Making travel easier for local apprentices

The pilot scheme has been jointly developed and funded by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and the Greater Manchester Apprenticeship Hub on behalf of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) in response to feedback from apprentices and their training providers.

Eligible apprentices, who often struggle with transport costs as they are not entitled to discounted travel, can now apply for a free 28-day travel pass valid on bus or Metrolink services across the region.

People who are interested in cycling to work can join the ‘Apprentice Bike to Work’ scheme, which offers apprentices access to free recycled bikes, cycle training and bike maintenance courses provided by TfGM.

The bikes also come with cycling accessories and safety equipment such as lights and helmets.

Apprentices from around 30 training providers across Greater Manchester have been invited to take part in the scheme, which will initially run until the end of March 2018.  If the pilot is successful, TfGM and GMCA plan to roll out a longer-term travel offer for Greater Manchester apprentices. 

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the TfGM Committee, said: “The cost of travel can make it difficult for apprentices, particularly young people, to get to work as they are not entitled to the same discounted travel full-time students receive.

“Giving people recycled bikes and cycle training can set them up with a particularly healthy, low cost and practical way of getting to work – especially where shifts or location rule public transport out.

“We hope that both these schemes, which are part of a wider Travel Choices package aimed at getting people to work in a sustainable way that’s good for the economy and the environment, will make it easier for apprentices to travel to work.”

Cllr Sean Anstee, GMCA’s Vice Chair and Lead Member for Skills, Employment and Worklessness, welcomed the launch:

“Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to develop skills, earn a wage and achieve a qualification while working. Around 30,000 people across Greater Manchester take up an apprenticeship each year, but we recognise that apprenticeship wages are sometimes quite low in the early days. This scheme will help to balance out travel costs and that’s why we’re delighted to be working with TfGM on the pilot.

“We want to do all we can to support Greater Manchester residents of all ages who want to take up an apprenticeship as part of their career development. We’re looking at what we can do to tackle barriers in the longer-term, but in the meantime this pilot offers a welcome helping hand.”

All applications should be made through training providers to find out if apprentices are eligible.  For more information about the scheme contact the TfGM Travel Choices team at access@tfgm.com.

Commuters warned of strike-day disruption - Monday 13 March

Most Northern services are not expected to run and any that do operate, working to a revised timetable, will be extremely busy.

All public transport and Greater Manchester’s roads are expected to be busier, especially at peak morning and evening times, with key commuter routes forecast to face the most pressure as people affected by the strike make alternative arrangements.

Transport for Greater Manchester, which is helping to co-ordinate the region’s response, is urging people to plan ahead and consider carefully their travel arrangements.

It is working to support Northern’s own customer communications effort and has created a special travel information page on its website to help keep Greater Manchester commuters on the move: tfgm.com/industrial-action.

TfGM’s Events and Operational Coordination Manager, John Fryer, said: “We are taking action to minimise the disruption to the transport network but we know there will still be problems.

“Commuters can play their part to minimise these and our advice is simple: plan ahead, be prepared, and think about all your travel choices.

“Can you travel at a different time or does your employer allow you to work from home? If you can travel at a quieter time, or in a different way – by bus, tram, bike, foot or a mixture – it can make a massive improvement not just to your journey but to people who simply don’t have a choice.

“Make a difference: make a choice,” he said.

As well as working with other transport authorities across the North, TfGM has taken action locally to help people who have to travel on the day of the strike.

As well as creating the travel information page, other TfGM actions include:

·         Adding more capacity to the Metrolink network where it can – an extra 1,600 seats per hour in the peak – on the Eccles-Ashton and East Didsbury-Rochdale lines

·         Additional staff on Metrolink and at key bus stations to help commuters

·         Working with bus and other train operators to maximise capacity across the network, particularly on the busiest commuter corridors

·         Enhanced monitoring at its network control centre so traffic flows can be optimised by altering signal timing

·         Working with local highway authorities to temporarily suspend roadworks where possible on the region’s main commuter routes

John added: “Our control room will open earlier and work later on the day of the strike and we’ll have additional customer service support on the phones and online to help people who have to travel, but our strongest advice is: expect disruption and plan ahead now.”

Metrolink Trafford Park Line - Warren Bruce Road closure

Dear Recipient,

As you may be aware, advance works have started on the much anticipated Metrolink Trafford Park Line. This new six stop route will offer fast, frequent connections to jobs, leisure, shopping and cultural destinations and across the wider tram network.

From Monday 13th March there will be a temporary road closure on Warren Bruce Road. This will allow utility works to take place, to enable the Metrolink Trafford Park Line construction. It is anticipated that these works will last approximately 2 weeks.

Please be assured that access to businesses and pedestrian access on to Warren Bruce Road will be maintained during these works and that the closure only affects vehicles. There will be signposted diversion routes and re-routing of the 24, X50, 291 and 294 bus services as shown on the map - click here to view. 

We are notifying you of this temporary closure so that you can plan ahead. You may be able to avoid the area during this time. However, we realise this isn’t always possible and so we would encourage you to use the diversion routes, to allow more time for your journey and to share this information with anyone you know who will visit the area during the closure.

We will keep people informed through social media, a press release and a letter drop along with the attached map has been issued out to the affected area.

Work on the new Metrolink Trafford Park Line project will increase from this spring and we want to ensure that we are communicating any associated roadworks to everyone who travels to and through the area. If you have any family, friends, co-workers who you feel would benefit from being kept up to date with the project works, please forward the website details www.tfgm.com/MetrolinkTPL on to them where they can sign up to receive regular updates.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation.

Kind Regards,

Bethan Stanway
Communications Officer

Transport for Greater Manchester

2 Piccadilly Place, Manchester M1 3BG

www.tfgm.com

Women on Wheels (WOW 2017) !

TfGM has a programme of events across Greater Manchester led by a variety of community groups, clubs and organisations eager to promote female cycling. Events are open for the public to sign up to via their ever-growing events calendar.

TfGM hope to have a total of 60+ events up on their events calendar for people to browse and get involved in ranging from maintenance sessions, led rides, bike breakfasts, cinema evenings and inspirational talks.

To find an event near you visit their events calendar at www.tfgm.com/WOW and check back regularly as the events list is growing!

Women’s Cycling Celebration event at the HSBC UK National Cycling Centre

Join TfGM for a day of Cycling activities for women of all abilities at the HSBC UK NCC. They have a packed programme for the day, with interactive workshops, velodrome track taster sessions, mountain biking taster sessions, bicycle dance displays, cycle clothing suppliers, bike shops offering basic bike fitting and saddle fitting, and much much more! They also have some led-rides to the event on the day.

Some events require pre-booking but most workshops can be signed up to on the day. The velodrome track sessions will have 20 places available to pre-book, and 12 places available first-come, first served on the day.

The event is completely FREE just come along to the HSBC UK national Cycling Centre on 11th March at 11:00am.

Save the date! Metrolink’s new Second City Crossing opens soon

Manchester’s transformational new tram line is on track to open to passengers later this month, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) announced today.

Subject to final testing and commissioning, the first passenger services will run on the new Second City Crossing on Sunday 26 February.

The new line will offer new links and more frequent trams through Manchester city centre, as well as improved service reliability and greater operational flexibility.

This city crossing runs from a major new stop at St Pet er ’s Square along Cross Street to stops at Exchange Square and Victoria, and will allow more trams to run through the city centre and across the 93-stop network.

The Second City Crossing is the final piece in Metrolink’s £1.5bn ‘big bang’ expansion programme – which has seen extensions to MediaCityUK, East Didsbury, Rochdale via Oldham, Ashton and Manchester Airport.

Importantly, the new line will support the tram network’s future growth by allowing for increased services to run on some lines as demand to travel grows.

Construction work on the new city crossing finished late last year and has been followed by a rigorous testing and commissioning process, including driver training.

When the new line opens, Manchester Airport services will run to the city centre Deansgate-Castlefield stop and, later this year, will continue to Victoria.

Services that currently terminate at Deansgate-Castlefield and Exchange Square will continue across the city centre to Shaw and Crompton and East Didsbury.

Peter Cushing, Transport for Greater Manchester’s Metrolink Director, said: “The return of passenger trams to this area of the city will be a historic day and the culmination of years of hard work. I look forward to our customers right across the tram network experiencing the benefits.

“We are gearing up to make some changes to services from the launch of the new line on Sunday 26 February and you can find out more now at www.metrolink.co.uk.”

Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, was one of the first people to ride the new route on a test tram.

He added: “Not only will the Second City Crossing offer more trams through the city – on a more flexible, reliable tram network – but also a fantastic new view of historic Manchester landmarks such as the Royal Exchange and Manchester Town Hall.”

The Second City Crossing is part of the transformational Grow project which is seeing major investment into city centre infrastructure improvements, including bus priority  measures, six new and better cycle routes into the city centre and major rail  improvements.

The first phase of the Second City Crossing opened from Victoria through to a new stop at Exchange Square in December 2015.

Fast-tracked thanks to the European Regional Development Fund, this section of the new line allowed a six-minute daytime service to run between Shaw and Crompton, Oldham and Exchange Square from Monday to Saturdays.

The Deansgate-Castlefield and Victoria stops have also been upgraded in readiness to handle more services when the Second City Crossing opens later this month.

A campaign is now under way to remind customers of upcoming service changes from Sunday 26 February:

·         Altrincham – Bury (via Market Street)

·         Altrincham – Etihad Campus

·         Bury – Piccadilly

·         Ashton-under-Lyne – Eccles

·         MediaCityUK – Piccadilly

·         Manchester Airport – Deansgate-Castlefield

·         East Didsbury – Rochdale Town Centre (via Exchange Square)

·         East Didsbury – Shaw and Crompton (via Exchange Square)

For more information on Metrolink services visit www.metrolink.co.uk, call Metrolink Customer Services on 0161 205 2000 or follow @MCRMetrolink for live travel updates.

Stay ahead of the game this Thursday - Manchester United v St Etienne FC

Drivers are being urged to plan ahead to avoid match-day hold-ups when Manchester United play St Etienne FC on Thursday night.

Transport for Greater Manchester and Greater Manchester Police are working together to help commuters and away fans make their journeys as easily as possible.

The highest risk of congestion for commuters heading home is between 4pm and 7pm as away fans are walked to the stadium en masse and roads are closed in a series of rolling restrictions.

TfGM’s event manager John Fryer said: “We have a good plan in place to minimise the impact of the game on people’s journeys but commuters can help play their part.

“If drivers can use a different route or travel at a different time, it can really make a difference for everyone. And if they can’t avoid the area they should expect it to take a bit longer.

“Buses will also be affected by the closures so passengers should expect their journey to take longer if they can’t use an alternative service.

“Public transport will of course be busy, as it is every match-day, so the general message is plan ahead, please, and be patient.”

The following bus services route around the road closures and are likely to have journey times affected between 4pm and 7pm: 8, 10, 27, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 50, 53, 63, 67, 73, 79, 92, 93, 97, 98, 100, V1, V2, V3, X34, Metroshuttle 1 and 2.

TfGM has produced a map highlighting the hotspots to avoid as fans make their way to Old Trafford, and they will be using French in some of their tweets to help the visiting supporters.

For information on public transport across Greater Manchester visit www.tfgm.com, call 0161 244 1000 (7am-8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am-8pm at weekends and bank holidays) or follow @OfficialTfGM on Twitter.