Bus wars in Manchester [headlines past two days Manc evening news]- My view

I live in Chorlton and use the 86 daily, on Monday UK North decided to run buses on that route which is perfectly legal, Stagecoach have been neglecting Chorlton for a while because they thought they owned the routes, they start missing out buses so they could flood other routes.

Since Monday the first day of the UK North service Stagecoach have been running 86 and 85 buses every minute, I reckon they are now 100 stagecoach buses form Chorlton every hour, this is causing massive traffic jams in the city centre.

What annoys me is that its UK North getting the blame by the media, now this company is by no means innocent they have a deserved bad reputation.

However Stagecoach flooding the routes is what is causing Manchester to be a total gridlock this week.

My MP has debated the issue before in parliment but was told they are not going to change the law. So what can be done about this? Stagecoach are surely abusing their power? And where do all these buses come from in order to flood the routes? Simple they neglect other routes.

The MD of Stagecoach said they are not scared of competition so how come they have been in trouble so many times for breaking such laws? How come they are flooding the route since UK North started operating?

Before yesterday I often had to wait 10 minutes for a bus that was supposed to be every 5, now they are every second, yet the MEN claim the problem is purely caused by UK North . It dosn't make any sense.

 

And how much fuel is being wasted (and environmental damage done) by all these additional buses and the cars being snarled up by them?

In melbourne there was supposed to be chaos when the tram drivers went on strike... What actually happened was that all of the cars could get where they needed to go quicker and more easily. The entire thing just weakened the tram drivers' case because it made people realise that they weren't as necessary as had been thought.

 

Well the Metrolink has had to cancel a lot of services because of the gridlock. My dad counted 7 86 buses in a row this afternoon, 6 Stagecoach, 1 UK North.

Yet the media make out Stagecoach is all so inocent, yeah right. Darlington Bus company is all I need to say.

And while they are flooding the 86 other services are neglected.

PS Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton just stinks at the moment there must be twice the normal amount of pollution.

This why we need a London style regulation, I have been warning this will happen for a long time. Hopefully now the police are involved somthing will be done, because what stagecoach are now doing is causing traffic problems.

 

I didn't realise the MEN did regional versions. My copy hasn't mentioned this at all.

 

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

It was headlines on it today, was mentioned yesterday, only on the website.

 

Was taking pics before, caught 8 Stagecoach 85s running within 5 minutes, it was 1 every 10 minutes before Monday.

Tomorrow morning I am going to film the entire thing and send a copy of the DVD to the traffic comsioner, GMPTE and Downing Street.

 

do you remember the television programme

"stagecoach , daylight robbery"

It discussed the way in which stagecoach have in the past flooded bus routes of competitors either with their own busses or unmarked vehicles.

Eventually the competiton gives up or goes bust in the examples in the tv programmes.

I'm no legal expert, - maybe scope already exists in the legal framework for anti-competitive behaviour. If not, perhaps that is a hole in the law.

 

Its ilegal, Stagecoach have been finned for this many times, but the fine is a pathetic amount. Its like giving a footballer a £60 parking fine.

The Darlington Bus Company is a classic example.

I am no fan of UK North at all and have complained about them in the past but in this instance I do feel strongly that Stagecoach are to blame, its why I am detmined to film it tomorrow morning so I have concrete proof of what Stagecoach is doing.

 

Watch those drivers whips when you are filming, they hurt.

Rod

 

Didn't need to in the end Stagecoach have stopped the flooding, however it still didn't stop the clowns from UK North filming this morning - two days too late.

 

You ought to come down here, bluddy buses eveywhere, pull out in front of you, carve you up, no signals, go like a man posessed, drive in normal carriage ways, while their damn bus lanes are epty !


Sorry, just had to get it off my chest.

I feel better now, will sit quiet for a while !

 

It seems to be sorted now, the traffic comsioner has finally stepped in and ordered the flooding buses off the road. What is annoying me though is the media are blaming are the smaller company as usual when it was stagecoach buses causes the traffic problems.