Diamond praises staff for emergency operations

Following the closure of Manchester Community Transport (MCT) and the COVID-19 pandemic, Diamond Bus North West has been operating services on an emergency tender to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The company’s MD, Bob Dunn, praised his staff for delivering these new services during the pandemic.

Since 19 April, Diamond Bus North West have operated six buses, seven days per week across ten routes based around Stockport. On 14 June, those services became more frequent meaning there are now ten buses running on the Stockport services until 25 July when TfGM will be introducing service revisions on a permanent basis.

Also on 19 April, Diamond North West inherited the tender for service 217 Manchester Piccadilly to Ashton-under-Lyne from MCT as part of a pre-planned change. These services brought the Diamond brand into the Tameside and Stockport boroughs for the first time, meaning Diamond now has a presence in all but one (Oldham) of the Manchester boroughs.

The company said the additional services, awarded at very short noticed, placed considerable pressure on its back office and depot staff. Diamond Bus North West employed a number of drivers with route knowledge from MCT following that operation’s closure.

Since the services commenced, the company reports it has received nothing but praise from the local communities who could otherwise have been left without any buses.

Bob Dunn, Managing Director of Diamond Bus North West, said: “It’s fantastic to see our team pick up the task of delivering these services at short notice. I offer a sincere thank you to our operational, driving and maintenance team for the great work. We have had few issues and the services are now being operated to a high standard.”