BUSWAY bosses say they are encouraged by a successful trial of the new proposed service to and from the Leigh Sports Village for a football match.

More than 50 people used the service on First Manchester’s Vantage Busway on Tuesday, ferrying visitors to and from the sports village for the Manchester United under 23s game against Liverpool FC.

The service ran from Manchester city centre, through Salford, past the park and ride and along the guided busway to Leigh Sports Village, arriving in time for the 7pm kick off and returning after the game at 9pm.

Ian Humphreys, head of commercial at First Manchester, said: “We have been working with Leigh businesses and the sports village to provide solutions to encourage more visitors to the town, and we are therefore proud to have trialled a new service on Tuesday evening.

“Despite the poor weather we carried 50 people to the match which is very encouraging, as these are customers who may not have ordinarily caught the bus, or had planned to travel to the sports village.

“We are now continuing to work with Leigh Sports Village to identify future opportunities to run future services.”

Simon Toon, chief executive at Leigh Sports Village, added: “Leigh Sports Village is delighted that First Manchester has offered this Vantage service for visiting spectators to the stadium.

“It allows visitors to the stadium, to travel with ease, experiencing the high quality service offered by the guided busway.”