capitalising on the lack of capacity for students along the route. They were soon followed by other coach operators such as Wall's and Bullocks. GM Buses fought back by reintroducing crew-operated buses to the route. Ten AEC Routemasters were acquired from London in 1988 and operated on route 143 to West Didsbury, branded as the "Piccadilly Line" after the London Underground line. They operated until June 1990, when they were replaced with standard vehicles. Larger operators also operated competing services along Wilmslow Road during the 1990s, including Bee Line and MTL Manchester. The southern half of GM Buses was sold to Stagecoach in February 1996, who introduced the "no frills" Magic Bus services along the route in competition with their main routes. Intense competition from a new operator called UK North led to lower fares, with Finglands offering a £2 student weekly ticket in 2001. Competition has reduced in recent years: UK North ceased operations in 2006 after an investigation into their safety records by the North West Traffic Commissioner, whilst Bullocks sold their bus services to Stagecoach in 2008. Stagecoach introduced 30 new hybrid double-deck buses on services 42 and 43 in September 2010. The vehicles were funded through the Department for Transport's Green Bus Fund. Bullocks Coaches had also been awarded similar funding for 4 vehicles that are likely to be used on their Oxford Road link route 147. On 1 August 2013, First Greater Manchester announced that it had agreed to purchase Finglands. The deal was concluded on 9 February 2014. After initially using a combination of older buses from its own fleet and Finglands, it introduced a fleet of new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s and Wright StreetLites. On 27 April 2014, First Greater Manchester increased service levels and extended some route 42 journeys to North Manchester General Hospital under the Cross Connect banner. In response on 19 May 2014, Stagecoach Manchester introduced route 38 from Farnworth to Rusholme via Salford and the city centre. In September 2014, Magic Bus introduced route 141 Manchester Metropolitan University to East Didsbury. From September 2015, the service terminated in West Didsbury. The first stage of the bus priority work was completed in June 2016. Bus routes Major routes Route 41 (CrossCity) Route 41 is operated by Go North West, branded as CrossCity, using a dedicated fleet of Mercedes Citaro buses running up to every 15 minutes, Monday to Saturday, and every