Just when you thought it was safe to check the timetable, Rochdale’s weary bus passengers are bracing for another round of industrial action, with Stagecoach and Metroline drivers set to strike this Friday (October 10), Saturday (October 11), and Monday (October 13), because if there’s one thing the Bee Network loves, it’s keeping everyone on their toes.
First Bus, the third member of the Greater Manchester public transport soap opera, has bowed out of the strike schedule after its drivers begrudgingly accepted a revised pay offer, likely made of gold leaf and mild grovelling.
But Unite the union confirmed that the other two operators are steaming ahead with strike action, meaning around 190 services, including several school buses, will vanish into the same void that swallows punctuality and working air conditioning.
While Rochdale will see many local services continue as normal (miraculously), longer routes may be caught in the crossfire. Elsewhere, Tameside, Trafford, and Stockport are expected to be hit the hardest, with entire schedules collapsing like a dodgy folding chair.
For anyone clutching a bus pass and a dream, there’s a silver lining: TfGM says tickets for affected services will be valid across the entire Metrolink network, Northern trains, and even on TransPennine Express between Greenfield and Manchester Piccadilly, assuming you can squeeze on between the school trips, pensioners, and spontaneous human despair.
Commuters are advised to travel outside peak hours, unless they fancy playing ‘spot the remaining seat’ or spending a cheerful half-hour pressed against a stranger’s armpit.
Further strikes are looming for October 18, 23, and 24 if pay talks continue to go nowhere. Negotiations are said to be ongoing, which in union terms means “someone sent an email and nobody’s replied yet.”
From down the M62, our advice remains unchanged: set off early, travel light, and bring snacks. Rochdale’s transport roulette wheel continues to spin.
