Investment in bus priority has led patronage on the Vantage bus rapid transit corridor between Leigh and Atherton and Manchester city centre to more than double relative to before those services were introduced, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says.
Such an uplift has been implied via survey work done by TfGM. The corridor was a major beneficiary of the £122 million Greater Manchester Bus Priority Programme and has also seen significantly reduced journey times between Leigh and Manchester on the Vantage routes, which use the Leigh Guided Busway.
It runs between Leigh and Ellenbrook, with Vantage services also benefitting from priority measures on the A580 corridor between Ellenbrook and Salford. What TfGM terms high-quality waiting facilities and vehicles and a more frequent service are also cited as reasons for the uplift in usage.
Morning peak bus journey times between Leigh and Manchester were 65 minutes in 2013 before the Busway opened but are now under 50 minutes, a report compiled by TfGM notes. Predictability of journey times has also improved.
The local transport authority adds that Vantage services on the corridor have seen major modal shift, with up to 25% of passengers switching car travel. The Vantage V1 route is one of those that are subject to an overnight service pilot under franchising in Greater Manchester.
Passenger satisfaction on Vantage services serving Atherton, Leigh and Tyldesley is also higher than the Greater Manchester average at 89%, TfGM’s research found.
Speaking about a wider monitoring and evaluation of the Greater Manchester Bus Priority Programme, Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt says that findings demonstrate “the positive impact for residents of investment in high-quality public transport to deliver safe, frequency and reliable bus services.”
Mr Everitt adds that the three bus priority schemes in the report have given better access to jobs, homes, healthcare, education and leisure destinations.
The wider bus priority package in Greater Manchester also saw usage increase by over a third on route 18 between Middleton and Oxford Road in Manchester city centre, and by more than double on route 50 between Salford Quays and East Didsbury, according to the report.
TfGM says that the patronage uplifts are implied via survey responses because operators were reluctant to share commercial data before franchising. The Vantage services have been contracted by TfGM since introduction and hence data for those has always been available.
The latest usage figures by month in FY2024/25 for Vantage routes show strong growth over the corresponding periods in FY2023/24, TfGM adds. That has seen usage of those services exceed pre-pandemic levels – a “fairly rare” occurrence in the conurbation.
TfGM Bus Priority Package final report available here.
