Greater Manchester’s first Bee Network buses take to the roads

The first buses under local control in Greater Manchester since the mid-1980s took to the roads on Sunday 24th September, with the launch the first Bee Network services

The new buses in yellow Bee Network livery are now in operation in Bolton, Wigan, and parts of Bury, Salford and Manchester, and will be rolled out across the rest of the city-region throughout 2024. The fleet also includes 50 new electric buses.

The new franchised model for running buses in the city-region, set to roll out in Stockport by late 2024, gives local government the power to decide fares, routes and timetables, with private operators taking on contracts to deliver the services. Agreements between Greater Manchester and bus companies will see contracts measured against the service offered to passengers, with performance assessed against punctuality and customer feedback via a new Bee Network app. The app, which launched last week, also givex passengers the option to buy AnyBus day tickets via a mobile phone for the first time, as well as combined bus and tram tickets. It also replaces the existing Metrolink app.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham saw off the first Bee Network bus, which departed from Farnworth Bus Station at 4.30am on Sunday 24th September. He described the return to public management of the city-region’s buses as a ‘coming of age moment’ for local devolution. He said:

“For nearly 40 years we have seen worsening services and plummeting passenger numbers on our buses.  We’ve had to reckon with a deregulated bus network that cuts vital services that connect communities to jobs, hospitals and opportunities on a whim – leaving local leaders with limited budgets to pick up the tab to keep these routes alive.  Today marks the end of that era with our franchised system representing better value for money for city-regions and a better service for passengers.”

Greater Manchester has seen bus passenger numbers roughly half since deregulation in 1986, despite sharp increases in the local population. Only in London, where bus provision was not fully privatised have passenger levels grown in the same period.

As part of Greater Manchester’s ‘trailblazer’ devolution deal announced in this year’s Spring Budget, touch-on touch-off payments for local rail services will also begin a trial later this year as part of closer integration of all of the city-region’s public transport. Two routes, between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge, and from Manchester Piccadilly to Glossop, will provide a testing ground for contactless payments for rail passengers, similar to those used on services in and around London, and on the city-region’s tram network.