On Monday the 4:30pm 385 was late again, as it is most days.
The bus stop was at what I'd describe as 'peak full' for the week in that there was probably in the region of 15-20 people waiting for the bus to turn up.
When it finally arrived at 4:45pm, we could see that Diamond had sent the tiny bus again and that it was absolutely rammed: There were people standing all down the aisle and all the seats were taken.
This wasn't the first time that Diamond had seen fit to send the tiniest possible bus to cover the always busy post school and college rush, but it was the first time that they hadn't been able to fit everyone at the bus stop onto it.
The first time, in fact, that they had slammed the doors in our faces and driven off, leaving the two thirds of people who hadn't been able to get on standing in shocked disbelief.
The more sensible/cynical amongst us didn't stand in disbelief for long: We had about 15 minutes to hot foot it down the road to catch the 5pm 383. If it had been a strike day, we'd all have been walking home. As it was, anyone from Mellor was probably walking it from Marple, and that was only if they managed to get the 383, which - needless to say - was also rammed full.
It seems so short sighted to send such tiny buses to cover such a busy period of the day: It's like Diamond and the Bee Network don't realise how busy the bus stops are between 3pm and 5pm. Or like they think that everyone at 6th form college drives. The 385 actually goes past three sixth form colleges on it's route: Two at the Stockport end, one at the Marple end, and you'd think that they'd be maximising that by putting bigger buses on at peak times. But they don't. Anyone would think they didn't want the custom.
When the 385 was run by D&G, pre Bee Network, they used a series of little red buses, which could probably seat in the region of about 24 people. By contrast, the tiny yellow Bee Network buses can seat about 20 people. So we've actually lost capacity since joining the Bee Network. Alongside that, we don't always get the yellow buses anyway and, of the alternatives we're provided with, some are distinctly ropy: We had a bus a few weeks ago that looked like a converted ambulance, accompanied by a very embarrassed driver.
Having been betrayed and abandoned by the 385 on Monday, I left work at 4:30pm on Tuesday with mixed feelings. The bus stop that had been so full on Monday was standing empty so I assumed that the bus had arrived on time for a change and that I'd missed it. I began walking to the 383 stop. About five minutes later, the 385 sailed past me: Bigger... but also emptier.
Trust is a finite thing: If you break it too often, or too brutally, you lose it forever.
People had clearly decided to make other arrangements.
On Wednesday we were back to tiny buses and, if anything, the little yellow bus provided was even tinier than usual. It turned up at 4:45pm and most of the estimated 15 seats were taken.
15 seats! That's not a bus service - it's a minibus.
It feels like the bus is shrinking before my very eyes. Next week it'll be 10 seats, then 5, then it'll disappear altogether in a puff of smoke.
