History

Before bus deregulation in 1986, buses in the Greater Manchester area were publicly funded and went under the name of Greater Manchester Transport. In 1986, with de-regulation, Greater Manchester Transport became known as GM Buses, which were effectively owned by the metropolitan borough and city councils of Greater Manchester, but were at arms' length from the local town halls. During the mid-1990s GM Buses was divided into two compaines: GMN (GM Buses (North)) and GMS (GM South Buses)). British Bus looked set to acquire GM North, but eventually both were bought out by their management and employees. Within a year, however, GM South Buses were bought by the Stagecoach Group and rebranded as Stagecoach Manchester.

When GM Buses North were eventually bought by First the whole GMN fleet was rebranded as Greater Manchester. This was just a trade name as legal name of the company remained GMBuses North however in 1998 the company was renamed First Manchester Ltd and likewise the trading name also changed to First Manchester.

After a period of experimentation with the livery, a lighter shade of orange was adopted and all other colours were dropped, leaving a fleet of plain light orange buses.

First Manchester soon ended up managing two other First subsidiaries: First Potteries and its sister First Pennine. That even included many GM Standard Atlanteans making their way to those two fleets.

However, First Manchester became unpopular with both its passengers and the local PTE^{[citation needed]}. Reliability plummeted, buses were often dirty and very few new buses came into the fleet. This partly fuelled the PTEs' calls for re-regulation in their areas^{[citation needed]}.

Eventually the First Pennine and Manchester subsidiaries were merged, adding a number of routes in the Tameside area to First Manchester. A new management team was put in place and First Manchester was relieved of its responsibility for the Potteries subsidiary.

Several years on and many of the old orange fleet have been replaced by new vehicles in the white, magenta and blue livery featured on most other First Bus fleets.

The fleet over the previous years has been of interest and initially consisted on First's takeover of Dodge S56, Mercedes-Benz 709D and 811D and Iveco 59.12 minibuses, Dennis Dart, Volvo B6 and a solitary Volvo B6LE midibus, Leyland National, Leyland National 2, Leyland Lynx and Volvo B10B single-deck vehicles and Leyland Fleetline, Leyland Atlantean, Leyland Olympian, MCW Metrobus and Volvo Citybus double-deck vehicles. Most of the double-deckers were to the standard GMPTE body design with Northern Counties coachwork.

Over the course of the early years the fleet had new vehicles introduced in the form of further Dennis Darts, Volvo B6-50s, Volvo B6LEs and new types consisting of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro O530, Optare Solo, Volvo B6BLE, Volvo B10L, Volvo B10BLE, Volvo B7L, Volvo B10LA and Scania L94UA. The policy was to swing away from buying any more new double-deck vehicles at this stage however second-hand vehicles came mainly from other FirstGroup subsidiaries or via takeovers, these consisted of further Mercedes-Benz minibuses; Volvo B10B, Scania L113CRL and L94UB, Volvo B10L, Volvo B10BLE and Mercedes-Benz O405 single-deckers; MCW Metrobus MKII, Leyland Olympian, Leyland Olympian tri-axle, Volvo Olympian, Volvo Citybus, Dennis Dominator, and Scania N112DRB and N113DRB double-deckers. Many of these vehicles have subsequently moved away including all Volvo B10Ls, most Scania L94UBs, all Volvo Citybuses, all Leyland Olympians and tri-Axle Leyland Olympians, all Dennis Dominators, all Scania double-deckers, some Volvo B10BLEs (some of these even came back again), all Volvo B7Ls (most of which had been purchased for use during the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games and were never used in normal service) and all Mercedes-Benz minibuses. Withdrawals of Mercedes-Benz 0405s recently commenced as have withdrawals of Volvo B10Bs. All non-low-floor Dennis Dart and Volvo B6 midis have also been withdrawn and scrapped.

In 2005 a start was made on renewing the fleet. Phase 1 involved the purchase of 256 Wright Eclipse Urban bodied Volvo B7RLE saloons and 18 Scania CN94UA OmniCity articulated buses. These were delivered throughout 2005 and 2006. In 2007 a fleet of 36 Volvo B9TLs with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork followed. These were the first new double-deckers for some years. In 2008 a new Phase commenced of replacing Volvo B7RLEs bought in 2005 and 2006 along with about 100 older saloons with 210 Volvo B9TLs with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork over a two year period of 2008 and 2009 to be followed by 5 Wright Gemini hybrid integral deckers and then a commitment of investment for the five years after that of around 40-80 buses per year.

Over the years several fleets have been taken over; these have included Timeline Travel (Leigh) (North GM Area Bus Operations), Pioneer (Rochdale) (Bus Operations), Coachmasters (Rochdale) (Bus Operations) as well as the transfer of First PMT's Dukinfield fleet to First Manchester control.

Various depots have been closed over the past 12 years including Atherton (1998), Bolton Crook Street (2004) (replaced by a new depot at Weston Street), Knowsley (2008), Rochdale (2004) and Trafford Park (2005) sites at Lowton, Bolton and Manchester Piccadilly have also been used temporarily for either acquired fleet (Lowton/Bolton) in 1998 or for the Commonwealth Games in 2002 (Manchester Piccadilly).

 Depots

• Bolton depot: Weston Street
   

Types operated from Bolton
30000s: Volvo B9TL, Volvo Olympian, Dennis Arrow (loaned from Wigan/Ince depots)
40000s: Dennis Dart SLF
60000s: Volvo B10B, Volvo B7RLE
 

• Bury depot: Rochdale Road
   

Types operated from Bury
10000s: Scania OmniCity CN94UA artics, plus one Scania L94UA/Wright
30000s: Volvo Olympians
60000s: Mercedes-Benz Citaro, Volvo B7RLE, Scania L94UB
 

• Tameside depot: Rothesay Garage, Broadway, Dukinfield (operates under a separate operators license as First Pioneer)
   

Types operated from Dukinfield
30000s: Dennis Arrows
40000s: Dennis Dart, Dennis Dart SLF, Optare Solo
50000s: one Optare Solo (50280)
60000s: Iveco Vehixel Scolabus
 

• Manchester depot: Queens Road, Cheetham
   

Types operated from Manchester Depot
30000s: Volvo B9TL
40000s: Volvo B6LE, Volvo B6BLE, Optare Solo
50000s: Optare Solo
60000s: Volvo B10B, Volvo B10BLE, Volvo B7RLE, Mercedes-Benz 0405
 

• Oldham depot & HQ: Wallshaw Street
   

Types operated from Oldham Depot
30000s: Volvo B9TL, Volvo Olympian
40000s: Dennis Dart SLF, Optare Solo
60000s: Volvo B7RLE, Mercedes-Benz 0405
 

• Wigan depot: Pottery Road
   

Types operated from Wigan Depot
30000s: Dennis Arrow, Volvo B9TL
40000s: Dennis Dart SLF, Optare Excel
60000s: Optare Excel, Volvo B10B, Volvo B10BLE, Volvo B7RLE
 

• Ince School Unit depot: Seaman Way
   

Types operated from Ince Depot
30000s: Dennis Arrow, Volvo Olympian
60000s: Volvo B10B, Volvo B10BLE (day to day loan from Wigan) and Iveco Vehixel Scolabus
 

 Fleet

First Manchester's fleet consists of around 860 active vehicles. Over half are of Volvo manufacture.

 Fleet Numbering System

As with all FirstGroup Fleets a 5 digit Numbering System is used which groups types of vehicle to fleetnumbers, these are:-

10000 Bendybuses
20000 Coaches (None currently Operated)
30000 Double-Deck Buses
40000 Midibuses
50000 Minibuses
60000 Single-Deck Saloon Vehicles and Single-Deck Yellow Schoolbuses
80000 Ancillary Vehicles not based on buses
90000 Ancillary Vehicles that have never been operational buses
 

The series are not always applied consistently, for example First Manchester's longer Optare Solos are numbered in the 50000 series (nominally for minibuses), whilst the shorter ones are numbered in the 40000 series (midibuses).

 Articulated buses

First Manchester pioneered the use of low-floor articulated buses in the United Kingdom with the delivery in 1998 and 1999 of fifteen Volvo B10LAs with Wright Fusion bodywork. These were initially used on service 135 between Manchester and Bury, these then transferred to Bolton and have been used on the 8 Bolton - Manchester and more recently on the 582 Bolton - Atherton - Leigh services. Their introduction on the 582 was somewhat controversial, with users claiming that the reliability and frequency of the service had suffered. These Volvo artics have have since been cascaded within First Group, with one being trialled in Coventry.

In 2005, eighteen new Scania OmniCity articulated buses arrived to take over operation of the 135. A single Scania L94UA / Wright Solar Fusion bendybus is also owned and was again initially used at Bury but has been used since on services 8 and 582 from Bolton. It is now reallocated back to Bury.

 Double-deck buses

Double-deckers were once the mainstay of urban bus services in Manchester. After a period out of favour, they are now becoming popular again, to the extent that the Wright Eclipse Gemini is now the most numerous vehicle type in the fleet. The first 36 were delivered in 2007. These are mainly used on services 17, 32 and X34. Two hundred and ten of a similar type have been ordered for delivery in 2008/2009 of which commenced delivery in September 2008 with the first being used on services 8, 36, 37, 81, 81A, 82, 83, 180,184 and 409 from Bolton and Oldham Depots. For 2009 First Manchester also have on order 5 Wright Gemini integral Hybrid Double-deck buses.

A small fleet of Volvo Olympians is maintained at Bolton, Bury, Ince and Oldham Depots along with a fleet of Dennis Arrows which are primarily for the schools fleet at Dukinfield and Ince depots although Wigan also has some and regularly loans additional Arrows from the Ince schools unit for normal operation.

 Single-deck buses

The Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse delivered in 2005/06 still form the majority single-deck type, although about 40% of the original 256 have already been cascaded to other FirstGroup fleets. Other low floor types present in significant numbers include Volvo B10BLE/Wright Renowns and Mercedes-Benz Citaros. Step entrance types include Mercedes-Benz O405 with Optare Prisma bodywork and Volvo B10B with Wright Endurance bodywork although withdrawals of both types have commenced.

Also operated are a fleet of Vehixel bodied, Iveco Scolabuses that are operated from Dukinfield and Ince Depots on behalf of GMPTE who also own these vehicles.

 Midibuses

These are primarily Dennis Dart SLFs with Plaxton Pointer or Wright Crusader bodies, also operated are 23 Optare Excel integral buses from Wigan depot and a fleet of Volvo B6LE and B6BLE low-floor midibuses with Wright Crusader and Crusader 2 bodies from Manchester depot.

 Minibuses

A small fleet of minibuses is operated on MetroShuttle Contracts and one or two other routes based on Manchester, Oldham and Dukinfield depots. The entire minibus fleet consists of Optare Solo integral models.

 Ancillary Vehicles

The support fleet is quite a varied one and consists mostly of Volvo B10B driver training buses with bodies by Alexander (Strider model) or Wright (Endurance). Aside from training vehicles it also includes five recovery lorries: three Volvo FL6, a Leyland T45 and an ERF. A large fleet of vans and pick-ups are operated, these are usually Vauxhall Combos or Corsas (smaller vans) or Ford Transits (bigger vans and pick-ups). Also owned are various fork lift trucks, and garage floor cleaning equipment known as 'Floor Scrubbers'.

 Services

First Manchester mainly run services in central Manchester and the northern area of Greater Manchester including Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Wigan, Tameside and Salford. However, some services do run outside of these areas. These services are the 20 (Bacup - Manchester), the 22 (Bolton – Stockport) which is shared with Stagecoach, the 53 (Cheetham Hill - Pendleton), 100 (Warrington / Hollins Green - Manchester), and the 184 (Huddersfield - Manchester), which is shared with First's Huddersfield depot.

First also operate school services in Merseyside, serving the St Helens area.

 List of routes

This is a summary of First Manchester services. Any service with a coloured line runs every ten minutes or better.

No.	From	To	Via	Notes
1	Manchester Piccadilly station	Manchester Piccadilly station	Deansgate	Metroshuttle Orange
2	Manchester Victoria station	Manchester Victoria station	Shudehill Interchange, Oxford Road, Deansgate	Metroshuttle Green
3	Manchester Piccadilly station	Manchester Piccadilly station	Salford Central station	Metroshuttle Purple
6 7	Rochdale	Kirkholt		Circulars
8	Bolton	Manchester Shudehill	Farnworth, Kearsley, Pendlebury, Pendleton	Green Line
10	Brookhouse	Manchester Shudehill	Eccles, Salford Royal Hospital, Pendleton, Broughton	Jointly run with Arriva North West. Most journeys withdrawn from 30th August 2009.
12	Leigh	Manchester Shudehill	Atherton, Tyldesley, Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton
17	Rochdale	Manchester Shudehill	Castleton, Middleton, Harpurhey	Red Line
17A	Rochdale	Manchester Shudehill	Castleton, Stake Hill Industrial Estate, Middleton, Harpurhey	Red Line
19	Clifton Junction	Trafford Park	Swinton, Eccles
20	Bacup	Manchester Piccadilly	Whitworth, Rochdale, Royton, New Moston	Limited Stop. Withdrawn from 30th August 2009.
22	Stockport	Bolton	Burnage, Chorlton, Stretford, Urmston, Davyhulme, Trafford Centre, Eccles, Monton, Swinton, Pendlebury, Kearsley, Farnworth	Jointly run with Stagecoach Manchester and Stagecoach North West
24	Rochdale	Manchester Piccadilly	Royton, Chadderton, New Moston, Newton Heath	Some journeys extended to Bacup from 30th August 2009.
26	Leigh	Manchester Shudehill	Astley, Boothstown, Worsley, Swinton, Pendleton
27	Swinton	Manchester Shudehill	Salford Royal Hospital, Weaste, Pendleton, Broughton
32	Wigan	Manchester Piccadilly	Hindley , Castle Hill, Atherton, Tyldesley, Mosley Common, Pendleton
33	Wigan (Evenings/Sundays)	Manchester Piccadilly	Eccles, Weaste
	Worsley
36	Bolton	Manchester Piccadilly	Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton, Pendleton	Cyan Line
37	Bolton	Manchester Piccadilly	Farnworth, Walkden, Swinton, Pendleton	Rose Pink Line
38 39	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hazelhurst	Hurst Cross	Circulars
39 night bus	Leigh	Manchester Piccadilly	Atherton, Tyldesley, Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton	Nightbus
41	Ashton-under-Lyne	Dukinfield
51A	Cheetham	The Trafford Centre	Cheetham Hill, Broughton, Pendleton
52	Pendleton	Failsworth	Broughton, Cheetham Hill, North Manchester General Hospital, Newton Heath
53	Cheetham Hill	Pendleton	North Manchester General Hospital, Harpurhey, City of Manchester Stadium, Gorton, Rusholme, University of Manchester, Old Trafford
54	Cheetham	The Trafford Centre	City of Manchester Stadium, Belle Vue, Rusholme, Old Trafford
57	Oldham	The Trafford Centre	Chadderton, Mills Hill, Middleton, Rhodes	Sky Blue Line.
58	Rochdale	Middleton	Milnrow, Newhey, Shaw, Oldham, Chadderton, Mills Hill	Sky Blue Line
59	Rushcroft	Manchester Piccadilly	Shaw, Oldham, Chadderton, Mills Hill, Middleton, Rhodes, Cheetham Hill	Sky Blue Line
63	Brookhouse	Manchester Piccadilly	Eccles, Weaste
64	Oldham	Manchester Shudehill	Royton, Mills Hill, Boarshaw, Middleton, Rhodes, Blackley, Harpurhey
67	Cadishead	Manchester Shudehill	Irlam, Peel Green, Eccles, Salford Royal Hospital, Pendleton	Lime Green Line
67L	Irlam	Irlam		Lime Green Line
68	Bolton	Manchester Shudehill	Farnworth, Little Hulton, Walkden, Worsley, Eccles, Salford Royal Hospital, Pendleton	Service re-routed from Eccles to Trafford Centre from 30th August 2009.
79	Oldham	Moston	Werneth, Coalshaw Green, Broadgate
81	Derker (both directions)	Manchester Piccadilly	Oldham, Werneth, Coalshaw Green, Moston, Harpurhey	Claret Line
	Waterhead (to Manchester only)
81A	Manchester Piccadilly	Waterhead	Harpurhey, Moston, Coalshaw Green, Werneth, Oldham	Claret Line
82	Uppermill	Manchester Piccadilly	Delph, Waterhead, Oldham, Werneth, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath	Orange Line
83	Sholver	Manchester Piccadilly	Moorside, Oldham, Werneth, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath	Orange Line
88	Manchester Piccadilly	Manchester Shudehill	Monsall, Moston, White Moss, North Manchester General Hospital, Cheetham Hill	Circular. Olive Line
89	Manchester Shudehill	Manchester Piccadilly	Cheetham Hill, North Manchester General Hospital, White Moss, Moston, Monsall	Circular. Olive Line
93	Bury	Manchester Shudehill	Unsworth, Whitefield, Hillock, Besses o' th' Barn, Prestwich, Kersal
98	Bury	Manchester Shudehill	Ainsworth, Radcliffe, Whitefield, Prestwich, Broughton	Blue Line
100	Warrington	Manchester Shudehill	Hollins Green, Irlam, The Trafford Centre, Eccles, Pendleton
110	Trafford Centre	Manchester Shudehill	Eccles, Salford Royal Hospital, Pendleton, Broughton	From 30th August 2009.
123 124	Langley	Manchester Shudehill	Middleton, Harpurhey	Indigo Line
132	Wigan	The Trafford Centre	Hindley, Atherton, Tyldesley
135	Bury	Manchester Piccadilly	Whitefield, Heaton Park, Cheetham Hill	Articulated bus. Yellow Line
137	Bury	Manchester Shudehill	Hollins, Unsworth, Besses o' th' Barn, Heaton Park, Broughton
138	Bury	Manchester Shudehill	Pilsworth, Hollins, Unsworth, Besses o' th' Barn, Heaton Park, Broughton
149	Holts Estate (Evenings/Sundays)	Manchester Piccadilly	Coppice, Coalshaw Green, Hollinwood, Moston, North Manchester General Hospital, Cheetham Hill
	Oldham
163	Bury	Manchester Piccadilly	Heap Bridge, Darnhill, Heywood, Langley, Middleton, Harpurhey	Turquoise Line
164	Heywood	Manchester Shudehill	Hollin, Middleton, Rhodes, Blackley, Harpurhey
165	Heaton Park	Manchester Shudehill	Blackley, Harpurhey
167	Norden	Manchester Piccadilly	Bamford, Heywood, Rhodes, Cheetham Hill.
180	Greenfield	Manchester Piccadilly	Grotton, Lees, Oldham, Garden Suburb, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath	Purple Line
181 182	Rochdale	Manchester Piccadilly	Milnrow, Shaw, Royton, Royal Oldham Hospital (182), Chadderton, New Moston, Newton Heath	181 re-routed to serve Rochdale train station from 30th August 2009.
183	Oldham	Limeside	Chamber Road, Heron Street
184	Huddersfield	Manchester Piccadilly	Slaithwaite, Marsden, Diggle, Uppermill, Grotton, Lees, Oldham, Failsworth	Jointly run with First Calderdale & Huddersfield. Purple Line
180 184	Saddleworth	Manchester Piccadilly	Grotton, Lees, Oldham, Garden Suburb, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath	Purple Line
220	Dukinfield	Manchester Piccadilly	Audenshaw, Openshaw
221	Dukinfield	Manchester Piccadilly	Audenshaw, Openshaw
231	Ashton-under-Lyne	Manchester Piccadilly	Tameside Hospital, Littlemoss, Droylsden, Clayton
300	Bolton	The Trafford Centre	M61 motorway, M60 motorway
331	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Smallshaw, Hurst Cross	Circular
332	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hurst Cross, Hartshead, Smallshaw	Circular.
333	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hurst Cross, Smallshaw	Circular
337	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Crowhill, Ashton Moss	Circular.
338	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Waterloo Crowhill, Ashton Moss	Circular.
343	Oldham	Hyde	Lees, Grotton, Mossley, Stalybridge
345	Ashton-under-Lyne	Denton	Dukinfield, Audenshaw
346	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hyde	Dukinfield, Newton	Jointly run with Stagecoach Manchester
348	Ashton-under-Lyne	Carrbrook	Stalybridge, Copley	Yellow Line
350	Oldham	Ashton-under-Lyne	Delph, Uppermill, Greenfield, Hey Farm, Mossley, Tameside General Hospital	Brown Line
353 354	Uppermill	Ashton-under-Lyne	Greenfield (354), Grasscroft (353), Mossley, Stalybridge
387	Hyde	Ashton-under-Lyne	Godley, Hattersley, Mottram, Stalybridge, Ridge Hill, Tameside General Hospital
389	Gee Cross	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hyde, Newton, Dukinfield, Stalybridge, Ridge Hill	Jointly run with Stagecoach Manchester.
393	Ashton-under-Lyne	Ashton-under-Lyne	Hurst Cross, Hartshead, Smallshaw	Circular.
408	Buckstones	Stalybridge	High Crompton, Royton, Oldham, Abbeyhills, Hurst Cross
409	Rochdale	Ashton-under-Lyne	Thornham, Royton, Oldham, Hathershaw	Mauve Line
415	Holts Estate	Middleton	Lees, Greenacres, Oldham, Butler Green, Foxdenton, Alkrington
419	Middleton	Ashton-under-Lyne	Mills Hill, Firwood Park, Chadderton Park, Chadderton, Werneth, Hathershaw
425	Holts Estate	Fitton Hill	Abbeyhills, Alt, Glodwick, Oldham	Lime Green Line
428	Oldham	Buckstones	Royton, Thornham, High Crompton, Shaw	Circular.
438	Rochdale	Lane Head	Spotland Bridge, Daniel Fold
451	Rochdale	Peppermint Bridge	Milnrow, Bentgate, Newhey
452	Rochdale	Littleborough	Milnrow, Hollingworth Lake
454	Rochdale	Stansfield	Smallbridge, Littleborough, Shore
455	Rochdale	Stansfield	Smallbridge, Smithy Bridge, Hollingworth Lake, Littleborough, Shore
457	Rochdale	Stansfield	Smallbridge, Littleborough
469	Rochdale	Tottington	Bamford, Jericho, Bury	Rose Pink Line
471	Rochdale	Bolton	Sudden, Heywood, Bury, Breightmet	Lilac Line
472	Bury	Bury	Walmersley, Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook	Circular. Lime Green Line
474	Bury	Bury	Holcombe Brook, Ramsbottom, Walmersley	Circular. Lime Green Line
501	Moss Bank Way	Farnworth	Bolton, Royal Bolton Hospital, Hollins	Yellow Line
507	Bolton	Harwood	Tonge Moor	Red Line
510	Bury	Bolton	Walshaw, Ainsworth, Withins
519	Johnson Fold	Bolton	Chorley Old Road	Indigo Line
524	Bury	Bolton	Radcliffe, Little Lever, Moses Gate	Purple Line
533	Egerton	Bolton	Bromley Cross, Tonge Moor
536	Bradley Fold	Bolton	Breightmet, Leverhulme Park
540	Wigan	Bolton	Hindley, Castle Hill, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, Deane	Orange Line
561	Bolton	Bolton	Withins, Breightmet	Circular
562	Bolton	Bolton	Breightmet, Withins	Circular
571	Bolton	Bolton	Great Lever	Circular
572	Bolton	Bolton	Great Lever	Circular
573	Bolton	Weston Street (First Depot)
575	Horwich	Bolton	Lostock, Heaton	Turquoise Line
582	Leigh	Bolton	Atherton, Over Hulton, Daubhill	Claret Line
593	Leigh	Wigan	Tamar, Hindley Green, Castle Hill, Hindley, Belle Green
598	Leigh	Wigan	Tamar, Hindley Green, Hindley, Belle Green	Blue Line
600	Leigh	Wigan	Lowton, Golborne, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Marus Bridge	Nightbus service runs Wigan-Ashton-Wigan circular via Marus Bridge and Platt Bridge Green Line
601	Leigh	Wigan	Lowton, Golborne, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Marus Bridge
610	Wigan	Hawkley Hall	Worsley Mesnes	Circular.
621	Wigan	Wigan	Pemberton, Norley Hall, Kitt Green	Circular. Red Line
625	Wigan	Wigan	Beech Hill	Circular.
626	Wigan	Wigan	Beech Hill	Circular.
628	Wigan	Wigan	Kitt Green, Norley Hall, Pemberton	Circular. Red Line
629 night bus	Wigan	Castle Hill	Platt Bridge, Hindley	Nightbus
631	Wigan	Wigan	Marus Bridge, Highfield Grange, Pemberton	Circular
632	Wigan	Wigan	Pemberton, Highfield Grange, Marus Bridge	Circular
635 night bus	Wigan	Wigan	Shevington, Shevington Vale, Standish	Nightbus Circular
658	Higher Folds	Wigan	Leigh, Tamar, Bickershaw, Platt Bridge	Mauve Line
695 night bus	Wigan	Upholland	Orrell	Nightbus
719	Rochdale	Hopwood Hall College	Castleton
X34	Leigh	Manchester Piccadilly	Astley, Pendleton	Limited Stop.
X35	Stubbins	Manchester Piccadilly (terminates)	M66 motorway, Heaton Park	Limited Stop.
		Manchester Stevenson Square (Commences from)
X82	Milnrow	Manchester Piccadilly	Newhey, Shaw, Buckstones, Royton, New Moston	Limited Stop. From 30th August 2009.
X84	Carrcote	Manchester Piccadilly (terminates)	Delph, Uppermill, Grotton, Lees, Hollinwood, Failsworth	Limited Stop.
		Manchester Sackville Street (Commences from)

 Metroshuttle

First Manchester runs the three Metroshuttle services that operate around Manchester city centre. These services are free for passengers.

 Overground

First Manchester brand their frequent services as an 'Overground'. Based on the London Underground network where each frequent service is given a recognisable colour, each Overground service also has its own colour line. The concept is now a prominent fixture throughout all First bus companies in the UK.

Usually, the colours are allocated randomly. However, the 180/184 was allocated the Purple line when the services was made into an Overground route in 2004 and the 184 was extended to Huddersfield replacing service 365. The extension also saw the 184 service incorporated into the Huddersfield Overground with services 348, 350 and 352 (which was later re-numbered 181, 182, 183 and 185 to fit in with the 184) already branded as the Purple line (as had the 365 previously).

Due to ongoing fleet modernisation most Overground services are currently unbranded. with only the 8, 17, 36,37, and 135 having significant route branding two or three vehicles are branded for service 82/83 and 180/184

The services that form the Overground network in Greater Manchester are:

Number	Branding	From	To	Via	Notes
8	Green	Bolton	Manchester Shudehill	Farnworth, Kearsley, Pendlebury, Pendleton
17	Red	Rochdale	Manchester Shudehill	Castleton, Middleton, Harpurhey
36	Cyan	Bolton	Manchester Piccadilly	Little Hulton, Walkden, Swinton, Pendleton
37	Rose	Bolton	Manchester Piccadilly	Farnworth, Walkden, Swinton, Pendleton
58 59	Sky Blue	Rochdale (58) Rushcroft (59)	Manchester Piccadilly (59)	Shaw, Oldham, Chadderton, Middleton, Cheetham Hill (59)
67	Lime Green	Cadishead	Manchester Shudehill	Irlam, Peel Green, Eccles, Pendleton
81 81A	Claret	Manchester Piccadilly	Derker (81) Waterhead (81/81A)	Harpurhey, Moston, Oldham	Service 81A runs to Waterhead. Journeys from Derker or Waterhead runs as service 81.
82 83	Orange	Sholver (83)	Manchester Piccadilly	Oldham, Hollinwood, Failsworth, Newton Heath
88 89	Olive	Manchester Piccadilly	Manchester Shudehill	Miles Platting, White Moss, North Manchester General Hospital, Cheetham Hill	Circulars. Service 89 runs in opposite direction
98	Royal Blue	Bury	Manchester Shudehill	Ainsworth, Radcliffe, Whitefield, Prestwich
123 124	Indigo	Langley	Manchester Shudehill	Middleton, Harpurhey	Circular service around Langley
135	Yellow	Bury	Manchester Piccadilly	Whitefield, Heaton Park, Cheetham Hill
163	Turquoise	Bury	Manchester Piccadilly	Darn Hill, Heywood, Langley, Middleton, Harpurhey
180 184	Purple	Huddersfield (184 hourly) Saddleworth	Manchester Piccadilly	Diggle (184), Uppermill (184), Greenfield (180), Grotton, Lees, Oldham, Hollinwood
348	Yellow	Ashton-under-Lyne	Carrbrook	Stalybridge
350	Brown	Oldham	Ashton-under-Lyne	Delph, Uppermill, Greenfield, Hey Farm, Mossley, Tameside General Hospital
409	Mauve	Rochdale	Ashton-under-Lyne	Thornham, Royton, Oldham, Hathershaw
425	Lime Green	Holts Estate	Fitton Hill	Abbeyhills, Glodwick, Oldham	Circular route around Fitton Hill
469	Rose	Rochdale (some)	Tottington	Bamford (some), Jericho, Bury
471	Lilac	Rochdale	Bolton	Sudden, Heywood, Bury, Breightmet
472 474	Lime Green	Bury	Bury	Walmerlsey, Ramsbottom, Holcombe Brook	Circulars. Service 474 runs opposite direction
501	Yellow	Moss Bank Way	Farnworth	Bolton, Royal Bolton Hospital
507	Red	Bolton	Harwood	Tonge Moor, Bradshaw
519	Indigo	Bolton	Johnson Fold	Bolton Old Road
524	Purple	Bolton	Bury	Moses Gate, Little Lever, Radcliffe
540	Orange	Bolton	Wigan	Deane, Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Castle Hill, Hindley
575	Turquoise	Bolton	Horwich Old Lord's Estate	Heaton, Lostock
582	Claret	Bolton	Leigh	Daubhill, Over Hulton, Atherton
598	Blue	Wigan	Leigh	Hindley, Hindley Green, Tamar
600 601	Green	Wigan	Leigh	Marus Bridge, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Golborne, Lowton
621 628	Red	Wigan	Kitt Green	Circulars
658	Mauve	Wigan	Higher Folds	Platt Bridge, Bickershaw, Leigh

 Overground Link

In Spring 2006, First Manchester re-routed its 67 service between Cadishead and Manchester to run direct along Liverpool Road during the day. This was designed to speed up the service running between Eccles and Cadishead. As a result, buses were withdrawn from running via Merlin Road and surrounding areas in Irlam. To help passengers, First introduced OvergroundLink, which is described by First as a feeder service.

The 67L service, which uses a small bus or vehicles with low floor access for wheelchairs and pushchairs, runs a clockwise circular service from the White Lion pub on Liverpool Road, running via Cutnook Lane, Merlin Road, Morillon Road and Silver Street, returning to the White Lion, where the service connects with the 67. The service takes 5 minutes to complete its route and runs Mondays to Saturdays with a frequency of every 10 minutes from 0640 (0800 on Saturdays) until 1900.

This service was the first one introduced by First and still runs today. Other attempts were not so successful. Another 67L service was introduced in July 2006 to serve the Brookhouse estate. The service was designed so that passenger could board or alight the bus at any point along the route in Brookhouse, also known as 'Hail and Ride' before alighting the service at the Unicorn pub in Peel Green to connect with the 67. This service was withdrawn in January 2007. The main reason for the service not succeeding is probably down to the fact that the estate is served by the 10, which is run by First, and the M10, which is run by Arriva. Both services run services from Brookhouse to Manchester without the need to changing buses.

Another OvergroundLink service was introduced in July 2006 and withdrawn in January 2007 was the 98L. This was designed to link up with the 98 service running between Bury and Manchester on Bury New Road at the junction with Butterstile Lane. The 98L would operate around the Carr Clough area using Hail and Ride. Like the 67L Brookhouse service, the 98L was probably withdrawn because another service already links Carr Clough and Manchester, the 93 which runs between Bury and Manchester.

In April 2007, First introduced the 598L, which was introduced when First replaced its 593 daytime service with a new Overground route, the 598. However, while the 593 ran via Castle Hill and Belle Green, the 598 runs direct between Hindley Green and Wigan. Castle Hill was still served by the 540, whose frequency increased from every 30 minutes to every 10 minutes and the 32 was re-routed to serve Castle Hill.

Belle Green is served by the 598L, starting at Ince Bar, running down Manchester Road before serving Belle Green like the 593 did when travelling to Wigan. The service starts at 0700 (0830 on Saturdays) and runs every 10 minutes until 1830. This is an increase on the frequency compared to the old 593 service, which ran every 15 minutes.

Although passengers would have to change services to travel to Wigan or Leigh, they would only need to buy one ticket. This is called a 'Through ticket'. The passenger would board the 598L, state their destination, be it on the 32, 540 or 598 and would be able to use the ticket on the next service. If the passenger just wants to use the 598L, they can pay a 50p fare. This may have been introduced so that potential passengers don't use the new 593 service introduced between Wigan and Belle Green, which is run by South Lancs Travel, running a half-hour service from Wigan Bus Station plus an additional journeys at 0933 (Not Saturdays), 1033, 1133, 1233 and 1333 (Not Saturdays) from King Street West.

In May 2007, First introduced another 67L service in Irlam. Starting at the White Lion, the service runs via Fiddlers Lane, Mond Road, Princes Avenue, Addison Road and Liverpool Road to the White Lion. The service was re-routed at the end of July 2007 to run via Boundary Road instead of Princes Avenue and Addison Road. This route was withdrawn at the end of August 2007. Another 67L route was introduced on the 2nd September 2007 running via Liverpool Road, Vicarage Road, School Lane, Parkston Road, Cutnook Lane and Silver Street.

 Nightbus

First Manchester offer several night bus services in Manchester and Wigan every Friday and Saturday night to help people get home from a night out. The routes are mainly the same as the normal routes with some exceptions. The 39 and 629 services were normal daytime services until they were withdrawn. The 600 normally runs from Wigan to Leigh while the night bus runs a circular service to Ashton-in-Makerfield before returning to Wigan via Platt Bridge. The 631 & 632, which normally run circular services from Wigan to Highfield Grange are re-routed to serve Pemberton and Hawkley Hall. The 635, normally runs from Wigan to Shevington Vale, while night bus service runs a circular service to Shevington, Shevington Moor and Standish. The other exception is the 695 service, which is not based on any First route.

The services run every 30 minutes or every hour from midnight to 3am. The fare system on the night bus services are different to the normal fares offered by First, as there is only a flat fare offered. For passengers travelling from Wigan, the price is £2.00 while in Manchester, it is £3.00. A FirstNight ticket is priced at £4.00 for passengers who uses the Nightbus in both directions.

 Easter services

First Manchester operate to a different timetable during the Easter weekend with Sunday services used on most services. The following usually apply to First Manchester services during the Easter holidays:

• Good Friday: A Sunday service on all services apart from:
  • 100 - Will operate to the Public Holidays timetable
  • 180/184 - An hourly service between Greenfield/Uppermill and Manchester with daytime journeys on service 184 continuing to Huddersfield (based on Saturday service)^[1]. This is due to buses in Huddersfield running to a Saturday service.
  • 528/589/590 (Run by First Calderdale & Huddersfield) - Saturday services.
• Easter Saturday - Normal Saturday service.
• Easter Sunday - Normal Sunday service.
• Easter Monday - Sunday service apart from service 100, which runs to Public Holidays timetable.

 Summer services

Due to a reduction of traffic on the roads of Greater Manchester during the summer holidays, First Manchester changed some of the timetables on busier services. The period that the summer timetables are introduced coincide with the school summer holidays, starting in mid-July and ending in late-August/early-September. Usually, buses are retimed to run to similar times to the off peak timetable, while some service introduce additional journeys, as buses that would be used for school services are made available.

 See also

• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

 References

 External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: First Manchester

• First in Manchester website