Shudehill interchange makes late travel safer

OLDHAMERS who travel to Manchester for a weekend night out are benefiting from a cut in early-hours crime.

The new Shudehill bus station has become the focus of a new Nightbus service which can get them home at up to 3.30am.

Police approached Oldham-based First and other transport bosses for help in a campaign to stamp out bogus taxi drivers preying on late-night revellers in Manchester city centre

And now the Shudehill interchange, near Victoria Station, has become a haven for those making their way home after nights out in the entertainment hub around the Printworks.

Nightbuses leave the interchange— which combines a bus station, tram stop, and car park — until 3.30am.

The focus of Manchester’s nightlife has switched from Oxford Street to the Northern Quarter, around Victoria, which could become even more popular with Oldhamers after the Metrolink extension is completed

The success of the Printworks has brought the problem of clubbers making their way across the city to the Piccadilly Gardens for buses and taxis at the end of their night out.

Stagecoach and First are now running night services from Shudehill, only a few steps away from the Printworks — to Oldham, Rochdale, Bolton, Ashton, Bury, Hyde, and other towns.

It means that they can wait together in safety with police on hand to prevent trouble.

And the Printworks sends Bluetooth messages to mobile phones reminding people their ride home is across the road.