SALFORD's QuaysLink bus route is being replaced by an extension of Stagecoach’s number 50 bus.
Confidential reckons that the problem with the QuaysLink service was that it didn't touch Manchester city centre, the hub of the whole conurbation and thus the vital missing link on the bus route. Stagecoach's 50 bus corrects this at last.
Funded by a partnership of Salford City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester and the University of Salford, QuaysLink recently celebrated its first full year of service, having covered more than 180,000 miles and carried more than 475,000 passengers.
It links Salford Shopping City, MediaCityUK, The Lowry at Salford Quays and the University of Salford with Salford Crescent rail station, Metrolink services and the wider bus network.
The publicly-funded service has proved to be so popular that Stagecoach has announced plans to extend its commercial 50 service, which starts in East Didsbury and runs across Manchester city centre, to cover the same route to MediaCityUK from 2 September.
The timetable and fares will be set by Stagecoach. The extended 50 service will use double deck buses, offering greater capacity for passengers, with earlier start times and a similar or better frequency than the current QuaysLink service.
As a result, the QuaysLink service will end after operation on 1 September.
Cllr Roger Jones, Vice Chair of the TfGM Committee, said: “It’s great to see that this service has proved to be so popular in such a short space of time that it has now been replaced by a commercial service.
“It was designed to meet a very specific need – to improve links to and around the employment, education and leisure centres at MediCityUK in Salford, including Shopping City – and it’s clear from passenger numbers that we’ve been meeting that need well.
“So I’m pleased that we’ve been able to kick-start this service and that it can now live on as a commercial service, without the need for considerable public financial support from TfGM, Salford City Council or Salford University.
“I’d encourage anyone who uses the QuaysLink service already to check their new timetable closer to the change.”
Timetable information will be available on the TfGM website – www.tfgm.com – closer to the time of the change.
Information on Stagecoach services can be found online at www.stagecoachbus.com/manchester/.
The above information comes from a Transport for Greater Manchester press release. Confidential reckons that the problem with the QuaysLink service was that it didn't touch Manchester city centre, the hub of the whole conurbation and thus the vital missing link on the bus route. Stagecoach's 50 bus corrects this at last.
