Martin1988
Member
Good on you. Fingers crossed that D&G will take your suggestion on board.
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D&G Buses
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I'm surprised Pickmere has been dropped all together. The bus used to run via Pickmere before it was split.It also appears that the 89 will no longer be operating the Pickmere shuttle from 13th April 2026.
Times have also changed on service 89, with Knutsford departures at 0910, 1110, 1310 & 1640, Northwich departures at 1000, 1200, 1400 & 1710.
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Is this on the current timetable or the new one.
The new one, 1 morning and 2 evening journeys on weekdays which are empty. Also suggested reducing the dead runs to Northwich on Sundays for 1 of the 2 buses
I wouldn't say I'm surprised about that, I spoke to Vic who does the 89's all day and every weekday and he says they get about 20 people max every week on the N1 and Pickmere runs on the 89. Shame really but not enough people were using it it seems.
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Hi Shaun, question about the 89. Does that mean it'll be like it was with the 89 being linked with the 88 or will it be linked with the 86 when that comes into play? ThanksIt also appears that the 89 will no longer be operating the Pickmere shuttle from 13th April 2026.
Times have also changed on service 89, with Knutsford departures at 0910, 1110, 1310 & 1640, Northwich departures at 1000, 1200, 1400 & 1710.
I guess the N1 only stays as it fits nicely and probably costs low when linked to 89. Hopefully more people use buses in the future - especially these sort of routes which help improve utilisation
Yes I've been on the 9:30 or so journey on the N1, that seemed to have a few people on it so I can see them keeping that but on the Pickmere one not a single person. He was saying they had loads of petitions to get a bus running in Pickmere yet no one uses it.
86, 89, 188 and N1 appear to interlink. From looking at the weekday timetable (from 13 April 2026), the below gets created:
188 0800 Mobberley - Knutsford Academy 0825
BREAK
89 0910 Knutsford - Northwich 0935
N1 0940 Northwich - Northwich 0954
89 1000 Northwich - Knutsford 1025
86 1030 Knutsford - Knutsford 1102
89 1110 Knutsford - Northwich 1135
N1 1140 Northwich - Northwich 1154
89 1200 Northwich - Knutsford 1225
86 1235 Knutsford - Knutsford 1307
89 1310 Knutsford - Northwich 1335
N1 1340 Northwich - Northwich 1154
89 1400 Northwich - Knutsford 1425
BREAK
188 1525 Knutsford Academy - Mobberley 1544
89 1640 Knutsford - Northwich 1705
89 1710 Northwich - Knutsford 1735
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D&G changes now on their website:
www.dgbus.co.uk
188 0800 Mobberley - Knutsford Academy 0825
BREAK
89 0910 Knutsford - Northwich 0935
N1 0940 Northwich - Northwich 0954
89 1000 Northwich - Knutsford 1025
86 1030 Knutsford - Knutsford 1102
89 1110 Knutsford - Northwich 1135
N1 1140 Northwich - Northwich 1154
89 1200 Northwich - Knutsford 1225
86 1235 Knutsford - Knutsford 1307
89 1310 Knutsford - Northwich 1335
N1 1340 Northwich - Northwich 1154
89 1400 Northwich - Knutsford 1425
BREAK
188 1525 Knutsford Academy - Mobberley 1544
89 1640 Knutsford - Northwich 1705
89 1710 Northwich - Knutsford 1735
== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: ==
D&G changes now on their website:
Service Updates | D&G Bus
www.dgbus.co.uk
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markymark2000
On Moderation
While I know it's not this simple, in an ideal world, CWAC would revoke the Stagecoach W7 contract and move it onto the 37 to use up dead time on the 37. While it would cut the frequency, it would provide a service over more hours of the day and with the through links to Middlewich and Sandbach would hopefully increase patronage.
I'm glad they have kept the faster 89 as I feel that this is what has been needed on this link for a while. It'll never be very successful though with the current timetable. I think if it wasn't for the fact the 82 is now padded like heck, it would have been a great 2 hourly extension. (with the other hour the bus can then do Northwich local stuff). Still 1 extra bus but it could cover everything. t's just a shame that the 82 takes so long under D&G else it would have been a great extension to that.
Agreed it's a positive change and I hope it does well. I'd hope that the 31 uplift is to come too given that is the faster corridor to Crewe.
With the dead mileage situation, there is some defence in that for the 37 to extend to Crewe, the journey time is slightly longer via Haslington versus running fast. And it means driving past Weston Road to go to the train station and bus station, to then run back from there dead instead. It'd take around 10-15 minutes to run this trip dead, versus 20 minutes in service and 10 minutes back to the depot.
This said, D&G and even the wider Centrebus group have long refused to convert dead mileage to live in almost any circumstance. Seemingly the attitude is that they will only run what the councils ask and refuse to use any kind of initiative. For example, Crewe - Winsford - Northwich is a very key and core corridor. Yet they happily run 5 buses per day dead between Crewe depot and Northwich. Far too many examples across the whole group whereby they would rather run dead than in service, even if there is minimal time difference and the trip would actually be useful.
It does work perfectly for a 1 bus, 1 driver situation on both bus boards. Ignoring the 5 minutes layovers where they happen, the basic drive time on both is just shy of 7 hours. Plus the dead run would put it around 9 hour drive for the day.
markymark2000
On Moderation
If only they hadn't closed Wincham, then perhaps the extra work would have been more spread out and they could save a fortune on some of the dead mileage.
Oh that's pretty cool, more Macc buses going through Middlewich then I suppose. Any idea what vehicles are going to be based on the short 37s and sunday. @Shauny would you happen to know? Thanks
2x LWB MMC’s
So Macc are going to have to get another one? Or would the CN17's count as LWB as they're longer than some of the others
Macc’s PVR is going to increase by 2 so it likely they will acquire 2 more vehicles off another depot or buy an additional two vehicles.
570/1/2 would be suitable in terms of size but as mentioned it’s likely they will acquire a further two vehicles to run the route.
capitalpotter
Member
But offset that against rent, utility bills and maintenance and it's probably more expensive
This is true, however Crewe clearly has outgrown itself, and maybe it's the time for D&G to look at somewhere else for the Crewe Depot.
The old Arriva Depot is still at Winsford Industrial estate, not sure of the current asking price, but then again this is an additional cost for D&G, and makes no financial sense for Crewe work.
Not sure of any suitable locations for a new depot in Crewe as it's all either snapped up by housing or commercial property.
How many buses are ran out of Crewe on a daily basis?
station_road
Member
There is a nice empty space next to the bus station in Crewe
I would say about 35-40 vehicles per day go out of Crewe. Their fleet at Crewe consists of 41 vehicles with some away at the moment so probably is around 35 ish.
and no doubt likely to remain that way for some time to come!There is a nice empty space next to the bus station in Crewe
33117
Member
Come may E200 no 41 is being withdrawn probably due to now being 17yrs old & generally being quite tired.
The ex edwards MMC 5022 I've heard will be taking over the #19 duties. So that'll leave 38 as last man standing outta the ex first 09 reg batch of enviros as all the others are already withdrawn.
It will now I believe leave 34/35 at crewe the pair of KX57 E200s as the oldest vehicles on the fleet.
At some point in the coming cupla years D&G will no doubt have to look at purchasing newer vehicles. The ex go goodwins solos which are all 60 reg so 2010 will be 16 now so will have a few more years to go but beyond that who knows..........
The ex edwards MMC 5022 I've heard will be taking over the #19 duties. So that'll leave 38 as last man standing outta the ex first 09 reg batch of enviros as all the others are already withdrawn.
It will now I believe leave 34/35 at crewe the pair of KX57 E200s as the oldest vehicles on the fleet.
At some point in the coming cupla years D&G will no doubt have to look at purchasing newer vehicles. The ex go goodwins solos which are all 60 reg so 2010 will be 16 now so will have a few more years to go but beyond that who knows..........
34 is a great bus to be on, still very very quick and probably one of the quickest buses at Crewe. 35 is good too but not as quick.
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Another thing too, any idea what the plan is with the MMC's. I've heard from this forum that 2 Long Wheel Base MMC's are to go on the 37 short runs. With 5022 as mentioned going on the 19, 570-572 are supposed to go on the 10s but that very rarely happens (if ever) which leaves the 42's with 5001, 5002 and 5021. Also depends whether they buy a new MMC or take one from somewhere else. The mini MMC's seem to do well on the 42 but I wonder what they'll end up putting on the 42s
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On school days one of the 42’s is required to be a large bus so it can fit all the kids on from Holmes Chapel school, most days it’s got 5201 on it so I’d assume this would stay on the 42’s.
As previously mentioned Macc will have to acquire at least one more vehicle when they start to run the 37 shorts, if this vehicle actually ends up on the 37’s is a different story.
Centrebus Group have recently acquired 2x 69 plate MMC's but they're the 8.9m variant. YX69 NUC and NUE. Unsure where in the group they're going to go exactly.
How big is Macclesfield depot, as isnt it that big (about 15 buses when Arriva it ?)
Also im surprised they haven't done any major network reviews inCheshire,,since Arriva left (apart for merging the 2 and 10, and introducing a Sunday service)
markymark2000
On Moderation
The Sunday services are only here because the council is paying for it. It's not off D&Gs own back (as is typical for D&G. No commercial initiative at all, forever scrounging). The 2 and 10 I want to say was a Cheshire East initiative too but I could be wrong on that.
Off the top of my head as it stands macc has 26 vehicles with a PVR of 21 this is prior to the 37 shorts starting.
Contains Nuts
Member
- Joined
- 16 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 125
What sort of network review do you think is needed? The majority of the services are tendered.
TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
If they need any extra space, they can probably rent additional parking area there.
I'm not surprised that they haven't. They had a look at what Arriva deregistered and then put in what they wanted to run. What's changed in three years?