Magic Bus

I chosen Magic Bus to take me from Piccadily Gardens to the central Manchester hospitals, both ways and compared to may previous experiances with Stagecoach, I had a rather pleasant experiance.
I got the 142 service towards East Disbury on the way there, the driver told me that they went near the hospitals, this journey didn’t stand out, like the return journey.
My return journey saw a Supervisor who was monitoring the driver and she was very nice and friendly, we shared stories about Manchester City and my pleasant experiance with Magic Bus compared to First buses, where the drivers have sworn at me on numerous occasions and constantly late.
Magic Bus services really do stand out colourwise as they are bright dark blue, similar to Bluebird, whose buses were a lighter blue before being bought out by Stagecoach and converted into Stagecoach style white buses, with a small patten, also similar to first buses.
I don’t know if this is all Magic Bus services but they come really regular, they don’t appear to be really late, the staff are okay and some of them really do stand out. I feel Magic Bus deserves 4 stars; the only way they could improve is adding wifi onto their buses, like their parent company Stagecoach have on there hybrid buses. I would say bases on experiances with most of the major bus companies in Greater Manchester (Stagecoach, and first) (as well as JPT and Bluebird before being bought out), Magic Bus is definitely the best.

Bus service mostly aimed at students and to accompany their larger brother buses of Stagecoach down Oxford Road. Normally only the 142 and 143 service is covered by this type of bus. Usually rather old-​fashioned buses which can be dirty or poorly maintained at times. No major problems with them and students with a Unirider pass can hop on and hop off these at any point.

*Gaaaaahhhhhhwhyohwhyohwhy FML urgh owch sleeveoverhand.* That’s what my brain does when I’m stood at a bus stop in Piccadilly Gardens, South Manchester or the Oxford Road Corridor and I’ve told myself I’ll take the first one that arrives… and it turns out to be a Magic Bus. I’ve touched on this briefly in my Stagecoach review, but the Magic Buses just aren’t… well, I think the name’s somewhat sarcastic.
I’m coming at this from a niche standpoint, mind. I will not deny that Magics are great for students and budgeters who have to pay per-​time getting on t’bus. Proper cheap. As I have a monthly pass and can pick and choose which buses I get on though (if I’m not pushed for time that is), Magics would be my if-​I-​must. They’ve not been updated in what feels like decades, and in a spot of uncharacteristically warm weather the other day I had the great misfortune to be located next to a heater blasting out air hotter than the sun. Which I noticed it didn’t do when I was sat next to it in sub-​zero temperatures a few months prior. And it kind of looked as if there was something growing down there. Shudder.
You won’t find Magics on all the Manchester routes, that’s for sure. 142, 143 and such, Piccadilly and West/​East Didsbury, but certainly not Chorlton, Sale, Ashton or anything. They’re pretty much designed for students and at least the rest of us can get some nice cheap bus travel as a result, but be warned — this makes them very, very crowded. One early morning I was travelling back to Fallowfield from the old BBC site and I actually had to get off at the Curry Mile and grab the next Stagecoach, it was getting so claustrophobic in there. My advice? Use, sure, but use with caution!

To Sam and any others not familiar with Mancunian bus prices — if you’re heading anywhere on the 142 route (Oxford Road corridor between town and East Didsbury) then it is most certainly cheaper to buy 2 singles (no more than £1.20) than a day ticket (£3.50). However, the day ticket will also allow you to travel on Stagecoach buses which are altogether a bit nicer and shinier and allow you travel to far-​flung destinations such as Chorlton and Stockport. So if you’re just making 2 journeys on a Magic, then buy singles.
Sure, they’re a bit rickety, but you’re never going to be on one for more than an hour. OK, an hour is a long time when you’re sitting next to someone in a smelly leather jacket talking to themselves and then Crazy Bus Lady gets on.
I won’t bore you with the whole ‘I remember the days when it was £2 for a weekly pass, now it’s £2 for one journey’ saga. Magic Buses are still probably the best value for money on the Oxford Road. Finglands are a little cheaper, but the buses aren’t as frequent.
Could it be magic? In a word: no.

Yep, the Magic Bus can take you where you need to go, but it may take a while and you may get accosted by strange people along the way. That’s just the name of the game unfortunately.
They’re an ever-​present dominating force upon Oxford Road, making up the biggest proportion of the buses that clog the air with smog and hold up all the traffic. However, having been a student for years I cannot deny my love for the ailing vehicles as I have fond memories, as I am sure every student does, of lazy days spent waiting for the bus to take twenty minutes to make a twenty minute walk.
The prices have risen over the years, and more than can be justified for from inflation, but it’s still the same old bus at heart. It’s just that, like Becca, I’ve kind of moved on now.

Looking at these other Magic Bus reviews I can’t help but feel I’m missing something here. Whenever I catch one of these blue monstrosities (which isn’t very often — I live in town, wasn’t a student here), I get charged £3.50 for a dayrider/​return fare. Does this sound about right?
Apart from this quibble, everyone else is correct. These things are all over the Oxford Road and they come along two or three at a time, basically all the time.
If you choose the top deck (at the front, is that cool?), be prepared to get thrown about quite a bit. These things hurtle through Manchester at top speed.

Ahhhhh, Magic Bus. Symbol of my student days. I remember when we first met; I could ride you all week long for £2! £2! That’s two drinks at 42s! Oh, what fun we’d have, Magic Bus.
Of course, that was five years ago, five long years. In the intervening years, that week-​long ride has gone up to £6.50! And I know, I know about inflation, and fuel prices and wages and insurance, but the fact of the matter is this: you’re more than thrice as pricey, and at least thrice as ropey.
You’ve let yourself go, Magic Bus. You smell weird and the seats are broken and there’s anti-​Semitic graffiti on the backseat. Don’t you care any more, Magic Bus? You didn’t even put your lippy on!
Maybe, oh I don’t know, maybe you were always like this, Magic Bus, and I was too young, too impoverished, too permanently drunk/​asleep to notice. But, gawd, I’ve noticed now, and rather than pay the £1.20 fare to Fallowfield or Withington every now and then, I’m gonna shell out the extra 50p or so and ride the Stagecoach. That’s right, Magic Bus! I’m leaving you for your sexier, cleaner, shinier brother.
Don’t cry, Magic Bus. What we had was special. I’ll always remember it, but I can’t spend another second on a bus that smells of sick, wondering what that ominous rattling sound is. I’m better than that, Magic Bus. I’ve moved on, and you should too.
It’s over.

No it’s not The Who’s song, it’s a bus service. Either side of a pound by no more than 50p will take you where you want to go. Generally on Oxford Road if it’s pointing in the direction you want to head it’ll take you there. Being the busiest bus route in Europe means you will stand at a bus stop for no longer then 2 minutes before one of these double deckers shows up. The routes do the whole of Oxford road, Fallowfield, Didsbury and city centre.
Let yee be warned though, after midnight it’s going to cost a whole £2 to get around! Also if it’s raining and about 6pm on a weekday evening expect to be stood up on whilst on the bus, with somebody’s elbow in your eye.

It is a bus but it isn’t magic! The so called magic busses are old double decker busses that should have retired a few years ago revamped with a new paint job and sent out to ferry students to and from University and drunk people on their way home from pubs and nightclubs.
You will mainly find these busses on the Oxford Road corridor which is the bus route from Didsbury through Fallowfield, past the Universities and into the city centre. It is the busiest bus route in Europe.
Although they are tatty they do offer a cut price weekly ticket which is very attractive to students.

The name of the bus does not really provide a description of what to expect once you get on. This is a budget bus which caters for the line between the city, oxford road and wilmslow road. You can get a magic bus weekly pass for £7 and i think it is a little cheaper if you have student ID. Also if you pay for a mega rider, this costs £10 but you can get any magic or stagecoach bus between the city and the end of the wilmslow road, because stagecoach owns Magic bus. The buses are usually packed wall to wall and run all night. So it caters for a lot of student revelling during the week, and then everyone at the weekends. A single from the city to fallowfield is generally £1. I think £2 for a night service.

Magic Bus is the no-​frills division of Stagecoach’s operations in South Manchester. They operate routes along the student corridor along Wilmslow Road and some of the 86 route towards Chorlton.
Possibly the only thing magic about the Magic Buses is how they manage to stay on the road without falling over — they are old buses without a decent suspension which means any time they go over a couple of bumps in the road, the experience is akin to riding the Big Dipper at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, it certainly wakes you up in the morning I can tell you
Getting on or off the bus is also an experience, especially if you’re unlucky enough to be standing up when the bus starts moving — on more than one occasion I’ve had to put my hands out to catch the person in front of me to stop them from falling backwards down the stairs.
The Magic Buses are old, dirty, poorly maintained and quite frankly should be taken off the road.
Avoid if you possibly can, Stagecoach proper and other bus companies operate down the same or similar routes