TfGM could have offered to buy out the two major operators — First would be delighted to offload its Manchester operation and Stagecoach would have to act in the best interests of its shareholders.
INSIDE TRACK with JULIAN PEDDLE
Manchester continues on the road to Nirvana with news that it will spend £10.5million to progress its plan to introduce a contracted bus network throughout the conurbation.
To recap, in 1986 the buses were operated by GM Buses, owned by the PTE, and competition evolved with about 50 participants, including at one stage Merseybus. When GM Buses was split in two, GM North was sold to First, GM South to Stagecoach, which adopted a cheap fares policy including Magic Bus and virtually doubled patronage while First kept fares higher and patronage slowly declined.
Their competitors were either bought out or ceased trading, First and Stagecoach kept to their areas and Rosso gained a presence in the Rochdale/Bury area. First sold its poorly performing Wigan operation to Stagecoach.
First then made a fatal mistake. Stagecoach had bought Bluebird, which served Middleton in the north. First retaliated by buying Finglands in the south, which ran on major corridors past the university, in tu…
