only 16 per cent cross border.
“The service will retain the existing route from Macclesfield to Alderley Edge and on to Wilmslow and Handforth. Alternative public transport is available for onward journeys.”
A spokesman for TfGM said: “Due to the availability of other commercial bus services along the route (within GM) there are currently no plans to subsidise any replacement services.
“TfGM must strike a balance and ensure we are serving as many people as possible across the cityregion, ensuring vital transport links are maintained - whilst also making sure they provide value to the taxpayer and are delivered in the most cost-effective way. We will continue to work closely with the commercial bus operators and our colleagues at the local authority to ensure any changes are mitigated as best as possible.”