Public to shape new vehicle design for premium Busway service

First is inviting the public to have their say on the premium bus service that will use the new flagship bus priority route between Leigh, Salford and Manchester.

The public consultation is being run by First in Greater Manchester to shape the design of the new vehicle interior to be used on the high quality bus route due to start later this year.

The 14-mile route will link communities in Leigh, Atherton, Tyldesley and Salford to Manchester city centre and through to the universities, Central Manchester Hospital site and businesses along Oxford Road.

First was recently selected by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to run the high frequency busway services which will use brand new, high quality double-deck, low carbon emission vehicles that will be replaced every five years. Customers will benefit from on-board ‘next stop’ audio and visual announcements and CCTV, alongside free Wi-Fi, climate control and high quality seating.

The consultation will give the public a chance to choose colour styles as well as design such as the possible introduction of tables on the upper-deck. First are proposing four colour options for colours of seating, hand-poles and floor design (see images below).

The first drop-in consultation events will be held next week in Leigh & Tyldesley with more venues to be announced shortly.

• LEIGH LIBRARY – Tuesday 21 April, 1pm to 4pm
• TYLDESLEY LIBRARY – Friday 24 April, 11am to 2pm

The public can also have their say via an on-line survey at www.firstgroup.com/manchester and go to ‘Busway’ under the ‘About Us’ section.

Busway services will be able to run free from congestion on a 4.5 mile guided section linking Leigh and Ellenbrook meaning improvements in service reliability and journey time savings. When fully completed, four services per hour will run from Atherton and four from Leigh, meaning that there will be eight services per hour in each direction between Tyldesley and Oxford Road during the day, six days a week – with a less frequent service on Sundays.

There will also be three free to use park and ride sites to serve the busway providing over 400 spaces in Leigh, on Astley Street in Tyldesley, and on the A580 East Lancashire Road near to the M60/61 junction. All park and ride site locations have been chosen for their convenience for drivers.

Commenting on the consultation, Ian Humphreys, Head of Commercial for First Manchester said: “We’re keen to get the views of the local community, our customers and our partners such as TfGM to help shape the future of bus services. The Busway will bring faster and more reliable links for customers and we’re very excited to hear what people want their bus services to look like so we can encourage even more people onto public transport.”

More information about the busway and the wider bus priority package is available at www.tfgm.com/buspriority or by calling 0300 123 1177 (lines open Monday to Friday during business hours).