Wythenshawe residents’ frustration over Stagecoach’s ‘hit or miss’ service
- Residents in Wythenshawe frustrated with unreliability from Stagecoach buses causing disruptions to daily life
- Stagecoach says issues with roadworks and its app have impacted services
Wythenshawe residents have expressed frustration and anger over what they say is Stagecoach’s ‘hit or miss’ bus service.
Stagecoach is the leading bus service in Manchester but passengers have been left disappointed with a lack of communication regarding cancelled buses.
Megan Gilbert, who regularly uses Stagecoach buses, took to Twitter to find the whereabouts of her expected bus.
Despite the bus tracking on the company’s app, Stagecoach responded to inform her of the no show which resulted in Megan and her friend losing out on food they ordered to pick up through ‘Too Good To Go’.
— Megan (@meganetg16) February 13, 2022
Megan said: “My friend and I joke about how unreliable that they are! The buses in my area are known for being late regularly.
“I hadn’t exactly lost a lot of money three days ago when that incident happened.
“It’s still frustrating that we lost those orders due to Stagecoach stopping that service due to technical issues and restarting it after the stop that we were at.”
This isn’t the only incident where Megan has been let down by Stagecoach’s services making a point that this has occurred over several years, making her late to college and impacting her education.
Disruption
Another Stagecoach user, nurse Poppy Harris, said: “I find their service a bit hit or miss. It’s very fairly priced and somewhat reliable but when they’re late it completely disrupts my day.
“I use it (Stagecoach) to get to work, and due to the nature of my work it’s imperative that I’m there on time, as sometimes I’m the only nurse on my ward.
“If my bus doesn’t turn up, I have to pay for an uber instead which can cost up to £25 for one ride due to the times of my shifts and distance I have to travel.
“This happens maybe once or twice a fortnight which I know isn’t loads but it really adds up over time.
“I always use the app but because of the pandemic and changing timetables it sometimes doesn’t regularly refresh which leaves me in the dark about whether it’s coming or not.
“We can’t predict hold ups like collisions that may impact it but it’s still annoying.”
A spokesperson from Stagecoach said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by delayed services or issues that customers may experience with the tracking feature in our app.
“Most of our services are trackable in real-time. However, we are aware of an issue with the service provider that is affecting the tracking on some services and we are looking to get this resolved as quickly as possible.
“Services in the area have also been impacted by roadworks in Cheadle and Gatley which have resulted in delays of up to 30 minutes at peak times. This information has been shared with our customers on Twitter to help them plan their journeys and we have also discussed the impact of these works and the delays caused to our services with both TfGM and Stockport Council.
“If any customers are experiencing service delays or issues with the tracking feature in our app, we would ask them contact us on Twitter @StagecoachGM for up-to-date travel information.”
In September, Stagecoach bus drivers in Greater Manchester to walk out over pay disputes.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said at the time: “Bosses at Stagecoach should know that Unite is ready for a relentless campaign if our Manchester members vote for strike action.
“Unite members all over the UK are voting for industrial action right now over Stagecoach’s ‘penny pinching’ on pay. Stagecoach’s board should be in no doubt that Unite is now wholly dedicated to advancing the jobs, pay and conditions of its members.”