Metroshuttle
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| Parent | Transport for Greater Manchester |
|---|---|
| Founded | September 2002 |
| Locale | Greater Manchester |
| Service area |
Manchester city centre Salford Bolton Oldham |
| Service type | Zero-Fare bus services |
| Fleet |
Optare Versa Alexander Dennis Enviro200 |
| Operator |
Diamond Bus North West First Greater Manchester Manchester Community Transport |
| Website | Metroshuttle website |
Metroshuttle is a free bus system that operates in Greater Manchester.
The system was first introduced in Manchester city centre in 2002, with three routes linking the city's major thoroughfares and stations with its main commercial, financial and cultural districts.
In later years, similar services were introduced in and Bolton. An Oldham service ran temporarily in 2012 until a Metrolink line was constructed through the town.
Transport across the Greater Manchester conurbation historically suffered from poor north–south connections due to the fact that Manchester's main railway stations, Piccadilly and Victoria, were built in the 1840s on peripheral locations outside Manchester City Centre. In the 1960s and 1970s, the public transport authority SELNEC evaluated a number of proposals to connect Manchester's northern and southern rail terminals, including several types of monorail systems and metro-style systems. A scheme was promoted to build an underground rail link across Manchester City Centre, known as the Picc-Vic tunnel, but this failed to attract the necessary government funding and the project was cancelled in 1977.
To address the problem of cross-city transit, Greater Manchester PTE (SELNEC's successor) proposed a new circular shuttle bus service between Piccadilly and Victoria stations. The new Centreline bus service was initially opposed by the Taxi Owners' Association, but was approved by the North Western Traffic Commissioner. Centreline was first operated using a fleet of Seddon Pennine IV midibuses, noted for their diminutive appearance. GMPTE also introduced an experimental battery-electric bus onto Centreline, the Lucas Electric Bus, which was based on the Seddon chassis and body. This was Greater Manchester's second electric bus, the first being SELNEC's experimental Silent Rider, but it was eventually taken out of service. Operated under the Greater Manchester Transport brand, Centreline came into operation on 1 July 1974. Passengers were charged a flat fare of 2p for each jounrney.
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