Graham reports back from Friends of Scholes Park meeting
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by Lib Dem Team on 12 January, 2017
Evening services on the X57 bus are to be removed as they’re seen as too expensive to continue. The controversial move is causing concern among residents: public transport links from Cheadle into Manchester are already poor and need to be improved, not made worse.
The proposals have already been advertised on the bus service. They come to the TfGM bus committee on 20th January where it’s likely they will be rubber-stamped.
“Once again, the needs of Cheadle residents are being ignored by Transport for Greater Manchester,” said Cllr Iain Roberts. “Cheadle has no station and no Metrolink, and now apparently doesn’t deserve a proper evening bus service either. The first official notice we’ve had of the decision is just two weeks before it comes into effect – it’s not good enough.”
Here’s what TfGM is proposing:
Monday to Saturday evening’s service X57 provides an hourly service between East
Didsbury and Woodford.When the contract was recently retendered, the best contract price represented significant price increase over the previous cost with a cost per passenger of £3.11 per passenger.
A further tender was sent out reducing mileage, hours of operation and lighter used journeys. Unfortunately this did not have the desired effect with the lowest bid coming back at £3.43 per passenger.
Usage is relatively low and some passengers can use other alternatives (313 and 378) therefore officers are recommending the withdrawal of the X57 service.
Officers are further recommending that withdrawal of the corresponding Sunday evening is advanced to January to allow for the redeployment of the resource to service 313.
Members are asked to approve the withdrawal of Monday to Saturday evening journeys on service X57 with effect from Saturday 22 April 2017 and the withdrawal of the Sunday evening journeys on service X57 with effect from Saturday 28th January 2017.
We understand the X57 is being replaced with a 42B service which will run from Woodford into Manchester (with the full journey taking 1h40m). The new timetable is here and the last bus out will leave Manchester at 6.44pm (or 5.54pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays).
17 Comments
That disgusting , so we in Cheadle cannot get to and from Manchester in the evenings, it’s pathetic how bus companies put the prices up and then reduce the service the way they dp
This is quite appalling. The only frequent services from East Didsbury to the Cheadle area are basically the X57 and the 130. Neither are better than hourly in general, and neither really connect to the half-hourly train services. Reliable public transport is essentially non-existent in this part of Greater Manchester, so why is it surprising that everyone drives and gridlocks the motorways and main roads twice a day?
The world ends at East Didsbury!
So for those who have been for a night out at the football, theatre etc. it’s walk or take a taxi.The warning sign was there when MCT withdrew the 11:45 from ED.
Another backward move. However, those making such decisions probably don’t use buses anyway.
There is a 30 minute train service from Gatley into Manchester and the station is just a short bus journey from Cheadle.
No need to feel cut off then.
We had the same problem when the 44 bus route terminated services after 6pm.
What happened to the idea of a shuttle Bus from Cheadle to the Metro stop and to get people using the metro into the city.?
Hi Ian – we’re still working on that and pushing the bus companies to put something in place.
About time our so called councillors and local authority got a grip. Pretty much all of the major village centres in Greater Manchester have decent public transport options, Cheadle yet again is going backwards to the 1980’s … no tram, no train, no loop shuttle bus and a very poor bus service day and night. Shame on you for letting this happen. Get a grip, learn from other councils although it’s probably all too late, all we hear about is talk and little or no fundamental action.
We live 10 miles from Manchester yet have transport links equivalent to a rural area.
If Stockport pays any sort of precept to TfGM then it should withdraw it (not consider withdrawing it) until such time as TfGM implements transport links in line with other councils.
This latter development comes about because of unregulated bus services, allowing bus companies to cherry pick routes, whilst ignoring customer needs.
The metro stop at Didsbury is now so busy, the car park is often full so the shuttle bus would certainly improve links. TfGM should pay for this and the immediate development of a station at the TP site to get commuters onto an existing rail line.
The problem is there is plainly no political will to make either of these happen.
Alan, actually we are only about 7 miles from Manchester City Centre.
However you are spot on concerning how poor the public transport links are to Manchester, which may help explain why it is nose to tail traffic between Manchester and Cheadle.
And it won’t help when the housing development at Barnes is complete and those residents will, like the rest of us, will have to choose to use either poor, expensive unreliable public transport, or their cars.
But I’m sure the LibDems fully considered that when they approved the Barnes scheme
I agree with the last comment. As well as the X57 axing, there’s several other bus services that are looking like being dropped and or missing Cheadle. How on earth this can happen in this day and age is appalling. We’re meant to be part of Greater Manchester yet Cheadle perpetually seems to suffer and be last in the queue for what should be standard policy for such a large and important centre. Our councillors moan about each other, blame others such as TfGM, Highways Agencies … no wonder we’re stuck in the last century. This should have all been worked out many years ago, Cheadle is very poorly served by public transport and this only encourages people to get back in their cars, adding to pollution, carbon footprint and already heavily congested roads.
If Tfgm is so insistent on destroying the public transport in Stockport with Cheadle in particular, then maybe Stockport should pay less into its budget. Every other area is better served and always has been. The metrolink expands and expands but doesn’t cross into Stockport. When the congestion charge was mooted other places were going to get guided busways, metrolink and other ideas. Stockport was going to get two park and rides. It seems Tfgm look down on us, maybe that needs to change and quickly.
Garry, please don’t expect the Cllrs to suddenly grow and back bone and properly represent their Constituents
Yes Stockport and Cheadle in particular do extremely badly out of TfGM – consideration should be given to come out of this particular club and use our current significant contribution to develop our own public transport infrastructure. Even the threat of this might make them give us a fair share of new infrastructure spend.
It seems rigged against us.
NB the vast increase in population from the all the new South Manchester housing out towards Woodford is going to cause even more problems with this short sigted removal of X57 services.
Looks as though I am the only satisfied respondent here. I live in Gatley about a 6 minute walk from the train station for trains to Manchester and to the airport. The number 11 bus takes us to and from Stockport. The motorway network is around the corner.
No complaints from me.
Where have the long protracted negotiations to re-open Cheadle railway station on the TP site got to? Amongst others, this would provide the quickest service to Stockport and Manchester and seems the obvious solution.
The shuttle bus to East Didsbury would provide a good connection to both Metrolink and Network Rail for travel to Manchester until our own station is built. What’s holding up this simple temporary solution?
The buses from Gatley to M/cr are even worse than Cheadle’s. The only bus that runs through Gatley & goes to M/cr is the 44 & this is only every 2 hrs so in order to get to M/cr, you’d have to get to Cheadle first & now they’re saying it’s getting worse. I’ve paid almost £500 for a yearly pass for my daughter & it seems to take her hours to get anywhere!!
The question that I would like to ask the Cllrs is why have they approved all the housing developments in the area when:
a) The road network can’t cope with the existing traffic
&
b) Public transport is so poor it will not take any traffic away from the roads.