Still time to have your say on major bus plans

People are being encouraged to have their say in a major consultation over proposals that will make significant improvements to bus services in Greater Manchester.

The plans, which are being developed in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council, Manchester City Council and Salford City Council include improvements along three major routes:

Middleton Bus Station to Manchester via the A664 Manchester New Road and Rochdale Road

Boothstown to Manchester via the A580 East Lancashire Road and A6 Broad Street/Crescent/Chapel Street

East Didsbury to Manchester via Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road/Street

More than a thousand responses have been received to the proposals in writing, through the dedicated hotline and website, and by text and email – but more people are being encouraged to have their say.

Councillor Richard Knowles, Chairman of GMITA’s Capital Projects Committee, said: “These are far-reaching proposals that mark a key shift in the way bus services operate through Salford, Middleton, South Manchester and the city centre.

“They will open up new and improved travel opportunities for people to access essential services, such as education and healthcare, as well as opening up new links to jobs and leisure without having to change buses in the city centre.

“It is important that people share their thoughts on the proposals because we want to ensure that the final schemes best meet people’s needs, so I would encourage people to find out more, get in touch and have their say.”

A key aim of the proposals is to provide seamless bus links across the city centre – so people will not have to change services or pay more than one fare – supported by infrastructure that will help to cut journey times and improve reliability.

In doing so, they will also provide better links between areas in the north, west and south of Greater Manchester and the education and health facilities on the Oxford Road corridor.

More than 80,000 consultation brochures have been distributed across the region, eight public exhibitions have been held, and leaflets are available at local shops, newsagents, libraries and other outlets.

More than 2,000 people have visited the dedicated website:

www.gmpte.com/haveyoursay

to find out about the plans.

Comments can be made through website, or by calling 0800 917 8808 (Mon-Fri, 9am to 5pm), writing to Freepost GMPTE – BUS 2009, emailing views2009@gmpte.gov.uk or texting “VIEWS” followed by comments to 60777 (texts will be charged at the standard network rate).

Once the consultation is complete, work should start in 2010 and could be complete by 2013.

The cross-city bus proposals are one of 15 major transport projects covered by the Greater Manchester Transport Fund, a £1.5 billion, 10-year investment programme announced by the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) in May this year.