Minutes:
The meeting was attended by David Longmate and David Rutherage from First Bus to talk about bus services in the Whitefield and Unsworth area. Councillor Noel Bayley also attended the meeting in his capacity as a Council representative on Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
The Chair invited questions.
- Why are the bus arrival times in the bus shelters not accurate?
The shelters are owned by TfGM. Bus times are available in real time at the bus depot only and not at the bus shelters. The cost of placing time displays at the 11500 bus stops in Greater Manchester would be extremely high. Also timetables on shelters are sometimes stolen and maybe out of date. It is not always possible to replace these in view of the £7.1million of cuts that have been imposed. The development of apps for phones would be the way forward rather than bus shelter displays.
- Why do buses wait at certain locations?
There are certain spots on a route where the driver needs to be because the bus is being monitored to ensure it stays to its schedule. These spots mean that a driver may wait if they are ahead of schedule so they can be on time. A bus can arrive 1 minute early or be 5 minutes late at a stop. With the introduction of new technology it will be possible to better control how buses run so the service operates more efficiently along the route.
- On the 135 route there were three busses all together and then no further buses after them. Why does this happen?
The 135 route is a high frequency route with buses every 7 to 8 minutes. Sometimes it is inevitable that there will be bunching of buses at points along the route due to traffic density and time spent picking up passengers.
- Some bus drivers are rude to passengers?
With all customer facing services it is sometimes the case that there will be a problem driver who does not provide a high level of customer service. In situation like this First Bus asks that you pass on information of your experience.
- Why do drivers not scan passes and not accept them at the time they should?
85% of concessionary passes are now scanned. There were issues with the older passes which were not fit for purpose. Let First Bus know if your pass is not accepted with the details of the bus and time it happened.
- People are complaining about the 92 and 93 services which have changed without the passengers knowing. Will you consult with bus users when you are planning to make changes in future?
There is a reliability issue on both routes. There is a problem from the works being carried out on Croft Lane. Getting workers to the medical centre was the initial focus but getting out of Bury to get to the motorway is now the issue. There are limited resources and the 93 and 92 are not working efficiently. We will consult users on planned changes in the future.
The bus services are hindered by ongoing road works that are taking place in Manchester, Salford and Bury. This slows the traffic flow down and in turn resulted in late buses First Bus cannot control this and as a result cannot provide the service to passengers it wants.
- Why was the 154 service stopped?
This service starts from the Cheetham Hill depot. This was a tendered service and was stopped after a decision was made by TfGM. The service was never on time and the route was then altered.
- Disabled people and older people need time to sit down when they have got on the bus. Sometime drivers set off before they have sat down and it is unsafe.
First Bus are going to distribute PAWS cards for bus users. PAWS means ‘Pull Away When Safe’.
- Will First Bus return to a future meeting of the Township Forum to meet service users and answer questions?
Yes First Bus will attend the March Township Forum meeting.
It was agreed:
That the representatives from First Bus be thanked for their attendance at the meeting and arrangements be made for their attendance at the March meeting of the Township Forum.