Wednesday morning I unexpectedly found myself with no plans for the day. I was already up and in the city by 10am for an early meeting, so felt I should do something with the rest of the day. Finding no inspiration for a day out locally, I scrolled through the National Express app on my phone and checked the next departures.  A few taps later I’d booked myself a day return to Manchester, departing 30 minutes later.
 
I’ve made a scribble map of the route I took in Manchester if anyone’s interested. A change of colour indicates a change of bus route.
 
https://www.scribblemaps.com/create/#id=towvMan25q
 
Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) Bus Station – Manchester Chorlton Street. Service 325.
Travel de Courcey, Volvo B9R Caetano Levante, FN62CKY.
 
It’s been about two years since I last made a journey with National Express, it’s interesting to see some changes since then. The introduction of M-Tickets is very welcome. Previously it was possible to purchase tickets via the app but they still needed to be printed out, which was tedious and not always possible. The app itself is good too. The ‘My Bookings’ section shows all purchased tickets and also incorporates the coach tracking on the same page.  
 
I’ve never held the Levante in high regard, although I was basing this on early versions which were built on a Scania chassis and had a much more lightweight interior. The coach I was traveling on today, however, is an evolution of the original, on a Volvo B9R chassis. The interior is comfortable and much more soothing than the very loud blue, red and orange Megabus equivalent. The coach had a good turn of speed, the driver undertaking more than one car on the dual carriageway toward the M6.
 
The now standard wifi and plug sockets were available. It’s odd now how clumsy and redundant a 3-pin plug now looks on a bus – certainly I had only brought the cable part of my charger, expecting a USB port. Also new, or at least I’d never seen it before, was a chunky on board magazine. Wrote in the style of an airline magazine, with articles on city breaks and bought-in celerity interviews, it made for light reading and passed the tedium of the 50mph restriction currently in place on the M6. It was around 150 pages long, so a fairly weighty document that clearly a lot of effort had been put in to making it. The most impressive new feature from National Express is their new on board entertainment app for passengers – VUER. It’s a streaming app which utilises the coach’s wifi and allows passengers to stream movies and TV from NOW TV and also to browse popular magazines. I’m not sure if Megabus are offering anything similar, but this type of service is keeping National Express up there as the ‘premium’ option for coach travel, if such a thing exists.
 
Manchester Chorlton Street – Prestwich. Service X41.
Trasdev Lancashire United, Volvo B7TL, X7VTD, 3607.
 
I had no plan on where to go in Manchester now that I’d arrived. My decision to get one of the transdev routes to north Manchester was based entirely on it had started raining and they depart from the stop directly opposite the coach station exit. I boarded and opted for a System One any bus saver. At £5.20 it offers fantastic value considering it’s valid on any bus in the area covered by TFGM with add-ons for tram and train travel too.
 
If you’re unfamiliar with the vehicles used on the X41/Red Express service by transdev, I’d suggest Flikr searching the registration number above and having a guess at the age of the bus. I bet you’re first guess won’t be 14 years. Before last year’s upgrade of the 36 between Ripon and Leeds, these were standard fayre in North Yorkshire – sister vehicles are in use on CityZap between York and Leeds.
 
Back in 2011 this batch of deckers were extensively rebuilt, including the interior, engine, gearbox and updating the front end to the Gemini 2 design. At a reported £80,000 per bus it may sound like an expensive way of doing things, but when it’s considered this batch still handle the M66 every day, while GNE’s original X10 B7TLs are all but goosed, maybe it’s worth it. Comfort levels on the top deck were up there with the best, more personal space than the coach I’d just got off thanks to the 2+1 seating.
 
Prestwich – Bury Bus Station. Service 97.
First Manchester, Mercedes Citaro, W332RJA, 60254.
 
Or, at least I think it was. The fourth digit stuck above the windscreen had peeled away but the mark left behind looked a bit like a ‘5’. Anyway, I’d headed this far without a plan but knew Prestwich was a bit of a hub for bus routes so I hopped off on the high street.
 
I was surprised to see a Citaro in service, I thought all of Manchester’s had been withdrawn. It’s looking a bit down-at-heel now, still trundling along much the same territory it has done for 17 years, wearing it’s original livery.  The interior on this batch is typical of First at the time, plastic seating with a thin cushion – alike Urban 90 seats. The minimalist interior really emphasises the bright airy feel of the Citaro design. Despite the age gap, I noticed how similar this 2000 example sounds the same as modern examples, with the distinctive idling noise. There was one very noisy loose grab pole which was irritating, but other than that the bus seemed as it’s still got plenty of life in it. The reality is, however, it’s likely to be withdrawn next week as it’s home, Bury depot, closes as First’s bus operations continue to shrink. In all likelihood it’ll be sent straight to scrap, which is a shame as, given a little tlc, I reckon it could well serve a marginal division, such as First Potteries.
 
Such was my haste to board in Prestwich, I hadn’t even noticed what route I was on. Checking the reflection when passing a shop window, I was on the 97 – which is part of a cluster of routes between Manchester and Bury via various suburbs.  To plan my disembarking point, I check the timetable online. Timetables provided by TFGM are great – all in a clear uniform style and all with a geographical route map showing interchange points with other routes, tram and train. It showed to 97 only takes about 20 minutes to get to Bury, so I decided to stay on board until the terminus.
 
On the approach to Bury, I noticed about a dozen coaches parked on side streets, mostly on day-trip operations. Now, I’ve got nothing against Bury as a fairy typical northern town, but I’m at a loss as to why at least 300 people had actually paid money to go on a day-trip there. I think I’d rather a long weekend in Billingham.
 
Bury Bus Station – Bolton Bus Station. Service 471.
First Manchester, Volvo B9TL Wright Gemini, MX09GYH, 37554.
 
Upon arrival at Bury I had a choice as to where to go next. I’d narrowed it down to two options, Rochdale or Bolton, seeing as they were the next towns east or west and both had bus stations to provide further travel options. To make my choice I headed to the ‘Destination Finder’ board, found at any TFGM bus station. I think these boards are also great, A printed list of every route through the bus station, destinations, places en-route, journey times and operator information.
 
An example from TFGM:
http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Documents/Departures/Bury.pdf
 
 
I found Bolton had the edge with a slightly shorter journey time, and First’s route 471 was the one to get me there, with a ten minute headway. I think it’s a testament to how user friendly TFGM’s resources are that someone with limited knowledge of the area can arrive with no idea how to get where they want to go can get the information the need in a few seconds.
 
The B9 is somewhat of a First Manchester standard. Nothing particularly interesting about this example, a solid workhorse serving North Manchester well. Looking at what is available on the double-deck market now, these B9s may well be the last of the unapologetic heavy diesel double deckers, they will be missed in years to come when they begin to disappear from the road.
 
Welcome to Bolton (my photo):
 
 
Bolton bus station is a brutal place. Time stopped here in 1987. The 80s GMPTE ‘M-blem’ logo features on all the glass partitions and about 60% of the lighting works, so you can’t really see who’s about to mug you. There’s even a period canteen, with all wooden furniture, bolted to the floor, naturally. It was open to the public, though it’s only patrons seemed to be a cluster of drivers, behind the counter, helping themselves to tea and biscuits. The photo below is from the webpage ‘Photos around Bolton’ and was taken in 2016 – I never realised places like this still exist.



Perhaps of note is that Bolton is one of the few places in the UK that the ‘big’ three of the UK bus industry have a fairly equal presence. First perhaps have the most services, but Arriva and Stagecoach colours are usually present in the station at any one time. As I was planning my next move a Stagecoach Enviro 200 rolled onto stand for service 22: a Manchester Odyssey. Largely unchanged since deregulation, the 22 runs every 30 minutes, from 0500 to 2300, 7 days a week through just about every where there is to see in west Greater Manchester, taking 2 and a quarter hours to complete it’s grand tour.  Stagecoach journeys are relatively rare, they operate 3 boards in a row which form the first 3 departures off Stockport in the morning, the rest ran by First. Despite the relative rarity, I decided to pass up the opportunity of 2 hours on an E200 in favour of the flash of gold and navy, which brought a touch of the 21st century to the Bolton timewarp.
 
 
Bolton Bus Station – Horwich Cown Hotel. Service 125.
Stagecoach Merseyside & South Lancashire, Scania N230UB Enviro 400, UN65XED, 15229.
 
I think ‘Gold’ is the original and best of the premium bus brands which have come to the forefront in recent years. It works particularly well here in Bolton where the surrounding service is sufficient but basic. The luxury touches on a Gold spec bus seem genuine, rather than a superficial brand, like some Sapphire services. A surprising feature was the carpeted walls, something I think I last seen on an Arriva Vecta! I also noted there was no assault screen in place, which I thought was standard on all Stagecoach buses.
 
Once again, I had boarded without a plan. Service 125 runs every 10 minutes, so I had the opportunity to simply get off and ride back in the opposite direction if all else failed. Once again, using the free wifi and USB charging, I looked at TFGM’s route map and identified Horwich as a suitable looking place to disembark. Transferring to Google maps, I located the stop location so I’d know where to press the bell. I also utilised the transit feature on Google Maps to see what services departed from adjacent stops. It seems there was an alternate service that ran back to Bolton from Horwich every 10 minutes. I love how easy it can be to make up a route as you go along using such apps, even in places you’ve never visited before. 
 
Although these E400s look similar to the Stagecoach standard, the difference the Scania power makes is noticeable. I’d really recommend riding these on the 125 to Horwich, the route soon climbs out of Bolton and onto national speed roads, up and down hills where the Scania has an opportunity to stretch it’s legs. There’s also some fantastic scenery of Lancashire and views of Bolton’s Macron (formally Reebok) stadium.
 
Horwich Crown Hotel – Bolton Bus Station. Service 575.
First Manchester, Volvo B10BLE Wright Renown, 62233, Y942CSF.
 
My quick Google check had shown the 575 as being operated by Arriva, which I then associated with a Sapphire Pulsar I’d seen earlier. Accepting that this was to be my haulage back, I was pleasantly surprised that my ride was to be this B10, which much like it’s Citaro fleet-mate, is living on borrowed time. It turns out the 575 is a shared operation between Arriva and First, competing with Stagecoach’s 125 on the Horwich – Bolton corridor. Where we have the other two big companies putting out there best in the form of Gold and Sapphire, First are turning out literally their oldest buses on this route. Perhaps they’re starving Manchester of investment until after they Mayoral elections, as the favourite, Andy Burnham, is keen on bus franchising.
 
Much like the few B10BLEs clinging on around the country, this one was sounding just a little tired, with a loud cooling fan providing acoustics. It seemed to be the only B10 around in Bolton too, so another lucky catch for me! The pastel blues and purple interior of first makes for more modern feel than the un-refurbished GNE examples and the application of Olympia livery and large ‘Greater Manchester’ fleet names really helps disguise the age of this bus. I’d even say the new First livery suits these more than Barbie.  
 
Bolton Bus Station – Tyldsley High Street. Service 582.
First Manchester, Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse Urban 2, 69530, BD11CFF.
 
During my return to Bolton I decided I’d try to grab a ride on the busway which opened last year, to much fanfare. Quick use of journey planner pointed me to bus route 582, every 10 minutes from Bolton to Leigh. I lived in Manchester when these were delivered new, and I now remembered a day out I’d had to sample them. Although externally they look a lot smarter in Olympia livery, the interior of these is not aging well. Contrary to the light grey e-leather used for new First vehicles, this batch has dark navy seating, much like GNE’s. Now 6 years old the e-leather is starting to become worn and cracked around the edges. The dark colour served only to show up debris and crumbs on the surface. Although I’m sure they are technically cleaner than a cloth seat, I struggled to find somewhere inviting to sit.
 
A quirk of this design I’ve not noticed before is that there is only one opening window on each side – above the wheelchair/buggy bays. As Jimmi recently pointed out, this is prime old biddie window closing territory, despite a window directly above their head having little effect on them when the bus is moving. I wouldn’t want to be a passenger on a hot day when the blue-rinse brigade are out. It’s easy to see how this design is the natural evolution of the Renown, and I’m looking forward to sampling a Urban 3 example as orders are placed. Certainly Lothian’s look impressive. It’s a shame Wright have changed the design of the rear windows on new models to become slanted and narrow, like a Streetlite.
 
 
Atherton High Street – Manchester King Street. Service V2.
First Manchester, Volvo V5LH Wright Streetdeck,  39243, BW65DCO.

I’d had a day out to Manchester on the busway’s first day of operation, every bus I went on that day was full to capacity, so it was nice to sample these buses off-peak. I worked in Manchester before the busway was constructed and one of my colleagues lived in Atherton – I remember her complaining a lot about the unreliable bus service. Leigh & Atherton, the destinations of the Vantage services, have always been disproportionally difficult to get to Manchester from by bus, mainly due to traffic congestion on the East Lancs Road.
The busway carried a lot of negative press with it during construction, owing to its expense and the impact the work had on existing roads.  Now that it’s open, however, I’ve heard mainly good things. It’s a very well thought out project, the buses themselves are high spec and very high profile with their smart ‘Vantage’ livery, certainly more comfortable than a Northern rail carriage or Metrolink.
 
These hybrids can pull away quickly and the busway give them an opportunity to get up to a good speed. It benefits not just from a traffic-free route, but also signal priority. I’d managed to get a top-front seat and it was great to see red lights turn to green as the bus approached every intersection. The intersections with public roads are guarded with ‘car-traps’ – basically gullies which are of a width thin enough to allow a bus to pass over but too wide for a car, which would get stuck. Looking at Google, however, this hasn’t stopped a few people trying. As part of the busway, a park and ride site was constructed on the A580. On it’s first few days of opening, the MEN went along to take photos of just 3 cars using the site to add to their anti-TFGM campaign. Funnily enough there’s not been a follow-up now that the park and ride is full. Although I’ve read a few comments saying people would rather the busway be a Metrolink extension, I can’t see how it would be any better. As the Vantage routes leave the guided section of the route, they benefit from bus lanes and further priority measures on the full route past Salford and into Manchester. I’d hazard a guess that the bus is quicker than the car from Leigh to Manchester, especially if factoring parking time. I’d class that as a success for the busway.
 
Manchester Chorlton Street – Stoke-on-Trent (Hanley) Bus Station. Service 548.
Parks of Hamilton, Volvo B9R Plaxton Elite, KSK 951.
 
I opted to head to the coach station early to watch the comings and goings before my 18:00 departure. When I arrived my coach was already on stand as this service has almost an hour break in Manchester on its route from Edinburgh to Birmingham. The benefit of being front of the queue on boarding was getting the front seat for the journey home. The coach filled up to almost capacity and the driver began the get a bit fraught, counting empty seats and checking his loadings sheet. He beckoned over the controller and explained he had 4 passengers to pick up at the airport and only 3 spare seats with no-one to get off. He put the sheet down where I could see it and I noticed it had been printed early that morning when he had set off from Scotland, before I had bought my ticket. Could it be the app have let the coach overbook? A potential flaw in the last-minute ticketing? A few more minutes of scratching heads and re-counting seats and the controller came up with the idea of asking a passenger who was destined for London to transfer onto a direct service rather than traveling on this coach and changing in Birmingham- they’d get there sooner so everyone wins. As it happened, only two boarded at the airport so we would have been fine all along.  
 
The Plaxton Elite provides a nice contrast to the Levante. The panoramic dome windscreen is a welcome feature when sat at the front. The delay in departing was compounded by rush hour traffic but we were soon heading south. On passing Southern Cemetery I observed the various Stagecoach Enviros held here during the day and also a Centrebus Omnicity in service on route 199 coming from the direction of Chorlton, headed for Buxton. Considering this route is booked non-stop from Manchester Airport to Stocktport via the M60, I haven’t a clue as to why it was carrying passengers so far off route.
 
The route back to the midlands took advantage of the new A556 between the M56 and M6. I used to drive this route everyday and I don’t think I’m being dramatic when I say this link road would have been life changing. The old A556 was a very narrow dual carriageway, with no central reservation. I have a car wider than most, so when overtaking a truck when another one suddenly came up the outside lane of the opposite direction was a case of gripping tight and hoping everyone kept their wing mirrors. The old A556 still exists for local traffic, though the connections to the motorways at either end have been abruptly lopped off to deter motorists from rat-running. A quirk of this there is the original service station, Little Chef and IBIS budget hotel marooned on their own, severed from the M6 which would have supplied their trade. They’re still visible so I checked online and they’re still apparently open, though I doubt for much longer. 
 
I enjoyed my journey back to Stoke, realising I don’t think I’ve ever been a passenger on this journey. It’s interesting to see things you’ve never noticed before out the window because you’re driving! I’d had a very enjoyable day, one of those were everything just seemed to go right. I know it’s a risky strategy, heading into unknown territory without a plan; I seemed to have luck on my side. I have, since then, had an outing where everything went to pot and I didn’t even get off the ground so was back home within an hour, so swings and roundabouts.