First Manchester 39240 (BL65 YZG) in Atherton - 24 May 2019 (P1020032)

Friday 24 May 2019 (1245) – First Manchester 39240 (BL65 YZG) seen in Market Street, Atherton when working on the Vantage branded service V2 from Atherton to Manchester. It is a Wright StreetDeck bodied Volvo B5LH new in January 2016 with refinements like e-leather seating, some tables and wi-fi.

Vantage services V1 and V2 start from Manchester Royal Infirmary travelling via Manchester city centre, Salford, A6, A580 (East Lancashire Road) to Ellenbrook where they join a Guided Busway to Tyldesley. At Tyldesley the V1 continues on the Busway to Leigh whereas the V2 diverges via normal roads to Atherton.

The Punch Bowl pub stands on the right. This hostelry gave its name to the locality where the (original) Lancashire United Transport had a booking and enquiry office. I believe it was somewhere on the left behind the camera. In my dealings with the office when at Yelloway it was always referred to as ‘LUT, Punch Bowl, Atherton’.