{"id":666980,"date":"2026-01-01T14:23:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T14:23:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666980\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T14:23:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T14:23:22","slug":"crowds-of-revellers-queue-for-buses-home-after-manchester-sees-in-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/666980\/","title":{"rendered":"Crowds of revellers queue for buses home after Manchester sees in the new year"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A huge crowd of people wait to board the 192 to Stockport<\/p>\n<p>10:57, 01 Jan 2026Updated 11:01, 01 Jan 2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_311225newyearscelebrations38.jpg\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>A crowd of people waiting to board the 192(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Pictures and video show long queues of people waiting to board buses home after celebrating the New Year in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/manchester-city-centre\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Manchester city centre<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Thousands flocked to the city centre, with the centrepiece of the city&#8217;s 2026 celebrations a fireworks display outside Central Library and other festivities in St Peter&#8217;s Square.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">After 2026 had been ushered in, people who had come into the city centre were left with that often tricky New Year question: how to get home.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Demand for taxis, buses and trams home spikes, and our pictures show big queues of people waiting to board buses in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/piccadilly-gardens\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Piccadilly Gardens<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"JWPlayer_poster-image___jQGK\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1767277399_87_poster.jpg\" alt=\"videoHeadline\"\/>Huge queues for buses after New Year celebrations in Manchester<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/metrolink\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Metrolink<\/a> services operated until 1am with staff on hand to manage access to platforms. No trams were operating between Deansgate-Castlefield and Piccadilly Gardens\/<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/market-street\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Market Street<\/a>\/Exchange Square<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Meanwhile the buses were operating a Saturday timetable.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Our pictures and video show a huge throng of people waiting to board a 192 service to <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk\/all-about\/hazel-grove\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">Hazel Grove<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_311225newyearscelebrations37.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">For the first time ever, the official New Year&#8217;s Eve events took two of Manchester&#8217;s most famous and historic squares. A free fireworks display took place above the Central Library at midnight to mark the beginning of 2026. People were able to watch from both St Peter&#8217;s Square and Albert Square where simultaneous events took place.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0_311225newyearscelebrations39.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Around 20,000 were allowed inside the official event area in St Peter&#8217;s Square. The event was was billed as family-friendly and alcohol free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A huge crowd of people wait to board the 192 to Stockport 10:57, 01 Jan 2026Updated 11:01, 01&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":666981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,8086,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-666980","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-city-centre","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115820299007510257","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}