Bus passengers are again being urged to plan their journey ahead of further industrial action expected to take place next week in Greater Manchester.
Staff at some Bee Network bus operators – First, Metroline and Stagecoach – have announced that they plan to strike from Tuesday 30 September to Thursday 2 October
As with the strike action that finished on Tuesday of this week, around two-thirds of Bee Network buses across Greater Manchester will not run, including some school services.
Bolton and Wigan bus services will still operate, as well as some routes in north Manchester and the free bus in Manchester city centre. Local Link and Ring and Ride services will also operate as usual.
Metrolink services as well as train routes across Greater Manchester will continue to run as usual.
Bus passengers affected by industrial action with 7-day, 28-day, term-time or annual bus passes, as well as those with concessionary passes – including Our Pass – will be able to use their tickets and passes to travel on the entire Metrolink network, all Northern train services in affected areas and on TransPennine Express services between Greenfield and Manchester Piccadilly across the three strike days.
Services will be busier than normal and passengers who can are encouraged to travel outside the busiest periods (7-9am and 4-6pm) when there is likely to be more space onboard.
Ticket acceptance will not be in place on trains serving areas where bus services are still running, such as Bolton and Wigan, and will only be in place for trains running to and from stations within Greater Manchester.
TfGM Chief Network Officer, Danny Vaughan, said:“Thanks to all our passengers for bearing with us during the recent days of industrial action. We know it disrupts journeys and we’re sorry to those who needed to make alternative plans.
“We’re continuing to do all we can to keep Greater Manchester moving during this industrial action and people can once again use their tickets to travel by train or tram. I would ask everybody to still plan their journey in advance, allow extra time and expect other services to be busier than normal, particularly during the morning and afternoon ‘rush hours’.
“The three bus operators involved are responsible for the pay and conditions of their staff – as is the case across the country – and we are continuing to encourage all sides to continue talks, reach agreement and call off planned industrial action to avoid further changes to services next week.”
