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Bee Network Service/Route Discussion

Xenophon PCDGS

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Joined
17 Apr 2011
Messages
35,473
Location
A typical commuter-belt part of north-west England
While its been there for years the timing point at Broadway Baths heading towards Chadderton can cause problems, as if 181/182 gets there early and has to wait its time out anyone who's parked just behind the bus stop and want's to move their car has to wait for the bus to move off as the bus can't move off early as it registers on the ticket machine and the driver might be called in and asked why they left a timing point early.
Could these long-standing problematic timing points of long standing be moved to a different location based on current traffic flows in the 21st century?
 
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M60lad

Established Member
Joined
31 May 2011
Messages
1,598
Some drivers will wait at either Bus Stop before the Baths or actually wait at the bus stop after which obviously will register as early running on the machine, to be honest I think it only affects a few peak journeys which seem to get move time than actually needed meaning they get to Broadway baths and have to wait about 5mins before they are due off.
 

mayneway

Member
Joined
29 Mar 2024
Messages
947
Location
Manchester
MCC have been aggressively making it harder to drive in the city centre for 10 years.


Lately, Tameside have taken to putting absolutely massive speed bumps everywhere, even on 30mph roads. It's ridiculous.
Manchester city council want to ban cars altogether with their attitude but can’t because it will upset major retailers it traffic management in the city just doesn’t work at all.

As for Tameside, well putting huge speed bumps on one of the roads in and out of the hospital (ridge hill lane) was a brilliant idea. I’m sure all the folk rushed to hospital in the back of ambulances are grateful.
 

tomoufc

Member
Joined
12 Dec 2014
Messages
418
I can remember vividly when the tap on scheme kicked in and apart from some tiny stickers on the cab screen and some bus stop adverts saying tap on was now live there is very little to actually say how it works.

I also think their shock be a option on the ticket machine to switch to £1 taps so when a bus is parked outside a school with 100 school kids queuing to get on they can just tap and be charged £1. It’s so time consuming having to manually keep pressing the £1 child care etc.

Another one I get a lot of, is passengers trying to tap out when they get off the bus haha. I’m constantly shouting NOOO as they try and do it.

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Yes and dare I mention Castleton. The little town has been ruined by the awful cycle lanes down both sides of the road, the actual traffic lanes are so narrow now the the stopping causes pretty big tail backs.
No, it has been ruined by cars
 

mayneway

Member
Joined
29 Mar 2024
Messages
947
Location
Manchester
No, it has been ruined by cars
Really?
It was a decent little town before the work started now it’s just a mess with lots of empty shops.

There is an obsession with councils and local authority’s to attack motorists, narrowing junctions and adding cycling lanes, it’s all good and well but just doesn’t work.
 

Deerfold

Veteran Member
Joined
26 Nov 2009
Messages
13,772
Location
Yorkshire
Really?
It was a decent little town before the work started now it’s just a mess with lots of empty shops.

There is an obsession with councils and local authority’s to attack motorists, narrowing junctions and adding cycling lanes, it’s all good and well but just doesn’t work.
And by "attack" you mean not always allow them unfettered access at the expense of everyone else?
 

johncrossley

Established Member
Joined
30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,455
Location
London
Really?
It was a decent little town before the work started now it’s just a mess with lots of empty shops.

There is an obsession with councils and local authority’s to attack motorists, narrowing junctions and adding cycling lanes, it’s all good and well but just doesn’t work.

I haven't looked but I presume improved active travel is part of the Mayor's manifesto.

I have to say it is odd for someone who drives buses for a living to be promoting more car travel! If you talked to people in countries where cycle paths are everywhere they would laugh at you if you said cycle paths are put in to attack motorists. That's just a quirky British/American/English speaking country thing.

Manchester could be like Arlington, Texas (one of the World Cup host cities) where everybody is expected to drive and so there are no fixed bus services. That way you would get your wish to be out of a job!
 

mayneway

Member
Joined
29 Mar 2024
Messages
947
Location
Manchester
I haven't looked but I presume improved active travel is part of the Mayor's manifesto.

I have to say it is odd for someone who drives buses for a living to be promoting more car travel! If you talked to people in countries where cycle paths are everywhere they would laugh at you if you said cycle paths are put in to attack motorists. That's just a quirky British/American/English speaking country thing.

Manchester could be like Arlington, Texas (one of the World Cup host cities) where everybody is expected to drive and so there are no fixed bus services. That way you would get your wish to be out of a job!
Prime example is the chapel street entrance/exit into the city centre. How much money has been spent over the last few years ‘improving’ the junction with trinity way and black friars yet it’s just added to the gridlock which means buses sat for hours on end getting in and out of the city. It’s not solving anything.

Oxford road is another prime example. It’s a great section of road for us bus drivers but do you know how many cyclists use the bike lanes abs how many don’t? Most I see are on the road.
 

johncrossley

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30 Mar 2021
Messages
4,455
Location
London
Prime example is the chapel street entrance/exit into the city centre. How much money has been spent over the last few years ‘improving’ the junction with trinity way and black friars yet it’s just added to the gridlock which means buses sat for hours on end getting in and out of the city. It’s not solving anything.

Oxford road is another prime example. It’s a great section of road for us bus drivers but do you know how many cyclists use the bike lanes abs how many don’t? Most I see are on the road.

I just looked at the journey history for route 8 on bustimes.org earlier today. The 0613 from Bolton arrived into Shudehill 10 minutes early despite passing through that junction. So when there is little car traffic, buses aren't delayed. Therefore it is possible for buses to be on time and if there weren't any cars they wouldn't have to spend money improving that junction. Cars are the problem.

Oxford Road is mostly buses only so presumably some cyclists don't feel too scared of riding in the road. You can't extrapolate to every cycle path in the world. Have you actually investigated in detail how cycling works in the Netherlands and Denmark? In London, where cycling is more advanced than in Manchester, many cycle paths are heavily used, so much so that there are often queues at dedicated cycle traffic lights.
 

py_megapixel

Established Member
Joined
5 Nov 2018
Messages
7,519
Location
Northern England
Oxford road is another prime example. It’s a great section of road for us bus drivers but do you know how many cyclists use the bike lanes abs how many don’t? Most I see are on the road.
The Oxford Road cycle lanes are somewhat a victim of their own success; at rush hour they are full and there are cyclists on the road!

It's a great section of road for bus drivers and passengers - in fact it's a great section of road for everyone except those who demand to drive their car the full length of it. I remember Oxford Road when it still had through car traffic; it was absolutely grim.
 

tomoufc

Member
Joined
12 Dec 2014
Messages
418
Prime example is the chapel street entrance/exit into the city centre. How much money has been spent over the last few years ‘improving’ the junction with trinity way and black friars yet it’s just added to the gridlock which means buses sat for hours on end getting in and out of the city. It’s not solving anything.

Oxford road is another prime example. It’s a great section of road for us bus drivers but do you know how many cyclists use the bike lanes abs how many don’t? Most I see are on the road.
Thousands of cyclists use the oxford road cycle lanes every day. There is a counter if you want to look it up. And yes most do use the cycle lanes. Some don’t that are going faster, but it’s a 20mph limit, so I don’t see the problem.
 

mayneway

Member
Joined
29 Mar 2024
Messages
947
Location
Manchester
I just looked at the journey history for route 8 on bustimes.org earlier today. The 0613 from Bolton arrived into Shudehill 10 minutes early despite passing through that junction. So when there is little car traffic, buses aren't delayed. Therefore it is possible for buses to be on time and if there weren't any cars they wouldn't have to spend money improving that junction. Cars are the problem.

Oxford Road is mostly buses only so presumably some cyclists don't feel too scared of riding in the road. You can't extrapolate to every cycle path in the world. Have you actually investigated in detail how cycling works in the Netherlands and Denmark? In London, where cycling is more advanced than in Manchester, many cycle paths are heavily used, so much so that there are often queues at dedicated cycle traffic lights.
The 8 is a prime example though, it’s been given so much running time to try and make it more reliable, check it on a Friday evening it will be gridlock at that junction.
Unless you’re adding dedicated bus only lanes, any kind of ‘junction improvements’ are just adding to congestion, which means buses caught up in traffic.

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It's a great section of road for bus drivers and passengers - in fact it's a great section of road for everyone except those who demand to drive their car the full length of it. I remember Oxford Road when it still had through car traffic; it was absolutely grim.
It is a great section of road unless there’s a protest, but I’m sure most bus drivers will tell you as soon as it ends, going outbound, your met with one of the worst sections of road aka the curry mile!
 

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