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GMPTA calls for help on the buses

05/06/2006

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) is urging the Department for Transport to help the city reach its targets on bus usage.

The organisation has submitted a report to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee Enquiry warning that buses will not improve if they do not gain the power to specify standards.

According to the GMPTA, local transport authorities need the powers to specify bus networks with frequencies, reliability and punctuality standards.

GMPTA is concerned that Greater Manchester is in danger of falling short of the government's targets regarding bus use in the UK.

Every English region has been set the task of increasing bus use by 2010, but the GMPTA has voiced its worries to MPs dealing with the subject.

Recommendations made by the transport group suggest that local transport authorities should be able to enter into binding partnerships with bus operators, through Enhanced Quality Partnerships.

The Wilmslow Road/Oxford Road bus route, which runs from south Manchester to the city centre, is widely perceived to be the busiest bus route in Europe, with buses running at an average of every three minutes.


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