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Don’t get stranded if you go out this weekend, TfGM warns punters

Transport for Greater Manchester is reminding residents to leave themselves extra time to travel if they are visiting pubs, restaurants and cinemas this weekend.

The Manc The Manc - 3rd July 2020
Smabs Sputzer (1956-2017) / Flickr

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is reminding residents to leave themselves extra time to travel if they are visiting newly-opened pubs and restaurants on Saturday.

Reduced capacity is in place across trams, buses and trains due to social distancing measures, with limited services still running in some parts of the region.

Ahead of the weekend, TfGM is encouraging passengers to check timetables and ensure they aren’t left stranded following a day out.

Travellers will also need to wear face coverings – which are compulsory across all forms of public transport.

A number of roads in the city have been pedestrianised during lockdown to encourage walking and cycling to destinations where possible, with pavements expanded to enable social distancing.

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These include spaces in Northern Quarter and Deansgate.

Wikimedia Commons

For those living outside the city, TfGM has published travel timetables on their website.

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The transport network has confirmed the last bus services on July 4 will be:

  • To Stockport – The 192 will run until 11.55pm. However, there will also be services at 02.05am, 02.35am, 03.05am and 03.35am.
  • To Didsbury – The 142 will run until 11.41pm.
  • To Bury – The 163 will run until 11.53pm and the 135 will run until 11.55pm.
  • To Eccles – The 67 will run until 11.15pm.
  • To Rochdale – The 17 will run until 11.42pm.
  • To Oldham – The 83 will run until 11.05pm.
  • To Bolton – The 8 will run until 11.30pm.
  • To Ashton – The 219 will run until 11.50pm.
  • To Hyde – The 201 will run until 11.51pm.

The final train services on July 4 are as follows:

  • To Bolton – The last train for Bolton departs Manchester Victoria at 10.21pm and Piccadilly at 10.31pm.
  • To Stockport – The last train for Stockport departs Manchester Oxford Road at 10.25pm.
  • To Wigan – The last train for Wigan Wallgate departs Manchester Victoria at 10.40pm.
  • To Rochdale – The last train to Rochdale departs Manchester Victoria at 10.24pm.
  • To Ashton – The last train to Ashton departs Manchester Victoria at 10.08pm.

Tram times across Greater Manchester can be found online here.

For more information, visit TfGM.

News

Record 29 million people expected to drive home for Christmas this year

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Drivers are being told to prepare for long queues, as a record number of festive trips are predicted across the UK ahead of the big day.

With the festive season generally known to make the roads nationwide busier than usual, travel warnings have now been issued to all those making Christmas getaway trips for the holidays – with an annual study by the RAC and INRIX suggesting that 29 million journeys are planned before Christmas Day arrives.

Nearly half of these journeys (14.3 million) are set to be crammed into this coming weekend.

But, as Christmas falls mid-week this year, the figures suggest there will be an extended period of ‘pre-Christmas panic’ on the roads, with 5.7m trips taken yesterday and today alone.

The true festive getaway kicks off tomorrow (20 December), with an expected 3 million trips on this day, before the figure then jumps up to 3.7 million and 2.9 million this coming weekend (Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 December) – which is the final weekend before the big day itself.

A record 29 million people expected to drive home for Christmas this year / Credit: Geograph

By far the single busiest day, however, has to be Christmas Eve, with 3.8 million separate getaway journeys expected by car, on top of the final flurries of commuter traffic.

To make matters worse for everyone, the RAC’s research has also revealed that a further 4.7 million trips are expected at some point between the 20 and 22 December, and 2.5 million on either the 23 or 24 December, all coming from motorists who haven’t yet decided which day they’ll travel.

When it comes to the best and worst times to travel over the festive period, the research has revealed that the worst time to travel along major routes will be between 1pm and 7pm, especially tomorrow and Saturday, so both the RAC and INRIX are suggesting that drivers set off early in the morning, or later in the evening when the heaviest of the traffic should have subsided.

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After the big day, there are an additional 4.4 million trips predicted on Boxing Day and 3.8 million on Friday 27 December.

On these days, drivers are advised to avoid major roads during the hours of 10am to 3pm, which is when journeys are expected to take significantly longer than usual.

Featured Image – Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)

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A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

A third of Brits support giving police powers to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside, a new survey has revealed.

Ahead of the festive travel season, where a record number of people are expected to hit the road and make journeys all across the UK over the next couple of days, the RAC has asked more than 2,500 drivers to give their thoughts on the state of the roads for 2024’s edition of the Report on Motoring, and found that tougher sentences were the most popular solution among motorists for tackling the problem of drink-driving.

With instances of drink-driving said to be responsible for the deaths of some 300 people in 2022 – which is when the latest data on this was collected – four in 10 motorists (38%) believe harsher sentences are the answer.

A third of drivers (33%) also support giving the police new powers to immediately disqualify drink-drivers at the roadside once they’ve been stopped.

A third of Brits want police to immediately ban drink drivers at the roadside / Credit – Vladimir Proskurovskiy (via Unsplash)

The idea that convicted drink-drivers should have alcohol interlocks, also known as ‘alcolocks’, fitted to their vehicles to prevent them driving if they have any alcohol in their system, was favoured by 32% of those questioned by the RAC.

A similar number of drivers (31%) also want to see roadside breathalyser testing increased.

When it comes to drug drivers, results from the RAC’s survey are a similar story, only higher – with almost two-thirds of all drivers (64%) supporting tougher sentencing for drug-drivers, and 56% saying they would like to see increased levels of roadside testing.

Just under half (49%) of motorists questioned want the police to be able to immediately disqualify drug-drivers at the roadside.

Speaking on the findings from the RAC’s survey, Chief Constable Jo Shiner, who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing, commented: “In policing, we see the damaging impact of drink and drug driving all too often, and every fatality or serious injury which happens as a consequence of this is completely avoidable.

“Driving under the influence of drink or drugs puts everyone at risk – individuals, families, businesses and whole communities.

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“Together we must do everything we can to put a stop to this irresponsible and incredibly dangerous behaviour.”

Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons

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