SEVERAL bus operators across Bury are running reduced services as a result of the coronavirus outbreak from today.

Bosses at Rosso have announced Saturday timetables for their Trax (Bury to Rochdale), Tottington Line and Irwell Line, among others.

But normal timetables will be in force for the bulk of their schedule, with some minor amendments.

Late buses will not run on the Witch Way, after 10.13pm, or Red Express routes, after 7.43pm Manchester-bound or 9.05pm Accrington-bound, for the forseeable.

However these services will take their buses through Prestwich on all journeys, it has been confirmed.

Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev, which runs Rosso buses, paid tribute to the resilience of their drivers in the face pandemic.

He added: "We’ve been running all our buses as normal until now but as we see less people travelling and pressure on staffing increases, we have made the decision to change to Saturday times going forward.

"We trust everyone understands the reasons for this but note that we are maintaining the general span of the operating day and many frequencies are similar.

"Our aim remains is to get people where they need to be and, here at Transdev, know that we are all doing our best to carry on doing that."

Some alterations have also been made by Go North West, which operates buses between Bury and Manchester and Salford.

A Go North West spokesman said: "We know that you rely on our buses to get to work, to school, to the shops and elsewhere, and we’d like to reassure you that we are continuing to follow Public Health England (PHE) advice and guidance and will continue to provide a good service on our buses in support of our community.

"From Monday 23 March and for the forseeable future, we'll be running an enhanced Sunday service across our network.

"Broadly speaking, it'll be a Sunday service with extra buses during the morning peak. There will be some exceptions."

For instance the X63 between Bury and Manchester will see fast buses during the morning and evening rush hours but no daytime service.

But the 93 between Bury and Manchester will be enhanced to run half-hourly on Sundays.

Their 95 route from Bury to Salford Shopping Centre will continue to run on a normal weekday summer timetable, they say.

All other services, including the 97 and 98 between Bury and Manchester Shudehill, and the 135 from Bury to Manchester Piccadilly Gardens, will run to a Sunday timetable.

Diamond North West has also confirmed it will be offering a Saturday service on their 524 service between Bury and Bolton and the 162 and 163 route from Bury-Norden to Manchester.