Stockport to see new routes and night buses in Bee Network improvements

Extra night buses, new routes and more frequent bus services are being rolled out across the Bee Network, including in Stockport.

Among changes in the borough is the addition of a 24-hour service, with night buses to launch on the 192 Thursday to Sunday. The addition, along with new night buses in Oldham, Tameside and Trafford, will mean every borough of Greater Manchester will have overnight services that support the region’s nightlife and the more than 600,000 people working in the night-time economy.

A new bus route will also launch in Stockport, the 377, connecting new homes at Woodford Garden Village to Stockport town centre. Elsewhere in Stockport, route changes will be also introduced on the 368, 378 and 379.

Further improvements are planned to be delivered from January 2027. A full breakdown of changes in all Greater Manchester boroughs can be found on the Bee Network website.

Overall, the latest package of changes will benefit up to 740,000 people living within walking or wheeling distance from the improved routes, more than half of whom (408,000) live in more deprived areas – where residents are less likely to have access to a car.

Service changes have been shaped by feedback from people living in Greater Manchester, as well as those who use public transport to get around the region. They build on more than 80 improvements to the Bee Network already delivered through franchising.

Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“The Bee Network belongs to the people of Greater Manchester and it needs to work for every community. As we build it, we’re listening and responding to what residents want with the biggest set of improvements we’ve ever made in one go.

“We’re bringing night buses to every borough, launching new routes and ensuring buses run more often in the mornings, evenings and weekends. In doing so, we’re making it easier than ever for people to get around the city region by bus. But we’re also supporting our businesses, whose staff and customers need a reliable and safe way to reach them.

“Almost three quarters of a million people live within walking distance of a bus route we’re improving over the next few months. And we’ll continue improving connections for even more communities based on the feedback we get.”

The Bee Network has overseen a 24% increase in bus patronage since 2023, with punctuality regularly exceeding 80%, up from below 70% before buses came back under public control.

These new improvements will help deliver on the pledge made through the Greater Manchester Strategy to continue developing the Bee Network as a transport system for a global city-region, so that by 2030, 90% of the population lives within a five-minute walk or wheel of a bus or tram that comes at least every 30 minutes.