Half of Greater Manchester’s bus services will be under local control when phase two of bus franchising launches in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester on 24 March.
The change will mean a total of 324 bus routes – 188 routes in phase one and 136 routes in phase two – totalling 50% of the bus network in Greater Manchester, will be managed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) as part of the Bee Network. General bus services in phase two will be operated by Stagecoach, First Group and Diamond under a franchising arrangement.
A new All-night bus pilot is set to launch later this year providing 24/7 bus services for people working in the night time economy on the V1 and 36 routes and there will be a new journey planner and bus tracker function on the Bee Network app also due to launch by 24 March.
Also announced today, a further 30 new TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers are being recruited to patrol franchised bus services, bus stations and interchanges.
There will be 50 more new Zero Emission Buses and 84 new, best-in-class fully branded, Euro 6 Bee Network buses will be introduced into the fleet in the coming months.
The move paves the way for a fully integrated network across Greater Manchester by January 2025 – and savings of up to 20% available for passengers’ using buses and Metrolink using the Bee AnyBus + Tram ticket.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “This next phase of bus franchising in Greater Manchester will not only mark another big step forwards towards the full delivery of the Bee Network, italso clearly demonstrates our commitment to improving public transport in the region.
“When services in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester become part of the Bee Network on 24 March, half of all the bus services in Greater Manchester will be back under local control and accountable to passengers.
“People will see some immediate improvements including more frequent buses, later and earlier services and better connections to trams and trains on some key routes. We will also be reversing some of the service reductions implemented before we took control of the system.
“There will be useful new features available on the Bee Network app – including a journey planner and the ability for passengers to track their buses live.
“We are also working towards the launch of a 24/7 night time bus service pilot to ensure that people working in hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare or any number of other roles can get to and from work safely using public transport.
“That will be launching later this year and it’s been made possible by the introduction of bus franchising. We will be looking to pilot the scheme on a phase one route which is going to include the V1 and 36. The details are currently being developed and are subject to further engagement but it will provide us with a blueprint as to what can be achieved as a part of the Bee Network in support of people in Greater Manchester.
“But we’re taking on a network which hasn’t been working for customers at times, and making the changes we need to get performance to where it needs to be won’t happen overnight. We now have control over services and the ability to make changes – that’s a big difference, and customers can help too by giving us feedback so we can continue working to improve the system.”
