Busy Busway: Is Manchester’s Guideway a Victim of Its Own Success?

First Manchester has announced that its Leigh/Tyldesley-Manchester Busway services are so full that they are to run additional services and purchase new buses next year.

 

Nearly a million passengers have used the service since its launch in April 2016 and many passengers have expressed their frustration with the capacity of the service.This level of patronage is roughly in line with Transport for Greater Manchester’s expectations. However, Urbanitymcr understands that peak-time services have left many users stranded at stops as some buses are so fully that they are unable to pick up passengers. Many passengers onboard have been unable to find seats and have had to stand.

First Manchester announced last week that they were aware of the capacity issues and were looking into adding new vehicles onto the route. The route’s operator has announced the commencement of two extra Vantage services running at peak travel times to relieve pressure on existing services.

 

Next year, an additional five buses will be added to the route which connects Manchester to Leigh and Tyldesley via Salford.

Since its announcement, the Leigh-Salford-Manchester Guided Busway has faced vocal criticism from campaign groups and residents of the A580 corridor. Much of the criticism that Urbanitymcr has witness online has originated from motorists who were sceptical that the scheme would attract its projected level of users.

It is yet to be understood whether the high level of patronage includes a number of motorists who have switched to using First’s services. It is perhaps more likely that a large number of bus users have simply diverted from services 12, 25, 26, 39 and First X34 which were all axed around the time of the Busway’s operations in April.

Leader of Wigan Council, Lord Peter Smith stated “The continued success of the guided busway service is very pleasing to see and I welcome the announcement that the number of buses at peak times is going to be increased”.

“Despite doubt and criticism from some quarters in the past, we maintained our full commitment and support and we are now delighted to see it is thriving and growing in popularity. It is crucial that demand from passengers is now satisfied by First Manchester and its commitment to add extra buses to the route is very welcome”.

 

New Report Scrutinises Devolution Agreement

To date, eight devolution deals have been agreed across the country. Chomping at the bit, as you might expect was Manchester. Greater Manchester’s civic leaders, were the first to propose and sign off their deal, which to date has been the most ambitious.

Today, consultancy EY launched their report on the issue of devolution in Manchester and other English ‘regional’ cities known as ‘From Whitehall to Townhall: Preparing for Devolution to England’s City Regions‘.

The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act, which became law in January, will provide an “enabling framework” for other areas to negotiate their own devolution deals at their own pace. The Act allows for the removal of the current statutory limitation on the functions of local authorities, this means that the sky is potentially the limit for the transfer of powers to local bodies. However, its considerations are rather catch-all and generic, allowing for variations across local areas.

The EY report recommends that “to maximise the chances of success, councils need to take the time to build a shared vision for the local area, develop a plan based on robust analysis, put politicians in the lead when negotiating with ministers, build relationships and trust, and put the plan, skills and capacity in place to make it all happen”.

Find the full report here: http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-From-Whitehall-to-Townhall/$FILE/EY-From-Whitehall-to-Townhall.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Low Down – Richard Leese and The Manchester Strategy Launch

On a typically grey Wednesday in the City Centre, an assembly of council officials, consultants, community activists and members of the public queue up inside Central Library. What do this mish-mash of Mancunians have in common? They’re all in line to hear one of the Godfathers of Manchester’s renaissance – Richard Leese present the Manchester Strategy. This document sets out Manchester’s civic plan for the next decade. Many of the attendees are spectators, but many more have had a say.

Taking to the stage, Richard Leese was keen to discuss the input that Manchester residents and community groups have had in putting together this document.

“It is important to have a shared view to take Manchester forward.” Leese stated in his typically calm and seemingly approachable manner. “It is vital to bring a broad range of views into the process”. As he discusses this, images of the consultation responses appear on a projector, including one which advocates replacing “all public transport with water slides”. You may assume that this is either authored by a child, or a long-suffering user of Northern Rail.

Leese noted the success of Manchester in the past twenty years, but he doesn’t skirt round the difficult issues. Leese mentions the importance of constantly assessing what hasn’t worked and what needs to be achieved, listing skills, healthcare and housing. He describes how the annual State of The City report has been “vital” to understanding where Manchester is, to then plan for where it is going.

During his speech, Leese noted lessons learned from neighbouring Greater Manchester borough, Wigan, whose “asset based approach” has enabled more individuals to contribute to civic processes.

“We want to steal as many ideas from Wigan as we can…” [cue laughter from the crowd] “No, in honesty they are clearly happy to give us information on what’s worked for them”.

Wigan’s approach – The Wigan Deal – involved communities and professionals in making decisions around the council’s day-to-day operations. Leese described the win-win from more involvement, better services and lower cost. Manchester, he stated, will follow this approach to provide public services in the future. This speech is upbeat and ambitious – despite deviating from Whitehall to Wigan, this speech is typically Mancunian.

This subject is topical, Manchester and its neighbouring authorities within Greater Manchester will see this as more important as devolution powers transfer in May. Greater Manchester is tasked with bringing down government spending as part of the settlement, to gradually reduce it’s status as a net-beneficiary of tax revenues. How this ‘Big Society’ inspired approach develops in the future will no doubt be interesting.

On Manchester’s focus on attracting business and talent, he seemed to respond to many red-Labour critics on culture and the City Council’s investment in culture during a time that other services are being reduced. Leese rather bluntly then stated “Who wants to live in a city without Culture?” continuting to say “Parks, libraries, leisure facilities… they all provide quality of life”. He has given this sermon before, including in this Guardian article in 2015 and during the launch of HOME.

On the emerging plan, Leese didn’t just talk strategy, but talked delivery. Manchester has been recognised for its ‘can do’ approach and this speech displays that clearly. “Strategy is wonderful as long as we do something about it”.

Questions were then raised around climate change, green strategy and litter. On litter, Leese stated “we have to get the basics right… as an elected official if that’s [action] what the people want, that’s my priority”. Leese then signs out with a generic final point on making Manchester a “better place” in the future.