Leigh-Salford-Manchester Bus Rapid Transit

Vantage bus on the guided busway

A Vantage bus crosses tramlines in St Peter's Square in Manchester city centre

After light-controlled junctions along the East Lancashire Road were upgraded with SCOOT adaptive signalling in July 2016, TfGM reported in the October that traffic journey times on this section had returned to pre-construction levels in the morning peak while accommodating significant additional traffic.[25]

In the first six months of operation, more than 900,000 passenger journeys were made. A survey of users published in October 2016 revealed that 20% of passengers had switched from using their cars for the same journey, and nearly all respondents would recommend the service.[26][27] More than a quarter of busway users walked or travelled more than a kilometre to reach the busway.[28] By the third year of operation, it was being estimated that 580,000 car trips per year along the BRT route had transferred to bus ridership.[29]

The service attracted about 28,000 passengers per week when it started in April 2016 rising to 45,000 by the autumn and 55,000 in the run up to Christmas 2016.[30] In the first year more than 2.1 million passengers were carried; increasing to approximately 2.6 million in the second,[31] and 3 million in the third.[32] By December 2017, weekly ridership had increased to 62,000.[33] This has further increase a record 62,700 passengers in September 2018.[34]

Services were initially operated by 20 Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LH hybrid double-decker buses in purple-livery. They are equipped with CCTV and next stop audio and visual announcements, USB charging points and free Wi-Fi.[35] Five more buses were purchased in January 2017 to provide extra capacity at busy times and facilitate the extended service to Central Manchester Hospitals.[10][36] It is required that buses that operate the busway service are replaced after 5 years of service. Further buses are scheduled to enter service in September 2018. These will operate the V4 service from Ellenbrook, and will be standard vehicles not adapted for busway running.[37]

In February 2019, TfGM were successful in bidding for funding support in buying an additional 10 electric buses for busway operation, to enter service in March 2020.[38] These will be Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC double-deckers with BYD Company battery power. TfGM intend that eventually all Vantage services will be operated by electric buses; to be purchased and owned by TfGM themselves, rather than by the service operator. Five of the existing fleet of Volvo B5LH buses will be transferred to other services in Greater Manchester; and so total fleet will increase to 30, allowing increased daytime frequency on V1 services from Leigh.[39]

Stops along the guided busway section provide level-boarding from platforms and are equipped with passenger information display screens. The guided busway crosses local roads on level, light-controlled junctions at which busway services have priority.[40] Standard First Greater Manchester fares include travel on Vantage services.[41]

A long legal process preceded the busway's construction, including a public inquiry in 2002.[45] The decision of the public inquiry was delayed because of great crested newts occupying a site on the route. The Department for Transport granted powers to build the busway in 2005 and it was projected to be built by 2009 but preliminary work only started in 2012.[46] Powers to build it are set out in the Greater Manchester (Leigh Busway) Order 2005 in the Transport and Works Act.[47] The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive estimated in 2005 that the busway would generate around 2 million passenger trips per annum.[48] After the public inquiry, a branch bus route from Atherton to Tyldesley and an extension from Manchester city centre to the Manchester Royal Infirmary were added to the scheme.

The guided busway under construction at Cooling Lane, Tyldesley in January 2016

Site clearance for the dedicated busway section between Leigh and Ellenbrook took place between November 2012 and March 2013.[49] Balfour Beatty began its construction in September 2013.[50] A short section of the busway west of Newearth Road was completed in early 2015 and in the April was used for a trial of the construction method and the bus guidance system. Following delays due to bad weather and other problems, the busway works were rescheduled to be completed before the end of 2015. The service began on 3 April 2016[35] to coordinate with associated road and tram works in Manchester city centre.[51][52]

TfGM spent £122 million on bus priority investment of which the guided busway track and infrastructure cost £68 million and the rest was spent upgrading associated local roads, bus lanes and junctions. The Greater Manchester Transport Fund provided most of the funding and the Department for Transport contributed £32.5 million.[35]