(Joint news release with Transport for Greater Manchester)
Passengers will be able to take advantage of new, quicker, more reliable bus connections between Wigan, Salford and Manchester when the North West’s first guided busway service starts on 3 April.
The busway service – branded Vantage by operator First Greater Manchester – will see up to eight state-of-the-art buses an hour joining communities and business centres along the route.
The new service will see journey times slashed, running from Leigh to stops in Manchester city centre in as little as 50 minutes. Customers travelling between Leigh and Manchester currently face journeys timetabled at up to one hour and 20 minutes.
As well as quicker connections, a 4.5 mile traffic-free guided section and bus priority measures along the A580 will mean trips should be more punctual and reliable.
Vantage will start as early as 4am and run beyond midnight, providing shift workers with a real choice on a fleet of high quality, quiet, low-emission hybrid buses. Facilities include free wi-fi, USB charging points, climate control and on-board “next stop” audio and visual announcements.
Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “The Vantage bus service will provide the local communities all along its route with a level and quality of service seldom seen outside first-class travel and it is exciting to see guided busway services getting off to such a great start. It will ensure people living in these areas can access the many opportunities for work, leisure and study anywhere between Wigan, Salford and Manchester. This investment will benefit all the communities it serves by providing them with easy, reliable connections.”
There will be four buses an hour throughout the day from Leigh and Atherton meaning passengers travelling from Astley Street in Tyldesley will benefit from eight buses an hour in either direction – making travel easier and helping people reach key employment, healthcare, retail and leisure facilities more easily than ever.
Ian Humphreys, Head of Commercial for First Greater Manchester said, “First Greater Manchester is proud to be the bus service partner of this important transport project in the region that will provide faster and more reliable connections with high quality services. We're looking forward to delivering a premium service at everyday fares helping connect existing and new customers across this busy corridor.”
Councillor David Molyneux, Wigan Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, said: “The guided busway will open up new opportunities for our communities and bring a huge economic boost to the towns of Leigh, Atherton and Tyldesley and the surrounding areas. It will open up new employment opportunities for our residents and connect our businesses with new customers. We are delighted we are approaching the beginning of this new chapter for public transport in Wigan Borough and want as many residents as possible to reap the benefits the guided busway will bring.”
The scheme includes three park and ride sites in Leigh, Tyldesley and on the East Lancs Road that will be free for all bus users and should also ease demand on rail services during morning and evening peaks.
The North West’s first ever guided busway is a flagship element of the bus priority package, a scheme that will enable more people to enjoy faster, more punctual and more reliable bus services from a wider area across Greater Manchester, to, from and through the city centre.
Work is well advanced to enable cross-city bus services, with the final phase of activity on Oxford Road now under way. As vital works to ‘future proof’ Manchester’s transport network are ongoing, busway services will initially terminate at Stevenson Square in the city centre.
Passengers wanting to travel on to Oxford Road will be able to catch several connecting services, including the 18 and the 42, at Piccadilly Gardens – just a short walk from one of the Vantage stops on Portland Street.
Manchester city centre is currently undergoing a major £1 billion investment package of significant infrastructure improvements, including the Metrolink Second City Crossing, bus priority measures, six new and better cycle routes into the city centre and major rail improvements.
ENDS
TfGM media contact: 0161 244 1055 or email [email protected]
First Greater Manchester media contact: Brandon Jones, 07775-824829, [email protected]
Notes to editors
- Starting times for weekday services from Leigh and Atherton are 4am and 4.08am, respectively, with buses returning from Manchester city centre as late as midnight.
- Weekend services see the earliest buses leaving Leigh and Atherton at 6am and 6.08am respectively and return from the city at around midnight.
- The new service is due to start from 3 April, coinciding with timetable updates for Greater Manchester
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the transport delivery arm for Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and its Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (TfGMC). TfGM oversees transport and travel across Greater Manchester, home of the UK’s largest regional economy outside London and a diverse population of over 2.7 million people.
FirstGroup plc is the leading transport operator in the UK and North America with revenues of more than £6.7 billion. Our services help to create strong, vibrant and sustainable local economies. During the last year around 2.5 billion people relied on us to get to work, to education, to visit family and friends and much more and, each day, every one of our 117,000 employees works hard to deliver vitally important services for our passengers
Our vision is to provide solutions for an increasingly congested world… keeping people moving and communities prospering
First Bus: FirstGroup is one of Britain’s largest bus operators with around a fifth of bus services outside London. A fleet of some 6,400 buses carries approximately 1.6 million passengers a day in a huge number of communities including 40 of the UK's largest towns and cities. We operate some US-style yellow school buses and have a fleet of coaches available for charter. We also operate the Aircoach network in Ireland.