Go North West

Go North West is a bus operator in Greater Manchester, England. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.

Go North West
A Volvo B5LH Wright Gemini 2 in Go North West's launch livery in Manchester city centre.
ParentGo-Ahead Group
Commenced operation2 June 2019 (2019-06-02)
HeadquartersCheetham Hill
Service areaGreater Manchester
Service typeBus Services
HubsManchester, Salford, Bury, Middleton, Queens Road
Depots1
Fleet174 (December 2020)
Websitewww.gonorthwest.co.uk

History

Go North West commenced operations on 2 June 2019 following the Go-Ahead Group's purchase of First Greater Manchester's Queens Road depot with 163 vehicles.[1][2][3]

In December 2021, driver Tracey Scholes was dismissed after 34-years' service because side mirrors on the fleet were phased in to replace "branch" mirrors. This would have required her to lean around a pillar on the cab assault screen in order to see, however this led to her feet lifting from the pedals, due to her height.[4][5] Scholes had been the first woman bus driver for a Manchester depot.

2021 strike action
Main article: 2021 Go North West strike

On 28 February 2021, a strike was called by the union Unite over concerns that the new payment package was a 'fire and re-hire' scheme, following Go North West making a loss of £1.8 million per year. A reduced service operated during the period of industrial action, with the company hiring other local operators to maintain services, some of which were criticised by Unite for overcrowding buses during the third COVID-19 lockdown.[6][7] The strike ended on 18 May 2021 after successful talks between both parties in Unite's favour. Lasting 85 days, Unite claims this to have been their longest period of strike action.[8][9]

Services

Go North West operate 25 public services and six school services from the Queens Road depot as of September 2021.[10] It largely serves suburban areas in the north of Manchester along with Salford and Bury.[11]

Certain routes have been specifically branded by the company. The 52 and the 53, the latter being Manchester's oldest unchanged bus route, are branded with an orange livery as the 'Manchester's Orbits',[12] while the 135 route has received a similar green livery, both based on the standard fleet livery. Shortly after the industrial dispute ended in 2021, the 'CrossCity' brand was launched on the 41 service serving Sale and Middleton via the city centre.[13]

Fleet

As of December 2020, Go North West operates 174 buses, most of which were acquired from First Greater Manchester.[14] Buses were initially painted into a livery designed by local marketing agency We Are Buzz,[15] however the livery was redesigned in late 2019. This redesign later coincided with the introduction of the 'Manchester's Orbits' and 135 branding.

Buses are based at the former First depot in Queen's Road, Cheetham Hill, opened in 1901 by the Manchester Carriage and Tramways Company as the first electric tram depot to open in Manchester. The depot premises is adjacent to the Museum of Transport in Manchester.[16] Following the acquisition of the garage in 2019, Go North West had the depot's original clock restored to working order and also funded an auction bid to help return the golden key used to first open the garage to the adjacent museum.[17][18]

References
  1. "First Manchester sells Queens Road depot to Go-Ahead". Coach & Bus Week. 19 February 2019. Archived from the original on 19 February 2019.
  2. Rucki, Alexandra. "First Manchester are selling 160 buses and their Cheetham Hill depot for £11.2m". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019.
  3. Go North West launches with Manchester depot Route One 2 June 2019
  4. Cox, Charlotte (3 December 2021). "Bus driver with 34 years experience sacked for being 'too short'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  5. Molloy, Thomas; Blackburne, Elaine (7 December 2021). "Stars back woman dismissed from bus driving job because she was too short". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  6. "Manchester Go North West bus drivers to strike in 'fire and rehire' dispute". BBC News. 12 February 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. Robson, Steve (4 March 2021). "Investigation launched into 'dangerously overcrowded' replacement bus service during drivers strike". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. Blakey, Ashlie (17 May 2021). "Long-running bus drivers' strike over 'fire and rehire' ends after 85 days". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  9. Richards, Archie (17 May 2021). "Go North West bus strike ends after union drivers win historic battle against 'fire and rehire'". Salford Now. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. "Timetables : GoNorthWest". www.gonorthwest.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  11. "Network Map". GoNorthWest. Go Ahead Group. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  12. "Go North West's Manchester's Orbits launch". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Coach and Bus Week Limited. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. @GNWbus (27 May 2021). "#CrossCity is coming, Your newer, brighter, feature-packed buses for the 41 are starting to hit the roads - you can't miss them!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. "Go North West Fleet List" (PDF). Go North West. 14 December 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  15. Harrison, Matt (2 June 2019). "Go North West reveal their new brand and livery". Transport Designed. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  16. Go-Ahead agrees Manchester deal Buses' issue 769 April 2019 page 6
  17. "What's the strategy for Go North West?". Passenger Transport. 18 October 2019. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  18. Britton, Paul (31 October 2019). "The long-lost, 15 carat gold key that launched the public transport system in Manchester". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
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