I have a fairly low opinion of the Second City Crossing, mainly due to my low opinion of the Metrolink in general. Don't get me wrong I think it has its good points but for someone who lives out in an area where the nearest rail station is nearly 4 miles away, the buses are dire the met is just irrelevant in my day to day life.
Sure I have been using it several times a week recently between Weaste and Deansgate but I never have the need to use it. Mostly my daily interaction is stuck at traffic lights which are being held up for trams, in the city centre this is irritating but in certain parts of Salford it is down right annoying when your light is held at red, the tram passes and the system clears the others and holds you junction again.
I am not looking forward to the traffic problems that will be caused because of this, I get the feeling the only reason they are planning on implementing traffic control is to stop people moaning about trams blocking their paths. Not to mention how bus companies will probably run services along the lines of those proposed during the (thankfully) failed congestion charge.
I only see an increase in capacity here rather than a surge in numbers because of the "new" route. Given that the existing stops are within most able bodied peoples walking distance of The printworks, Urbis, The Arndale etc... A bigger issue that needs tackling is Piccadilly Gardens and the total chaos with tram jams which then block the buses. Hopefully the 2nd crossing will actually see services diverted along this route to ease the numbers, or will Metrolink just run even more trams along that line and keep the Gardens jammed?
I have always said that a better solution to Piccadilly Gardens in general is an underground tram station with a bigger bus station located above. Nothing fancy, just something similar to the Piccadilly Station tram stops but fully underground rather than under building. Then the bus station can be enlarged again and that farce can finally end. (in the sense of there are too many buses all trying to get into a select number of stands, add trams into the mix trying to cut across and it all goes nanas...)
As for buses, the 34 still runs (albiet as the X34, and from Leigh & Lowton to Manchester), the 39 runs from Manchester to Leigh but only as a nightbus and then only on a Friday & Saturday night. The 35 (which shared a very similar Leighbound daytime route) was canned at the same time as the 39 day. The 12 was then switched from Bolton (seriously how many buses do they need) to Leigh via Walkden in a way taking over the majority of the 35s route. The 26 remains the semi-fast from Leigh to Manchester but now thanks to various things has the reliability of a chocolate tea-pot (long story). Worth pointing out that the 32 is the only daytime bus from Manchester to Wigan and stops in the early evening. The 33 no longer does Manchester - Wigan during the day but only goes as far as Worsley with a 15 minute frequency (handy because they are mostly late) and goes the whole hog after 19:00 from Manchester, but only until 10pm...
With regards to the Bolton remark I mean they have a number of services all running at 10 minute frequencies as well as a well served train station. Leigh on the other hand does not, the 26 runs from Shudehill half an hour opposite the 12. The 12 and X34 depart within minutes of each other and the 12 sometimes only goes as far as either Walkden or Atherton. Though Bury, Oldham and Rochdale have a high number of services too. Which again is rather irritating given that our local councils are handing over shedloads of money to pay for a guided bus way that nobody wants (we want the railway back) mainly due to the traffic problems that will cause.
I'm going to call it a day before I really go off on one (I've tried ringing First today to complain - thanks to their shoddy 1st bus of the day my jobs now hanging in the balance).
I'm off for a beer
Phil
