Improvements on the buses

New figures show that bus passengers are more satisfied

Bus passengers are more satisfied following talks with operators to break Greater Manchester’s north-south fare divide.

Passenger Focus has published its latest bus passenger survey results, which show that 68% of passengers in Greater Manchester are satisfied that their journey was value for money – up 15% on the last survey and 7% above the national average.

Greater Manchester is broadly in line with the national results for overall satisfaction (86%), on bus journey time (83%) and punctuality (74%).

In April 2013, following encouragement from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) Committee members, First Manchester reduced their fares (some by up to 28%) which brought them broadly in line with the region’s other major operators.

It also brought more than 150,000 more passengers on board their services each week.

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chairman of the TfGM Committee, said: “Prior to First’s move, there was something of a north-south divide – passengers in the north of Greater Manchester paid more than in the south simply because of the notable difference between the fares charged by the area’s two principal operators.

“There is now greater equality in terms of cost and that’s clearly been welcomed by passengers and is reflected in the results published by Passenger Focus this week.

“It’s a very welcome result and shows what we can achieve at a local level.

“But there is also clearly room for improvement – and that’s why we’re overseeing one of the largest investments in our bus network for decades that’s delivering new, dedicated bus routes to speed up journey times and punctuality on key bus routes, as well as several new interchanges.

“New technology, such as automatic vehicle location equipment on buses, will also help to drive improvements for bus passengers. It’s an exciting time and I trust that will be borne out in future surveys.”