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Transport Innovation Fund
 

Press Releases

18 September 2008

Bus boost for South Manchester - details released

New details have been released about how South Manchester bus services would improve if Transport Innovation Fund (TIF) proposals go ahead.

The proposals include investment of up to £3 billion in Greater Manchester’s transport network and part of this would go on enhancing bus services to, from and around the town.

This would mean extra services at peak times to and from local district centres and Manchester city centre and more services operating during the early morning, the evenings and on Sundays.

Improvements would be funded in part by a weekday, peak time-only congestion charge to be introduced in 2013 at the earliest. At least 80 per cent of the public transport solutions will be in place before a charge is introduced.

Examples of proposed changes to buses in the South Manchester district include:

  • The Oxford Road bus transit scheme is planned as a high quality, limited stop public transport scheme linking Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield and Rusholme with the city centre. Buses will run at least every four minutes between Parrs Wood and Piccadilly Gardens, and every four minutes between Christie Hospital and Salford Crescent. In addition, a further six buses an hour will operate in peak periods between Christie Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary. This means the core section of the route can offer a bus every one-to-two minutes in peak periods, and every two minutes all daytime.
  • The existing East Didsbury-Burnage-Manchester service will run every five minutes throughout the day.
  • Improvements to east Manchester cross-city routes will give Chorlton, Fallowfield, Longsight, Levenshulme, Gorton and Clayton a direct service to Central Business Park every 30 minutes during the day (with hourly journeys at other times suitable for shift workers)

For more detailed information about services see Notes to Editors section below.

Improved bus services will complement improvements to the Metrolink network. Already set to run to Chorlton by 2013, it would be extended on two lines - running to Withington and East Didsbury and to Manchester Airport via Wythenshawe. By the time the full transport solutions have been delivered the Metrolink network would be three times its present size.

Cycling is another important elements of the TIF proposals which include a series of new cycle routes including along the A5103 Princess Road corridor between Didsbury and the city centre, between Jackson’s Boat and Whalley Range and between Chorlton and the city centre.

Peak-time commuter trains running through South Manchester stations would also have extra carriage seats under the proposals.

Proposed improvements across Greater Manchester are almost all funded by a Government grant of £1.5 billion and borrowings of £1.2 billion which both depend on congestion charging being introduced. Other contributions will bring in a further £0.1 billion, plus investment in rail from the Department for Transport.

Lord Peter Smith, Leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities, said: “The TIF proposals promise considerable public transport benefits for South Manchester, including new and upgraded bus services. I’d encourage everyone in the area to look at the details of what the proposals would mean for them.”

Anyone who has not yet given their views on the proposals is encouraged to do so before October 10 - the end of the consultation. To find out how to take part in the consultation visit www.gmfuturetransport.com.

A postal referendum on the final proposals, with residents of all 10 districts in Greater Manchester voting, will be held in December

 

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Notes to Editors

Examples of how proposals could change bus services in South Manchester are:

  • The Oxford Road bus transit scheme is planned as a high quality, limited stop public transport scheme linking Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield and Rusholme with the city centre. It will feature high levels of bus priority and traffic management measures in the Higher Education Precinct (HEP) area on Oxford Road, and will serve several areas of the Regional Centre, including Piccadilly Gardens. Stops will provide links to a number of major rail stations, such as Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Salford Central, Salford Crescent, and East Didsbury in the south of the city. Universities, hospitals and the district centres of Rusholme, Fallowfield, Withington and Didsbury will all be served by the scheme. The section of Oxford Road from Grafton Street to Grosvenor Street will be for bus transit services only. General traffic and conventional bus services will be diverted on to Higher Cambridge Street and Upper Brook Street. To the south of Rusholme, the bus transit scheme will be mixed with conventional buses and in short sections with general traffic. The service will be provided by high specification, high quality vehicles. Buses will run at least every four minutes between Parrs Wood and Piccadilly Gardens, and every four minutes between Christie Hospital and Salford Crescent. In addition, a further six buses an hour will operate in the peak between Christie Hospital and the MRI. This means that the core section of the route can offer a bus every one–to-two minutes in the peak and every two minutes in the daytime.
  • The existing East Didsbury – Burnage – Manchester service will run every five minutes throughout the day.
  • The existing Stockport – Peel Hall – Wythenshawe Hospital service will run six times an hour, providing a feeder service every 10 minutes from Peel Hall to the Metrolink at Wythenshawe for onward connections to Manchester.  Alternate buses will continue to serve Wythenshawe Hospital.
  • Improvements to the east Manchester cross-radial routes will give Chorlton, Fallowfield, Longsight, Levenshulme, Gorton and Clayton a direct service to Central Business Park every 30 minutes during the day, with hourly journeys at other times suitable for shift workers.
  • A network of routes running every 20 minutes during the daytime will complement the new Metrolink line to Manchester Airport. The 105 service will run from the city centre via Princess Road and the 43 service via Wilmslow Road and Northenden. Together with the 19/19A (from Ashton upon Mersey via Sale, Northern Moor and Baguley) and the 369 (from Stockport via Peel Hall), there will be 12 buses an hour between Wythenshawe and the Airport, with some services taking in Portway or Cornishway. The 19/19A also serves the Cargo Centre and continues to Altrincham. Other services for the Airport are the 12A from Altrincham via Newhall Green and Woodhouse Park and the hourly 170 service from the city centre via Longsight and Didsbury.
  • A revised network of services to Sharston Industrial Area will be provided. The 99 service from Gatley via Peel Hall, Sharston, Southern Cemetery and Lloyd Street to the city centre will operate every half hour during the daytime. Three services will provide a co-ordinated daytime 20-minute frequency from Wythenshawe Hospital via Benchill, Sharston and Northenden to Withington Community Hospital, extending hourly to East Didsbury, Green End and Reddish (178), Mauldeth Road and Levenshulme (179) and Barlow Moor, Chorlton and Trafford Centre (276).
  • The existing 109 service from the city centre to Wythenshawe Hospital via Princess Road and Northern Moor will run every 20 minutes during the daytime. A series of local services, also operating every 20 minutes during the daytime, will provide links to the hospital from Altrincham (12 and 12A), Ashton upon Mersey via Sale and Northern Moor (19/19A) or Brooklands (268) and from Stockport via Gatley (11) or Peel Hall (368) and Wythenshawe. Services 178, 179 and 276 provide a combined daytime 20-minute frequency from Withington Community Hospital via Northenden and Benchill, with hourly extensions from Reddish via Green End and East Didsbury (178), Levenshulme via Mauldeth Road (179) and Trafford Centre via Chorlton and Barlow Moor (276).
  • Wythenshawe centre will benefit from the new Metrolink line linking it to both the Airport and the city centre via Chorlton. In addition, the 105 service from the Airport will provide more frequent and direct links to the city centre from Cornishway, Wythenshawe centre and Benchill. Running every 20 minutes during the daytime, this service will no longer divert via Northenden but will run directly along Princess Parkway and Princess Road.
  • Northenden will continue to be served from Wythenshawe centre on frequent service 43 and from Benchill by services 178, 179 and 276, combining to give a 20 minute daytime frequency.
  • The existing 173 service will run every 15 minutes from Stockport to the city centre via Mount Road.
  • Christie Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) and Higher Education Precinct (HEP) will continue to be served by frequent services from the city centre and from Altrincham via Sale Moor (41), Stockport via East Didsbury (42) and the Airport via Wythenshawe (43). Chorlton Green will benefit from service 45 every 15 minutes via Chorlton and Withington. Chorlton will also have route 86 every 7/8 minutes in the daytime operating via Upper Chorlton Road and Moss Lane East to serve MRI and HEP. A series of cross city routes will provide frequent links to HEP, MRI and Christie’s from Ashton Old Road, Rochdale Road and Eccles Old Road, as well as high quality services from Bolton, Leigh and Wigan running across from Irlams o’ th’ Heights.
  • The existing 171 service will be extended from Newton Heath to Central Business Park. As well as providing new links from Gorton, Higher Openshaw and Clayton, it will be revised to operate from Chorlton (Arrowfield Road) via Wilbraham Road, Levenshulme and Longsight.
  • The existing 130 service will run every 20 minutes during the daytime and be re-routed via Parrs Wood Road, Egerton Road and Wilmslow Road to MRI, HEP and the city centre.
  • The existing 205 service will run every 20 minutes in the daytime to provide improved links from Dane Bank and Gorton Lane to the city centre.
  • A new, frequent route 218 would run from the city centre to Ashton-under-Lyne via Ashton Old Road and Manchester Road, providing new links to Snipe Retail Park.
  • The existing 188 service will run every 30 minutes between Higher Openshaw and the city centre, doubling the level of service in Greenside Street and Clayton Lane, Openshaw and also in Albert Street and Orme Street, Bradford. This service would operate via Old Mill Street to improve access to health facilities.
  • The 217 service link from Droylsden via North Road to the city centre will run every 20 minutes during the daytime. This service would also operate via Old Mill Street to improve access to health facilities.
  • The 45 service will run every 15 minutes from Chorlton Green via Chorlton Cross and Barlow Moor Road to Withington Community Hospital, Christie’s, MRI, HEP and the city centre.
  • The 109 service from Wythenshawe Hospital to the city centre via Northern Moor and Princess Road will run every 20 minutes during the daytime.