First Bus and Stagecoach drivers to strike on same day in Manchester- full details of affected routes

Commuters in Manchester could be in for a chaotic day this week with both Stagecoach and First Bus drivers taking industrial action at the same time. Drivers at both operators will be out on strike on Friday August 11. 

 First Bus strikes have been taking place intermittently since the start of July in Manchester. These are set to continue through the month. 

 The Stagecoach strikes were announced last month when Unite members voted in favour of action. They will strike for four consecutive days, starting on August 11. 

First Bus Manchester limited services

On August 11, like with other days of strike action, First Bus will have some services running on a limited timetable. Route 409 will run every 15 minutes and route 82 every hour. 

Route 425 will operate every 30 minutes and route 426 will be every hour. All routes operated from First Bus Manchester’s Oldham depot will not be running. 

The operator has confirmed which bus routes will not be affected by the strike action. A spokesperson said: “The industrial action does not affect the Vantage V1 and V2 services that First Manchester operates from Bolton along the guided busway through Leigh and Atherton to Manchester.

The 184 service between Oldham-Huddersfield will also run as normal as this is operated by First West Yorkshire from its Huddersfield depot.

Stagecoach Manchester

The first of four straight days of strikes by workers at Stagecoach Manchester will start on August 11. The action will run until the end of Monday August 14.

Services operating out of Stagecoach Manchester’s Middleton and Wigan Depots are unaffected by this action and the following services will operate as normal:

Middleton services

• 56, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 149, 171, 172, 350, 426
• The following services will also run on Sunday 129, 343, 415

Wigan services

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10A, 34, 34A

Lee Wasnidge, Managing Director of Stagecoach Manchester, said:  “The strike will be damaging to everybody and cause severe disruption to our customers who depend on the bus to get to work, education and for appointments.

“The management team at Stagecoach have been working hard to agree an industry leading pay settlement. We have made a substantial offer which would see our drivers’ headline pay rates increase by 14.3% and in addition, every driver would receive an immediate one-off payment of £750.

“Our offer would make Stagecoach drivers amongst the best-paid in the region with excellent terms and conditions. It is therefore incredibly disappointing that our above rate of inflation deal, has been rejected. We are focused on finalising an agreement as quickly as possible to avoid any industrial action and remain fully committed to engaging in further discussions with Unite the Union to enable us to reach a resolution as quickly as possible.”