Speedwellbus
Encyclopedia
Speedwellbus is a bus operator based in Hyde, Greater Manchester
, England
. It operates a fleet of 25 buses on commercial and contracted services. Operations commenced in 2002 with a service between Glossop
and Tintwistle
, and were expanded with the addition of contracts from Derbyshire County Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. Being a collaboration between Jack Hampson and David Whyatt, it can in some ways be viewed as a continuation of the Glossopdale Bus Company
project. The company was originally based in Glossop until they moved to the current base in Hyde. They also run a number of school buses in the Glossop area. Speedwellbus also formerly operated a "No frills" bus service in Greater Manchester
, entitled Speedwellvalue.
The designated buses used were branded low floor buses, although Speedwell occasionally drafted in original Speedwellbus vehicles. The services were designed to compete against the more expensive routes in Greater Manchester, offering a duplicate service that was up to 50% cheaper in comparison. The typical daytime frequency was every 20 minutes, with evening and all Sunday journeys running once every hour, excluding the S49 which only ran on Sundays.
The first established route was the S50, travelling from Hey Farm to Ashton under Lyne. The service originally continued beyond Ashton into Manchester Shudehill Interchange
via Mossley, Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden and Sport City. However, a month after launch in September 2009 the route was scaled down between Hey Farm and Ashton-under-Lyne only, due to the heavy delays by the Manchester Metrolink
upgrade and other essential roadworks in Droylsden
. Speedwellbus labelled the S50 a success and gradually added Sunday & late evening journeys between Hey Farm & Ashton. This was also the last route, as of 15th June, but technically disappeared before due to a sudden change in Transport for Greater Manchester's change in concessionary subsidiaries, resulting in a large drop in revenue. Works to the retaining wall on the A670 near the Billy Goat Pub in Mossley had caused delays to the route making the service less reliable during the height of peak travel hours. This may have contributed to the decision to withdraw the service.
Shortly after, a second route, the S48, was launched. The S48 travelled from Carrbrook to Ashton-under-Lyne via the Brushes estate and Stalybridge, effectively competing with route 348. Not long after its established presence, a full evening and Sunday service was introduced. However, the route was withdrawn in March 2011.
A 3rd route was launched, the S49, designed to compete with First's popular route 409 between Oldham
and Ashton Only. This service was withdrawn in April 2011.
All three Speedwellvalue services have been withdrawn and the scheme is no longer running; the website was also taken down in April 2011.
region, have voiced their concern to Derbyshire County Council over the decision to potentially axe the 397, leaving transport users in Hadfield and Tintwistle without a bus service to Hyde. A website has been created to gather signatures and comments to the DCC, along with the option to take part in an opinion survey in which research will be gathered to understand which transport links are worth retaining after DCC's decision to cut £700,000 from its transport budget. The website includes proposed alternations to other services in Derbyshire to maintain most services with some modified routes. The route though is due to be withdrawn in October 2011, along with all of the Glossopdale school buses in April 2012 after DCC decided to impose the full range of proposed cuts.
Hyde, Greater Manchester
Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It operates a fleet of 25 buses on commercial and contracted services. Operations commenced in 2002 with a service between Glossop
Glossop
Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater...
and Tintwistle
Tintwistle
Tintwistle is a village and civil parish in the High Peak district of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,401. The village is just north of Glossop at the lower end of Longdendale Valley...
, and were expanded with the addition of contracts from Derbyshire County Council and Transport for Greater Manchester. Being a collaboration between Jack Hampson and David Whyatt, it can in some ways be viewed as a continuation of the Glossopdale Bus Company
Glossopdale Bus Company
Glossopdale Bus Company was a bus company in Glossop, Derbyshire, England from 1991 until sale in 1999.-History:Glossopdale Bus Company began operations in 1991, with a one vehicle, two route service around Glossop.The founder of the business, David Whyatt, secured start-up funding from the...
project. The company was originally based in Glossop until they moved to the current base in Hyde. They also run a number of school buses in the Glossop area. Speedwellbus also formerly operated a "No frills" bus service in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, entitled Speedwellvalue.
Routes
Speedwellbus runs the majority of its services in the Tameside and Glossop areas but has expanded out to run services in the Stockport, Manchester and Oldham areas.| No. | From | To | Via | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 188 | Ryder Brow | Manchester Manchester Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater... Piccadilly |
Gorton Gorton Gorton is an area of the city of Manchester, in North West England. It is located to the southeast of Manchester city centre. Neighbouring areas include Longsight and Levenshulme.... , Higher Openshaw, Clayton, Sportcity, Ancoats |
|
| 202 | Glossop Glossop Glossop is a market town within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the Glossop Brook, a tributary of the River Etherow, about east of the city of Manchester, west of the city of Sheffield. Glossop is situated near Derbyshire's county borders with Cheshire, Greater... |
Hyde Hyde, Greater Manchester Hyde is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2001 census, the town had a population of 31,253. Historically part of Cheshire, it is northeast of Stockport, west of Glossop and east of Manchester.... |
Gamesley Gamesley Gamesley is a residential area within the Borough of High Peak in Derbyshire, England, west of Glossop and north of New Mills. It lies close to the River Etherow which is the boundary with Tameside in Greater Manchester.-Early:... , Charlesworth, Broadbottom Broadbottom Broadbottom is a suburban village within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the ancient county boundaries of Cheshire, by the River Etherow, on Greater Manchester's border with Derbyshire.-Description:... , Mottram, Godley |
Early mornings, evenings and Sundays only |
| 341 | Glossop | Hyde | Simmondley, Gamesley, Charlesworth, Broadbottom, Mottram, Hattersley, Backbower | |
| 342 344 |
Hyde | Hyde | Hyde Hospital, Backbower | |
| 343 344 |
Oldham Oldham Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester... |
Hyde | Waterhead (344), Lees Lees, Greater Manchester The village consists of a small cluster of shops and businesses on either side of the A669 Lees Road, surrounded by some terraced houses and some small estates... , Grotton, Mossley, Stalybridge, Dukinfield |
Weekday daytime only. 344 runs one morning journey |
| 394 | Glossop | Stepping Hill Hospital Stepping Hill Hospital Stepping Hill Hospital in a hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester.Stepping Hill Hospital is Stockport NHS Foundation Trust's main hospital, which looks after a population of approximately 350,000 people. Dr C. F. Burke is the Trust's Chief Executive while... |
Gamesley, Charlesworth, Marple, Hawk Green Hawk Green Hawk Green is a suburb of Marple, in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, UK. It lies on the Macclesfield Canal, and is centred around a traditional village green, or recreation ground... , Hazel Grove |
|
| 395 | Ashton-under-Lyne | Limehurst Farm | Waterloo | |
| 396 | Ashton-under-Lyne | Newton Heath Newton Heath Newton Heath is an urban area of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It is east north east of Manchester city centre and has a population of 9,883.... |
Waterloo, Hathershaw Hathershaw Hathershaw is an urban area of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It occupies a hillside to the immediate south of Oldham's town centre, and is bound by the districts of Coppice and Fitton Hill, on the northwest and southeast respectively... , Fitton Hill, Garden Suburb, Hollinwood, Failsworth Failsworth At Failsworth lies north-northwest of London. It shares common boundaries with Manchester and Oldham, on its west and northeast respectively. Failsworth is traversed by the A62 road, from Manchester to Oldham, the heavy rail line of the Oldham Loop and the Rochdale Canal, which crosses the... |
|
Speedwellvalue
On 3 August 2009 Speedwellbus launched a new "No-frills" concept service entitled SpeedwellValue, a low cost and frequent alternative against other services in Greater Manchester offering flat single fares at £1.20 and 60p for concessionary users, daysavers at £2 and weekly tickets at £9.60 and £4.80, respectively. All 'value' saver tickets were interchangeable on all 'Value' routes only, whilst a Speedwell saver ticket could be used in all routes.The designated buses used were branded low floor buses, although Speedwell occasionally drafted in original Speedwellbus vehicles. The services were designed to compete against the more expensive routes in Greater Manchester, offering a duplicate service that was up to 50% cheaper in comparison. The typical daytime frequency was every 20 minutes, with evening and all Sunday journeys running once every hour, excluding the S49 which only ran on Sundays.
The first established route was the S50, travelling from Hey Farm to Ashton under Lyne. The service originally continued beyond Ashton into Manchester Shudehill Interchange
Shudehill Interchange
Shudehill Interchange, known locally as just Shudehill, is a transport interchange located between Manchester Victoria station and the Northern Quarter in Manchester.It comprises a Manchester Metrolink station and a bus station.-Bus station:...
via Mossley, Ashton-under-Lyne, Droylsden and Sport City. However, a month after launch in September 2009 the route was scaled down between Hey Farm and Ashton-under-Lyne only, due to the heavy delays by the Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Metrolink
Metrolink is a light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. It consists of four lines which converge in Manchester city centre and terminate in Bury, Altrincham, Eccles and Chorlton-cum-Hardy. The system is owned by Transport for Greater Manchester and operated under contract by RATP Group...
upgrade and other essential roadworks in Droylsden
Droylsden
Droylsden is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside, in Greater Manchester, England. It is to the east of Manchester city centre, and west-southwest of Ashton-under-Lyne, it has a population of 23,172....
. Speedwellbus labelled the S50 a success and gradually added Sunday & late evening journeys between Hey Farm & Ashton. This was also the last route, as of 15th June, but technically disappeared before due to a sudden change in Transport for Greater Manchester's change in concessionary subsidiaries, resulting in a large drop in revenue. Works to the retaining wall on the A670 near the Billy Goat Pub in Mossley had caused delays to the route making the service less reliable during the height of peak travel hours. This may have contributed to the decision to withdraw the service.
Shortly after, a second route, the S48, was launched. The S48 travelled from Carrbrook to Ashton-under-Lyne via the Brushes estate and Stalybridge, effectively competing with route 348. Not long after its established presence, a full evening and Sunday service was introduced. However, the route was withdrawn in March 2011.
A 3rd route was launched, the S49, designed to compete with First's popular route 409 between Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
and Ashton Only. This service was withdrawn in April 2011.
All three Speedwellvalue services have been withdrawn and the scheme is no longer running; the website was also taken down in April 2011.
Save the 397
Recently, Speedwellbus, along with supporters within the DerbyshireDerbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
region, have voiced their concern to Derbyshire County Council over the decision to potentially axe the 397, leaving transport users in Hadfield and Tintwistle without a bus service to Hyde. A website has been created to gather signatures and comments to the DCC, along with the option to take part in an opinion survey in which research will be gathered to understand which transport links are worth retaining after DCC's decision to cut £700,000 from its transport budget. The website includes proposed alternations to other services in Derbyshire to maintain most services with some modified routes. The route though is due to be withdrawn in October 2011, along with all of the Glossopdale school buses in April 2012 after DCC decided to impose the full range of proposed cuts.
External links
- Official website
- Speedwellvalue website (taken down April 2011)
- GMPTE Website
- Campaign website