THE Metroshuttle free bus service for shoppers in Bolton town centre will be axed in April with the pandemic described as ‘the final nail in the coffin’..

The service was set up in 2008 to serve town centre car parks and retail areas.

Vision Bus has operated the service under a contract with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) since January 2018.

The service costs £120,000 a year to operate and under an agreement with TfGM Bolton Council contributes 75 per cent of the service costs.

TfGM had advised that given the reduction in use over recent years that there was no justification to continue.

It currently runs from Monday-Saturday from 9am-5pm on on a 15-minute frequency serving a circulatory route of the town centre.

A decision notice by deputy leader of the council, Cllr Martyn Cox, said: “The council and TfGM needed to consider whether to continue to fund the Metroshuttle service beyond the current extension and whether the service offered value for money.

“The council has decided to cease funding given the additional pressure Covid-19 has placed on financial resources.

“It was also pointed out that Bolton was the only town in Greater Manchester that funded a free town centre bus service apart from Manchester City Council and that it was not a statutory requirement.

“In view of the above, it was agreed that the Metroshuttle service be withdrawn and users be signposted to other bus services.”

The service will be withdrawn on April, 10.

During the year to March 31, 2020, the service carried 62,403 passengers or an average of 205 trips per day which is 26 per cent lower than that estimated at the start of the contract in 2018.

The council said the impact of the pandemic has reduced passenger numbers further.

Opposition deputy leader Cllr Akhtar Zaman said the pandemic ‘has unfortunately been the final nail in the coffin’ for the service.

He said if the retail sector in the town centre will showed recovery a future Labour council would look to bring the service back.

Liberal Democrat spokesman Cllr David Wilkinson said regretfully the money to fund the service could not be justified.

He said that he hoped the decision could be revisited once town centre redevelopment schemes were complete and footfall in the town centre had revived.