Not to be confused with Metrolink, Manchester's tram network

Metroshuttle is a zero-fare bus system that operates in Manchester City Centre and Bolton Town Centre. The Manchester Metroshuttle consists of three routes 1, 2 and 3 that circuit certain areas of the city. It links Manchester Oxford Road, Salford Central, Manchester Piccadilly Bus Station, Manchester Piccadilly Train Station, Manchester Victoria Stations and many of the city's Car Parks, Metrolink Stations, Shopping Districs, Places of Work, Tourist Attractions and Bus Terminals, while the Bolton Metroshuttle, numbered 500, links Bolton Bus Station, Bolton Train Station and the town's shops and attractions.

Contents 1 Manchester 1.1 History 1.2 Partnership 1.3 Routes 2 Bolton 2.1 History 2.2 Partnership 2.3 Routes 3 Future 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Manchester

History

Manchester's Metroshuttle first began operating in September 2002 and replaced the previous Centreline city centre operation. First Manchester was chosen by GMPTE to operate the service and still operates it currently. Two routes were introduced, numbers 1 and 2. The service was extremely successful. Number 3 was introduced in September 2005 and links additional areas of the City centre.

Partnership

Manchester's Metroshuttle is a partnership between GMPTE, Manchester City Council, National Car Parks and the property developer Allied London^[1]. The service is completely zero-fare (free) and does not require any tickets or passes. The service is also partially supported by advertising. First Manchester provides a publicity contribution. The free service costs approximately £1.2million each year source: Buses Magazine

Routes

The Manchester Metroshuttle network consists of three services, each operated by First Manchester. The services are operated using a dedicated fleet of 18 Optare Solo minibuses with route branding applied for all services, Route 1 (orange), Route 2 (green), Route 3 (purple). Some Solos feature a "Metroshuttle spare" livery, consisting of silver-grey in place of the route colours. Most Metroshuttle bus stops also share the same route colour of the appropriate bus stopping there.

Metroshutle Route One	Metroshutle Route Two	Metroshutle Route Three
Piccadilly Rail Station Piccadilly/Chatham St - for Piccadilly Gardens Charlotte St/Portland St - for Chorlton Street Coach Station Charlotte St/Mosley St - for City Art Gallery and Chinatown King Street - for Albert Square and Manchester Town Hall John Dalton Street - for John Rylands Library Bridge Street* Gartside Street* Spinningfields* Deansgate/John Rylands Library* King Street West Barton Arcade - for House of Fraser and St Annes Square St Marys Gate - for Harvey Nichols, Marks and Spencer and Triangle Cross Street - for Manchester Arndale King Street York Street - for Piccadilly Gardens Piccadilly Plaza Central Coach Station Chorlton Street Piccadilly Rail Station	Shudehill Interchange - for The Printworks Manchester Victoria - for Victoria Train Station, Urbis and MEN Arena Manchester Cathedral Barton Arcade - for House of Fraser and St Annes Square John Rylands Library - for Spinningfields The Great Northern Warehouse - for G-Mex Castlefield Deansgate Station - for Castlefield Gallery, Deansgate Locks and G-Mex tram stop Medlock St/Grand Island Medlock St/Mancunian Way Hulme Street - for University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University Oxford Road - for BBC Manchester Manchester Oxford Road Station - for Cornerhouse and Palace Theatre Whitworth St West The Hacienda - for Bridgewater Hall Deansgate Station Liverpool Road for Castlefield Arena Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester Lower Byron St - for Granada TV and Manchester Opera House Spinningfields Deansgate/John Rylands Library King Street West Barton Arcade - for St Annes Square St Mary's Gate Corporation Street - for Manchester Arndale Shudehill Interchange	Piccadilly Rail Station Piccadilly/Chatham St - for Piccadilly Gardens Charlotte St/Portland St - for Chorlton Street Coach Station Portland St/CUBE Oxford Street/St Peter's Square - for Manchester Central Library Peter Street - for Great Northern and G-Mex Quay Street/Opera House Quay Street/Granada TV New Quay Street - for MANCAT Salford Central Railway Station Gartside Street Spinningfields Peter Street Mount Street Albert Square Town Hall City Art Gallery - for Chinatown Princess Street - for Chorlton Street Coach Station Whitworth Street - for Palace Theatre and City College Piccadilly Rail Station

* denotes peak hours only

0700-1900 Monday-Saturday, approx. every 5 minutes (Routes: One, Two and Three)
1000-1800 Sunday, approx. every 10 minutes (Routes: One and Two only)

Bolton

History

Bolton's Metroshuttle first began operating on November 17, 2008 and follows a similar operation to Manchester's Metroshuttle and is running on a 12-month trial. Bluebird was chosen by GMPTA to operate the service^[2].

Partnership

Bolton's Metroshuttle is a partnership between GMPTA and Bolton Council. The service is completely zero-fare (free) and does not require any tickets or passes. The free service will cost approximately £200,000 per year^[3].

Routes

Bolton's Metroshuttle consists of two 25-seater Enviro200 single decker buses, with black and red route branding^[4]. and use existing stops within the town centre. The services starts at Bolton Interchange before running anti-clockwise around the town centre before returning to Bolton Interchange.

Route 500
Bolton Interchange - for Bolton Train Station Bradshawgate - for Crompton Place Shopping Centre Deansgate Bridge Street - for Market Hall St George's Road Knowsley Street Deansgate Black Horse Street - for Bolton Bus Station Newport Street Bolton Interchange

0730-1800 Monday-Friday, every 10 minutes
0830-1730 Saturday, every 10 minutes

Future

Following the success of Metroshuttle in Manchester, GMPTA 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^[5].

Following on from the introduction in Bolton, Stockport will be the next town in line to get a Metroshuttle route. GMPTE states that the service will be introduced on November 29 2008. The service will be numbered 300 and run by Solutions SK, which is owned by Stockport Council. The service will link the bus and train stations plus the shops and Tesco Extra store in the town centre and will run every 12 minutes during the day, 7 days a week.^[6].

Other towns like Bury, Oldham and Wigan are likely to gain routes, if Metroshuttle proves a success in Bolton and if the TIF funding is gained from the congestion charging.

See also

• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Bolton and Manchester Metroshuttle Information and Route (GMPTE)

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