• 

Despite strong and repeated representations from Saddleworth Liberal Democrats, Transport for Greater Manchester have gone ahead with bus cuts to subsidised bus services in Saddleworth: 353, 354 & 355 scrapped and partially replaced by 356 Saddleworth Rambler but no longer serving Greenfield Station – rerouted from Uppermill along Bridge Street, Carr Lane, Queensway, Wellington Road, Chew Valley Road, Shaw Hall Bank Road, Church Road and High Grove Road to Mossley Road and then to Top Mossley and Ashton

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Saddleworth North Garth Harkness said:

“The Saddleworth Rambler has proven highly successful and I am proud to have been part of the project which introduced it. This came out of a detailed piece of work around transport needs in Saddleworth . I raised these concerns but was told It would not be as bad as we think. I was given reassurances and now it is worse as It won’t serve the train station- one of it’s key purposes.” 

In many cases important clusters of population will have no service and the new links are poor in comparison. All the talk of Greater Manchester taking control of the buses again. They already do on these routes and they decimated them “

Former Council leader and transport professor, Dr Richard Knowles said

“Hundreds of people living in three large areas of Delph and Uppermill will lose all their bus services: Palinwood Road/Delph Lane area in Delph, Wellmeadow estate/Church Road and Grove Road/Rush Hill Road areas of Uppermill.

The TfGM Committee report when they approved these bus cuts made no mention of 356 Saddleworth Rambler no longer serving Greenfield Station or the huge number of residents who would lose all of their bus services. “

The Oldham/Denshaw 407 bus service is also being replaced by the 356 which will operate from Oldham to Ashton via Denshaw, Delph, Dobcross, Diggle, Uppermill, edge of Greenfield, Friezland and Top Mossley.

   Leave a comment