Greater Manchester completes work to bring buses back under local control

Greater Manchester has completed its work to bring its bus services under local control, with all routes across the city-region now part of the Bee Network.

Despite snowy weather, Bee Network buses began operating in the remaining areas of Greater Manchester, including Stockport, on 5th January, as part of the city-region’s vision of a London-style transport system, integrating buses, trams, trains and walking and cycling infrastructure. The phased approach to bus franchising began last year, and has brought 577 routes and 1,600 buses back under local government control after 40 years of privatisation, with work completing on time and within budget.

Alongside the completion of bus franchising, 5th January also saw the launch of new hopper fares, allowing unlimited travel within an hour of purchase in the place of single tickets, and cheaper weekly, monthly, and annual passes. Contactless touch-in touch-out ticketing across both buses and trams is set to be introduced from 23rd March 2025.

Completion of bus franchising marks the end of phase one of the Bee Network, with the same focus and momentum now being applied to transform rail travel across the city-region. The next step will be to bring eight priority train lines into the Bee Network by 2028, as well as deliver the first new stations in more than 20 years and significant upgrades to make more stations accessible.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:

“This is an historic moment for Greater Manchester. We are proud to be the first area in England to complete the re-regulation of buses and to have done it on time and on budget.

“From today, every community in Greater Manchester will be served by cheaper, cleaner and greener buses and run in a way which puts people before profit. We are now ready to help other areas looking to follow suit and improve their bus services after decades of decline.

“Greater Manchester is currently the growth success story of the UK. We have an £80bn economy, a growing population and world-leading businesses, and our rate of growth is outstripping that of the South East. But we’ll only be able to reach our full potential, and make life better for all our residents, with a world-class public transport system.

“Whilst this is a nationally significant moment that we can all celebrate, it’s by no means job done. We’ll have an unrelenting focus this year on delivering a truly integrated, London-style transport system across bus, tram and train – the next chapter of the Bee Network’s story.”

Other regions are already taking steps to regain control of buses, and the government is introducing new legislation to make it easier for other areas to follow in Greater Manchester’s footsteps.

Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, said:

“Greater Manchester’s Bee Network is a trailblazer in delivering better bus services for passengers and we want local authorities across the country to look to it as a shining example of what can be achieved through local control.

“This Government has prioritised supporting and improving bus networks across the country as we know how important they are for communities – but for too long, too many people have suffered from unreliable and infrequent services.

“People across Greater Manchester now have buses they can depend on. With our Bus Services Bill and £1 billion in support for services across the country, we will help ensure that similar success reaches across the country.”

Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Vernon Everitt, said:

“We see from examples in Europe and elsewhere that city regions with high quality public transport are more productive, drive economic growth and deliver greater access to new homes, jobs, education and opportunity. Today marks a highly significant moment for Greater Manchester in delivering such a system through the Bee Network, which is integrating buses, trams and active travel and which will soon embrace rail as well.

“The job though is never done. There will continue to be a relentless focus on continuously improving punctuality and frequency of services while keeping fares as low as we can. We will look to expand the night bus network to core routes in every borough and use formal network reviews to make sure buses serve the needs of local communities and businesses. Improvements also include delivering contactless pay-as-you-go payment on buses and trams in March which will automatically calculate the lowest fare.

“We are also working with the Government and rail industry to improve and then transform rail services. We will set out a clear timetable later this month for our collective plans to integrate, at pace, eight core lines by 2028, delivering major improvements across train stations and services and delivering a railway that people can rely on.

“I’d like to thank TfGM, our bus operators and all the hardworking staff out there delivering services every day for taking us to this point.”