Council sets wheels in motion for shuttle bus extension

Rochdale’s free town centre shuttle bus will keep rolling for another year following a successful trial.

The bus has carried an average of 236 passengers a week since it was launched three months ago to help people get around the town centre during demolition works.

Shops including M&S and Boots also praised the service, saying it had helped to mitigate the impact of the building work in the town centre.

The service runs from the bus station from Monday to Saturday (not including Bank Holidays). It stops on Newgate for access to the old post office and the Exchange Shopping Centre and Hunter’s Lane for access to Yorkshire Street and Cheetham Street shops as well as the Wheatsheaf Centre.

The new service, which launches on Tuesday May 6, will start running slightly later than previously, leaving stand c in the bus station from 9.05am. It will then leave the bus station every 20 minutes until 5.05pm.

The bus, which bears the number 200, will be a slightly different vehicle to the one used previously.

Mark Widdup, Director Economy and Environment at Rochdale Council, said: “It’s obvious that this service has made a huge difference to both our visitors and businesses, so it’s important that it continues while our town centre goes through huge changes.”