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Greater Manchester bus route 192

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192
Stagecoach Manchester Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC at Stockport in October 2024
Overview
OperatorStagecoach Manchester
GarageStockport
Hyde Road
VehicleAlexander Dennis Enviro400
Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC
Route
StartHazel Grove or Stepping Hill Hospital
ViaHeaviley
Stockport
Heaton Norris
Heaton Chapel
Levenshulme
Longsight
Ardwick
EndPiccadilly Gardens
Length9.4 miles (15.1 km)
Service
LevelDaily, with overnight operation on Friday and Saturday nights
Frequency5-10 mins (daytime)
15 mins (Midnight operation, Fridays and Saturdays only)
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Greater Manchester bus route 192 is a high frequency bus route runs between Hazel Grove in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport and Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre. It is operated by Stagecoach Manchester.

History

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Stagecoach Manchester Volvo B10M in July 2007
Stagecoach Manchester Alexander Dennis Enviro400 at Manchester City Centre in February 2009
Stagecoach Manchester Alexander Dennis Enviro400 with new local livery at Stockport in August 2024

The history of route 192 dates back to the days of horse-drawn trams, when a service from Torkington Road, approximately half a mile from the Rising Sun in Hazel Grove, commenced in 1889. It was operated by the Stockport Carriage & Tramway Co, with vehicles purchased from the Manchester Carriage & Tramways Company. By 1905, the council had purchased the line, and electrified it. By 1911, the line was completed to Hazel Grove, though still not a through service to Manchester. When the full route to Manchester commenced, it was initially numbered 35,[1] with the Manchester terminus at Exchange.

It was numbered 92 on 10 January 1949, when tramway service was withdrawn and the Manchester terminus moved to Piccadilly Gardens.[2] It was owned and operated jointly by Manchester and Stockport Corporations.[3] On 1 November 1969, following the Transport Act 1968,[4] both municipal operations, along with others, merged to form SELNEC. Within a short space of time, the route was renumbered 192.[4][5] Over the next 17 years, the operator's title changed from SELNEC, to Greater Manchester Transport and then Greater Manchester Buses.

Following deregulation on 26 October 1986, the route was taken over by GM Buses and other operators, such as Finglands Coachways and Wall's Coaches, who introduced rival 192 services. On 31 December 1993, GM Buses was split in two; GM Buses North and GM South Buses, the latter of which became the main operator of route 192.[6]

In February 1996, GM South Buses was bought by Stagecoach and rebranded as Stagecoach Manchester.[7]

In July 2015, the terminus was relocated at Hazel Grove to a newly constructed park & ride.[8] In October 2015, a peak hour express version of the route was introduced as X92.[9] The afternoon journeys were discontinued in January 2018.[10][11]

Route

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Full route

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The service begins at either Hazel Grove park & ride or Stepping Hill Hospital, and operates via Heaviley, Stockport, Heaton Chapel, Levenshulme, Longsight and Ardwick to Piccadilly Gardens.

Part routes

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In addition to the full route, which is run every 10 minutes or more during the day, there are numerous part-routes that are also run every 10 minutes between Stockport Mersey Square and Manchester all day; most of these were extended to Stockport College from 7 April 2013.[12] It runs every 10 minutes between Stockport and Manchester in the afternoon and early evening, with journeys in the early morning and late night between Hazel Grove and Stockport. Having part routes mean that the busiest part of the route is between Stockport Mersey Square and Manchester, with a bus coming on average every 3.5 minutes.

Overnight service

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Overnight services are provided on the full route every 15 minutes on Fridays and Saturdays.

Bus war

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In March 2006, UK North decided to increase its level of operation to 12 buses per hour on route 192.[13] The route was already well-serviced, with frequencies of at least every 10 minutes. Stagecoach Manchester responded by increasing services and introducing its no frills Magic Bus brand along the route to compete with the lower-priced UK North.[14] The resulting bus war led to the route becoming overly congested to the point of being dangerous,[15] forcing buses to queue behind each other waiting for passengers.[5] The situation ceased in December 2006, when UK North had its licence terminated, due to concerns over the safety of its vehicles and the standard of training given to its drivers.[16]

Fame

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According to Stagecoach, the route is the busiest in Britain, with around 9 million passengers carried annually.[17] Transport for Greater Manchester has designated the A6 as a quality bus corridor.[18] In October 2008, route 192 was the first in England to have solar-powered on-street ticket machines.[17] The machines cost around £80,000 and were installed by Stagecoach and GMPTE for a 12-month trial, enabling tickets to be bought beforehand and saving time when boarding the bus.[17]

Route 192 bus is the subject of a musical album by singer Dave Hulston, who was born in Longsight. The album is named "Willow and the 192" and, according to the Manchester Evening News, was set to be released in the summer of 2007.[5]

References

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  1. ^ Ian Yearsley and Philip Groves, The Manchester Tramways, TPC 1988.
  2. ^ Postelthwaite, Harry (April 2008). Stockport Corporation. Venture Publications. ISBN 978-1-905304-17-2.
  3. ^ "Eyewitness in Manchester: Exploring Levenshulme". Manchester Online. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Key Dates in Greater Manchester's transport history". Greater Manchester Transport Museum. Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "192 bus immortalised in song". Manchester Evening News. 31 March 2007.
  6. ^ "Greater Manchester Transport And Beyond". The SELNEC Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  7. ^ Tooher, Patrick (26 February 1996). "Pensioners lead protest at £41m Stagecoach takeover". The Independent.
  8. ^ Stagecoach launches Britain's first privately funded bus park and ride facility Stagecoach 1 July 2015
  9. ^ Stagecoach Manchester launches express service into Manchester Stagecoach Manchester 20 October 2015
  10. ^ X92 non-stop bus service axed because people think it's the 192 and try to jump off when it won't stop Manchester Evening News 19 January 2018
  11. ^ Stagecoach Manchester cuts afternoon X92 services after passenger abuse Coach & Bus Week issue 1325 16 January 2018 page 7
  12. ^ "Stagecoach Service Changes". Stagecoach Manchester. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  13. ^ "Minutes of a meeting of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority held on 13 April 2006" (PDF). GMITA. Retrieved 8 May 2009. [dead link‍]
  14. ^ "Improved Stagecoach service on the 192". Stagecoach Manchester. 28 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  15. ^ "Council concerns over 'bus war'". BBC News. 3 April 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  16. ^ "Bus companies banned from roads". BBC News. 22 December 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  17. ^ a b c "New solar-powered on-street ticket machines for Manchester". Stagecoach Group. 10 October 2008. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  18. ^ "Greater Manchester bus route investment reaches £80 million". GMPTE. 16 March 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
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