Free bus is a

zero-fare Free public transport, often called fare-free public transit or zero-fare public transport, is public transport which is fully funded by means other than collecting fares from passengers. It may be funded by national, regional or local governme ...

bus system that operates in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

. The system was first introduced in

Manchester city centre Manchester city centre is the central business district of Manchester, England, within the confines of Great Ancoats Street, A6042 Trinity Way, and A57(M) Mancunian Way, which collectively form an inner ring road. The City Centre ward had a ...

in 2002, with three routes linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its main commercial, financial and cultural districts.

Manchester City Centre

History

Transport across the

conurbation A conurbation is a region consisting of a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ...

historically suffered from poor north–south connections due to the fact that Manchester's main railway stations,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, England, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road (England), A4 road that connects central London to ...

and Victoria, were built in the 1840s on peripheral locations outside

. In the 1960s and 1970s, the public transport authority SELNEC evaluated a number of proposals to connect Manchester's northern and southern rail terminals, including several types of

monorail A monorail is a Rail transport, railway in which the track consists of a single rail or beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, the term refers to the style ...

systems and metro-style systems. A scheme was promoted to build an underground rail link across

, known as the

Picc-Vic tunnel Picc-Vic was a proposed, and later cancelled, underground railway designed in the early 1970s with the purpose of connecting two major mainline railway termini in Manchester city centre, England. The name Picc-Vic was a contraction of the two ke ...

, but this failed to attract the necessary government funding and the project was cancelled in 1977. To address the problem of cross-city transit, the

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE) was the Passenger transport executive, public body responsible for public transport in Greater Manchester between 1974 and 2011, when it became part of Transport for Greater Manchester. SE ...

(SELNEC's successor) proposed a new circular shuttle bus service between Piccadilly and Victoria stations. (exhibition catalogue) The new ''Centreline'' bus service was initially opposed by the Taxi Owners' Association, but was approved by the North Western

Traffic Commissioner The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain are responsible for the licensing and regulation of the operators of heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches, and the registration of local bus services in Great Britain (as opposed to the entire Unit ...

. Centreline was first operated using a fleet of Seddon Pennine IV

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

es, noted for their diminutive appearance. GMPTE also introduced an experimental battery-electric bus onto Centreline, the Lucas Electric Bus, which was based on the Seddon chassis and body. This was Greater Manchester's second electric bus, the first being SELNEC's experimental ''Silent Rider'', but it was eventually taken out of service. Operated under the ''Greater Manchester Transport'' brand, Centreline came into operation on 1 July 1974. Passengers were charged a flat fare of 2p for each journey. Manchester_free_zone_bus

Manchester_Metroshuttle_16-10-2009_12-02-04

Centreline continued to provide inter-station transit links for several years. After

bus deregulation Bus deregulation in Great Britain involved the abolition of Road Service Licensing for bus services outside of Greater London. It began in 1980 with long-distance bus services and was extended to local bus services in 1986 under the Transport ...

, the service was operated by

GM Buses GM Buses was a major bus operator serving the ten metropolitan districts of Greater Manchester in North West England. The company was formed in February 1986 by the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive prior to deregulation on 26 Oct ...

. In 1992, the new Metrolink

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

system began operating across Manchester city centre, providing an electric

tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

link between the mainline stations, although Centreline continued to operate. In 2002, the Centreline name disappeared from Manchester streets as the service was rebranded as ''Metroshuttle''. First Manchester was chosen by

Transport for Greater Manchester Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is a local government body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), ...

(TfGM) to operate the service and has retained the contract. Two routes were introduced, numbered 1 and 2. The service was extremely successful. Route 3 was introduced in September 2005 and links additional areas of the city centre. From 28 October 2018, due to declining passenger numbers, the service was reduced to 2 routes, and rebranded as ''free bus''. Both routes were taken over by Go North West on 2 June 2019 with part of the First Greater Manchester business.

Partnership

Manchester's Metroshuttle is a partnership between TfGM,

Manchester City Council Manchester City Council is the Local government in England, local authority for the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been re ...

, National Car Parks and the property developer Allied London. The service is

(free) and does not require any tickets or passes. Allied London own the Spinningfields mixed-use development and all three routes serve this site. The service is also partially supported by advertising. First Greater Manchester provides a publicity contribution. The free service costs approximately £1.2 million each year.

Routes

2002-2018

Metroshuttle Free bus is a Free public transport, zero-fare bus system that operates in Greater Manchester. The system was first introduced in Manchester city centre in 2002, with three routes linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its ma ...

is a partnership between

, National Car Parks and the property developer

Allied London Allied London is a property development and investment company that develops landmark projects ranging from re-use to regeneration developments across retail, commercial, office, residential, restaurant, and leisure sectors. The company also o ...

. The service is

(free) and does not require any tickets or passes. The Manchester Metroshuttle network consists of three services, each operated by

First Greater Manchester First Greater Manchester is a bus operator in Greater Manchester. It is a subsidiary of the FirstGroup, operating franchised Bee Network bus services on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). The operator was once dominant in the n ...

. The services were originally operated using a dedicated fleet of 18

Optare Solo The Switch Solo (formerly sold as the Optare Solo) is a low-floor minibus/midibus with one or two doors manufactured by Switch Mobility in the United Kingdom since 1998. The Solo name is a play on its low-floor status, the manufacturer marketin ...

minibuses with route branding applied for all services, Route 1 (orange), Route 2 (green), Route 3 (purple). Some Solos carried a generic livery, consisting of silver-grey in place of the route colours allowing them to be used on any route. In November 2010, 20 electric hybrids

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

Optare Versas were introduced. Metroshuttle bus stops also share the same route colour of the appropriate bus stopping there. Metroshuttle route 1 and route 2 began operating in September 2002 and replaced the previous Centreline

city centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

operation. Allied London own the Spinningfields

mixed-use development Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

that is served by the route.Metroshuttle
Transport for Greater Manchester Metroshuttle route 3 began operating in September 2005 linking additional areas of the city. File:Manchester Metroshuttle bus 49106 (YJ60 KDF), 2 March 2012.jpg, Metroshuttle Route 1 bus File:Metroshuttle bus (1).jpg, Metroshuttle Route 2 bus File:Route Metroshuttle 3.JPG, Metroshuttle Route 3 bus

2018-2024

The new 2018 service has merged route 3 to routes 1 & 2, and require 10 buses to operate both routes, and operated by Go North West. From 28 October 2018 to 2024, free bus operated the following routes: * Route 1: Piccadilly station -

Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, on the edge of the Northern Quarter. It takes its name from the adjacent street, Piccadilly, which runs across the city centre from Market Street to London Road. The ga ...

- Market Street - Spinningfields - St Peter's Square - Chorlton Street coach station - Piccadilly station * Route 2: Piccadilly station - Oxford Road station -

Deansgate Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mil ...

- Victoria station - Shudehill Interchange - the Northern Quarter - Piccadilly station At peak hours (Monday to Friday, 06:30 – 09:10 and 16:00 – 18:30), route 2 additionally ran via Salford Central station. Both services operated every 10 minutes during the day, every 15 minutes after 18:30, and every 12 minutes on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

2024-

The new 2024 routes require a maximum of 4 buses per route, both routes are operated by

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

Bee Network The Bee Network is an integrated transport network for Greater Manchester, comprising bus, tram, cycling and walking routes. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is expected to have commuter rail services joining the network in 2028. Initial ...

on contract from

. On non-bank holiday weekdays and Saturday evenings, only a single bus per route will be in half hourly operation. File:BNSC 13175 R1.jpg, Free bus route 1 File:BNSC 27932 R2.jpg, Free bus route 2

Bolton

History

Bolton's Metroshuttle first began operating on 17 November 2008 and follows a similar operation to Manchester's Metroshuttle on a 12-month trial. Bluebird Bus & Coach was chosen by TfGM to operate the service. The company ran the service until 25 January 2010, when Maytree Travel took over the operation of the service. The service has been re-routed on three occasions, the first to serve the

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...

supermarket in the town, and then again in January 2011, when the service was given a 12-month contract extension and re-routed to serve the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and the adjoining Bolton One leisure and health centre. This route change saw the service reduced from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. In November 2012, it was announced that the contract for the service had been extended for another year and that South Lancs Travel had been successful in winning the tender for the Bolton Metroshuttle. The company took over the operation of the service from 31 December 2012 and uses

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.Cumfybus who took over the service in 2013. The Transport for Greater Manchester (TFGM) vehicles transferred from Diamond North West to Cumfybus's Bolton depot. On 4 September 2017 Bolton's new transport Interchange on Great Moor Street opened and all services transferred from the old Moor Lane Bus Station. This saw many local bus services being subjected to route changes. The Bolton Metroshuttle was amended to serve a newly installed stop outside Bolton Market which would now be the first stop after departing the interchange. The frequency was reduced to every 15 minutes to allow for this extra routing. After the latest tender process the Bolton Metroshuttle has been operated by Vision Bus since 3 January 2018.

Partnership

Bolton's Metroshuttle is a partnership between TfGM and Bolton Council. The service is completely

(free) and does not require any tickets or passes. The free service will cost approximately £200,000 per year.

Route

Bolton's Metroshuttle originally consisted of two 25-seater

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 The Alexander Dennis Enviro200 (previously known as the TransBus Enviro200) is a midibus that was manufactured by TransBus International and later Alexander Dennis between 2003 and 2018. The original TransBus Enviro200 design was innovative but ...

single decker buses, with black and red route branding, although this changed following Maytree Travel taking over the service, who replaced it with a blue branding. In 2012 Transport for Greater Manchester provided two

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.Stockport Council, before operations switched to Freshfield Coaches the following month, after it was revealed that SolutionsSK had been operating the service with a freight licence. The service was re-branded in August 2009 to form part of the Metroshuttle network, and was given a new livery to mark the change. Prior to this, the fleet (consisting of

s) were unpainted and fairly run down, even lacking roll blinds. The fleet was replaced with new

s, fitted with digital displays. In 2010, the operator of the service changed, with

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

based Swan's Travel taking over the service on a short-term basis, before being replaced by

Bluebird The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas. Bluebirds lay an ...

in October 2010. Bluebird ran the service until March 2011, when the service was taken over by

Stagecoach Manchester Stagecoach ManchesterCompanies House extract company no 2818654

, who run the majority of services in Stockport. Stagecoach ran the service until 1 July 2012, when it was transferred to Arriva North West's

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is an area of Manchester, England. Historically part of Cheshire, in 1931 Wythenshawe was transferred to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a large housing estate there in the 1920s. With an area of approximately , ...

depot. After late 2012 Manchester Community Transport ran the service with 3

Stockport railway station Stockport railway station serves the market and industrial town of Stockport in Greater Manchester, England. It is located 6 miles south-east of , on a spur of the West Coast Main Line to . History The Manchester and Birmingham Railway opene ...

via Grand Central Stockport before returning to the bus station then via Mersey Square, Bridgefield Street, Warren Street (for

and

Asda Asda Stores Limited (), trading as Asda and often styled as ASDA, is a British supermarket and petrol station chain. Its headquarters is in Leeds, England. The company was incorporated as Associated Dairies and Farm Stores in 1949. It expanded ...

), Great Portland Street to Tesco before returning via Knightsbridge, Warren Street (for Sainsbury's and Asda again), Millgate, Churchgate, Little Underbank and Great Underbank to Stockport Bus Station.

Oldham

History

In June 2012, the

Manchester Metrolink Manchester Metrolink is a tram/light rail system in Greater Manchester, England. The network has List of Manchester Metrolink tram stops, 99 stops along of standard-gauge route, making it the Transport in the United Kingdom#Trams and light ra ...

tram network started running services to Oldham with trams running to a temporary

Oldham Mumps tram stop Oldham Mumps is a tram stop on the Oldham and Rochdale Line (ORL) of Greater Manchester's light-rail Metrolink system in the Mumps area of Oldham which opened in 2014. A temporary stop of the same name opened to passengers on 13 June 2012 a ...

located near the former railway station before trams started running through the town centre and through a new Oldham Mumps stop in 2014. Following criticism of long walks up steep hils into the town centre from passengers, Transport for Greater Manchester and Oldham Council organised a free service linking the tram stop with the town centre. The service was branded as Metroshuttle and started service on 30 July 2012 running a half-hourly service. From 1 October 2012, the service increased to every 20 minutes with

Optare Versa The Optare Versa is a Low-floor bus, low-floor midibus that was manufactured by Optare at its Sherburn-in-Elmet factory. In total 883 were produced between 2007 and 2018.Manchester Metroshuttle services, also introduced. The service was extended to run until 20:00 on Thursdays from mid-November 2012 until Christmas and also on weekdays on the week before Christmas to appeal to Christmas shoppers in Oldham. The service continued until the town began to be served by Metrolink.

Route

Oldham's Metroshuttle starts outside the Metrolink station on Victoria Street. The service then heads to Oldham town centre along the Oldham Way by-pass ( A62 before heading into town via King Street stopping near Mecca Bingo. The service had previously run temporarily to the Manchester Street roundabout and then up Manchester Street, stopping outside

Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...

while King Street was closed due to the Metrolink work going on in the town centre. From King Street, the service continues into the town centre and the

bus station A bus station, bus depot, or bus interchange is a structure where city buses or intercity buses stop to pick up and drop off passengers. A bus station is larger than a bus stop, which is usually simply a place on the roadside, where buses can st ...

, stopping at the Cheapside station at stand C. The route then follows the same route as several of the fare-paying services via St Mary's Way, Lord Street, Yorkshire Street and Princes Street back onto the Oldham Way before looping around to the tram stop on the other side of the carriageway via Huddersfield Road, Cross Street and Lees Road. An additional stop on Lees Road was introduced from October 2012.

Future

Following the success of Metroshuttle, Transport for Greater Manchester have been studying the feasibility of introducing Metroshuttle routes in other towns in Greater Manchester, to provide a high-quality town centre bus service that links key public transport nodes and car parks with the main retail, commercial, leisure and cultural destinations within town centres. Other towns like Bury and

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

had been mentioned to gain routes, however, the chances of this happening were reduced following the rejection of the

Manchester Congestion Charge The Greater Manchester Traffic congestion, congestion charge was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a Pound sterling, £3-billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion pricing, congest ...

in December 2008. However, Oldham gained a Metroshuttle service in July 2012. But the route was now withdrawn.

References

* *

External links

Bolton, Manchester and Stockport Metroshuttle Information page (TfGM)Bolton Metroshuttle Route Map (TfGM)Manchester Metroshuttle Route Map (TfGM)Stockport Metroshuttle Route Map (TfGM)
{{Transport in Greater Manchester Bus routes in England PTE bus operations Transport in Manchester Free public transport 1974 establishments in England Free bus