Councillors are delighted that a brand new bus service is being created to serve Wigan, Scholes, Whelley, New Springs & Aspull and running to Horwich Parkway and Middlebrook.
BUS ROUTE: 615
The 615 will run via Bolton Road (Aspull) which means buses will be back serving residents in that area.
This is something we have been pushing for since the 715 route was cut by the private bus company nearly 5 years ago.
When the Bee Network was launched last September, we wrote to Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and the CEO of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). We also got Lisa Nandy MP and Wigan Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport, Cllr Paul Prescott, to write to the Mayor and TfGM, and we thank them for their support.
The Bee Network’s first new bus route
We had a meeting with Andy Burnham and the CEO of TfGM in December last year, setting out the situation, making suggestions such as one 575 per hour being re-routed via Bolton Road, and also asking for a service to Middlebrook/Horwich Parkway as we know this is what lots of residents across our areas would benefit from.
We’ve then had numerous meetings with officers of Transport for Greater Manchester over the past 10 months. With it being the first new route in the Bee Network, there’s been lots difficulties along the way, but we and they have persisted and now a bus back on Bolton Road, and to Middlebrook/Horwich Parkway a reality.
We want to thank the TfGM officers for their hard work in making this happen.
Labour’s plan to bring buses under local control is working!
This is what the Bee Network is about – buses being run to serve local communities, not decisions made by commercial companies. This would not have been possible without the bus network being brought back under local control by our Labour Mayor, Andy Burnham.
SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the 615 bus route to Middlebrook and Horwich Parkway:
- Service begins Monday 28 October, 6.10am
- It is an hourly service, during the day and early evening, Monday-Saturday
- The service will start at Wigan Bus Station and do a ‘loop’ to Middlebrook and Horwich Parkway.
- Services are timed to align with train times at Horwich Parkway to Manchester.
- It will come up Scholes/Whelley/Wigan Road and then turn right at the Finger Post to serve Bolton Road.
- Route map and timetable are included in the photos below
IMPORTANT: this is not the 715 route being brought back, it is a different route and will NOT go to Wingates and Bolton Bus Station.
- It will mean an extra service an hour for residents in New Springs and Whelley on top of the 575 and 613 services
- This is trial project for a year and will be monitored and reviewed. Please use it!
- There are some limitations; we would have liked it to run later in the evening and Sundays.
- There is also a gap in service around 7.30am and 3pm. This is because the bus being used is a school bus and will be doing those journeys at these times. This was the only way to make the new route happen ASAP, ahead of the full review of the network over the next year.
- Even with these limitations, we hope you agree it’s an amazing step forward. There will be the hourly service for Bolton Road during the day, which will particularly benefit older residents getting to the shops/doctors etc.
- If it is popular and well-used, we hope it can be expanded later into the evenings and Sundays, and not have the gap in service.
Councillors haven’t stopped there!
This is a huge achievement for our local areas, having the first new route in the whole Bee Network, across all of Greater Manchester.
We are really proud to have made this happen to benefit residents in Scholes, Whelley, New Springs and Aspull, but particularly those on and around Bolton Road.
AS PART OF THE WIDER REVIEW OF THE BEE NETWORK BUSES IN OUR AREAS, WE HAVE ASKED FOR:
– Extension of 613 up Platt Lane, Whelley
– Bus between Aspull and Hindley, to serve Hall Lane, Pennington Green
– Bus serving Haigh Woodland Park
– Bus over Red Rock
We will continue to lobby for improved bus services across our area over the coming months.
Please get in touch if you have any questions, our emails are below.
With best wishes,
Cllr Laura Flynn (laura.flynn@wigan.gov.uk) Cllr Ron Conway (r.conway@wigan.gov.uk) Cllr Chris Ready (c.ready@wigan.gov.uk)Local Labour Councillors for Aspull, New Springs & Whelley Ward
