2003 To Present
In March 2003, Stotts returned to operate bus services but would not be able to run as many services as they previously did. In fact, they started with just one service, the 427 between Grotton and Hollinwood via Lees, Oldham and Garden Suburb. Stotts' service would go head-to-head with First's 427/429 service, which also ran between Grotton and Hollinwood with First's 427 running to Uppermill and the 429 to Greenfield. First ran a Monday-Saturday daytime service of every 10 minutes, while Stotts' only ran every 20 minutes, with some services during the day not running, so they could run school bus services, which they had been doing for a few years before.
Stotts also ran some contracted services from July 2003, funded by GMPTE in Stockport for a couple of years before losing the contract to Speedwellbus. They were the 307/308 (Stockport - Cheadle - Bramhall - Hazel Grove) Circulars services and the 390 (Stockport - Hazel Grove - Poynton - Woodford - Bramhall) service.
After that, they concentrated on running the 427 service plus school services in the Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside areas. One tactic that Stotts used on their 427 service to compete with First was to introduce a maximum fare of 70p. This would help, as First would charge almost double to Stotts. In 2006, Stotts would have to increase that fare, due to increased fuel costs to £1.20, still slightly cheaper than First.
First were obviously concerned by Stotts' presence on the 427 service. In October 2004, they changed their services with the 427 and 429 services replaced by the 180 and 184, continuing to run the 10-minute frequency between Grotton and Hollinwood, with buses continuing to Manchester and Saddleworth or Huddersfield. First also introduced a 20-minute weekday 184 service between Grotton and Hollinwood. The combination of First's 180 and 184 services and Stotts' 427 service saw a bus running every 5 minutes between Grotton and Hollinwood.
After four years, Stotts' 427 service was still running, although the Saturday service was withdrawn in 2007. First's 184 service between Grotton and Hollinwood had changed to run as a 183 running between Grotton and Limeside. In December 2007, it was announced that Stott's will withdrawn operation of the 427 service from 3 January 2008. This meant that Stott's would not be running any normal bus services, although they will continue to operate the school bus services. However, in May 2008 Stotts regained a presence in the Stockport area with Speedwellbus losing the contract to run the 390 service to Stotts, taking over the 364 service from Stagecoach Manchester at the end of July 2008.
Former services run by Stotts from 2003:
- 307/308 Stockport - Cheadle - Bramhall - Hazel Grove withdrawn in 2005
- 337 Ashton under Lyne - Crowhill - Ashton Moss - Ashton under Lyne Circular Merged with route 41 on 1 June 2010
- 353/4 Ashton under Lyne - Stalybridge - Heyheads - Mossley - Uppermill Taken over by First Greater Manchester after re-tender
- 390 Stockport - Hazel Grove - Poynton - Bramhall withdrawn in 2005 - resumed operation from Speedwellbus in May 2008 - Stagecoach Manchester operating all journeys from Sept 2009
- 427 Grotton - Lees - Oldham - Garden Suburb - Hollinwood withdrawn from 3 January 2008
Read more about this topic: Stotts Tours (Oldham), History
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