Query on buses

Without wishing to impersonate the Leader of the Opposition at Prime Minister's Questions each Wednesday, we have had an email from Rachel who asks:

"I was just inquiring if you knew anything about the local bus service now it has changed to D&G?

"Having been on the website it says that the service is still the same timings but on a number of occasions there have been no buses, even yesterday no 10.43 or 11.48 through Hankelow. The phone number provided on the website is constantly engaged and no callback even though requested.

"I'm trying to find out if the timetable is correct or if we will still have a service that runs through regularly."

Yesterday afternoon, just after we received Rachel's query, Cheshire East issued the following statement about bus services:

Borough's bus services near normal again after GHA collapse

Bus services in Cheshire East are almost fully operational again after the collapse of one of the Borough's biggest operators GHA Coaches two weeks ago.

The company ceased operating on the evening of July 13th, leaving the Council's transport management company TSS to deal with a major challenge.

But due to a well-thought-out contingency plan by TSS, the vast majority of routes run by GHA are now operating again, although not all are running exactly to the normal timetable.

Five other operators have stepped in to fill the void and some are bidding to take over those routes on a permanent basis.

The Council also intends to re-introduce the 'Flexi Rider' service in Crewe from August 1st, so that groups and individuals unable to access evening bus services have the option to pre-book journeys to suit their needs and requirements.

GHA carried in excess of 3,400 passengers per day and within 24 hours of the collapse, the Council's Transport Service Solutions company had restored more than 75 per cent of affected services, with 97 per cent of journeys covered by July 18th.

Staff worked round the clock to deal with issues and ferried in extra vehicles from a contractor to ensure that services for children with special educational needs were restored as quickly as possible.

Councillor David Brown, Cabinet member for highways and transport said: "This was an extremely challenging experience for TSS and I would like to thank all the staff who did such a brilliant job in restoring services so quickly.

"I would also like to thank the other operators who stepped in to help cover this emergency situation.
I am pleased that we have had very few complaints from our residents -- in fact many people have used social media to praise the way the Council responded to this."

Only one route -- the 44 Crewe to Nantwich via Shavington service -- remains affected, although the Council has arranged for the 39 service from Crewe to be re-routed to cover part of this route.

Travellers seeking up-to-date information should visit the Council web site at: http://cheshireeast.gov.uk/public_transport/bus/bus_service_timetables.aspx

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.