Salford council bosses are launching an investigation in the hope of improving a bus service dubbed an ‘absolute joke’. 

The town hall wants to slash journey times for the Number 50 between Salford Crescent and Media CityUK.

The full service runs between East Didsbury in neighbouring Manchester and MediaCityUK at Salford Quays. 

People who use the service say it’s ‘slow and always packed’, with the 24-minute route sometimes taking up to an hour as it meanders past Pendleton shopping centre. 

The council is commissioning new reports into the route, with the aim of setting up a project to reduce journey times; waiting times; and time stood still.

Bosses approved recommendations to commission site investigations at a specialist meeting on March 14. 

The reports are laying the groundwork as plans ramp up for a major overhaul of the area’s transport. It could include a bus gate on Langworthy Lane; changes to the Regent Road roundabout; upgrades to bus stops; new pedestrian and cycle crossings and new bike lanes. 

Quays councillor Jonathan Moore said he ‘welcomed’ a review of the number 50 bus – but that the Metrolink services remained the biggest issue for the area.

Coun Moore added: “The issue at the Quays is that most apartment blocks that have been built in recent times don’t come with free parking. That’s a deliberate policy to reduce car usage – and it means that everyone is reliant on public transport. The Metrolink service is good when it works, but it often doesn’t. It definitely feels like the poor relative of the other lines. 

“That leaves us with the buses. Therefore everything we can do to get more frequent and quicker buses has to be encouraged. So I can only welcome any plans to improve the bus service, that’s a no-brainer. But I think more improvements are needed.”  

The Quays representative added that with reduced tram services due to improvement works being carried out on the Salford Metrolink lines in the next six months, the trams are ‘barely covering demand’. And with the population expected to grow as more major housing developments are completed in the area, the neighbourhood urgently needs bigger transport solutions. 

The improvements around the road infrastructure are in its early stages and are predicted to begin in 2027.