STAGECOACH have missed the point of the 255 passenger protest, the man behind the campaign has said.

Anthony Henderson, 27, from Wood Lane Partington, was commenting on the decision by the bus company to change the timetable and add nine minutes to each 255 journey in peak times.

He said the service between Manchester and Partington was an average of 10 minutes late each day - so even with the added time they would still be late.

“Rather than tackling the issues raised, they are simply moving the goalposts. This isn’t an improvement but a tactic employed to mask lateness,” he said.

But a Stagecoach representative said the campaigner had missed the ‘wider picture’ and failed to take into account traffic conditions and roadworks along the route.

Mark Threapleton, managing director of Stagecoach Manchester, said from April 11 the running time of the buses would be extended by nine minutes to take into account road improvements and improve reliability.

“We recognise that our passengers would prefer a quicker journey home but unfortunately there is little scope for improvement at this time without the assistance of bus priority measures being put in place.

Mr Henderson said he just wanted a bus service that was on time.

Since he started his campaign on February 4, Mr Henderson said he has got the 255 bus 19 times and lost more than three hours because of lateness.

He calculated that over a year he would lose more than 38 hours waiting for the bus.

Mr Henderson has written daily letters to Stagecoach stating how late the previous day’s bus was and has also written to GMPTE, local councillors, MP Beverley Hughes and prospective parliamentary candidate Kate Green.

His Facebook Group, Why Can't The 255 Run On Time?, has more than 170 members.

Michael Renshaw, GMPTE’s interim bus and rail director, said: “The improved timetable will better reflect traffic conditions on the route throughout the day, and we expect Stagecoach, like any operator, to monitor this timetable change and address any further issues.

“We are sorry if Mr Henderson is not satisfied with this response. However, traffic conditions are not within the control of GMPTE or Stagecoach, and we feel that amending the timetable in order to take traffic flow into account and provide passengers with an accurate journey time is appropriate action to take.”