Ditch your car to keep £2 bus fare, mayor urges

More than 250 routes across Greater Manchester are now connected to the Bee Network

The mayor of Greater Manchester has asked people to ditch their cars in 2025 if the region's new bus network is to be a success.

Andy Burnham said if the £2 Bee Network bus fare cap was to remain, more people needed to take advantage of it.

Speaking as all bus services were brought back under public control for the first time in nearly 40 years, he urged that people "please consider making a New Year's resolution to use the network in 2025 and leave the car at home more and more”.

Burnham's Conservative opponents have said under-used buses would mean expensive taxpayer subsidies.

Bus services are still run by private companies but the fares, timetables and routes are now set by the ten councils in Greater Manchester.

The service will be integrated with Greater Manchester's tram system, with plans to include commuter rail lines in the Bee Network by 2028.

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: "This kind of seamless travel between bus, tram and, eventually, train is an experience familiar in London and is now coming to Greater Manchester."

Vernon Everitt is developing an integrated public transport network in Greater Manchester.

‘Far more reliable’

Laura Evans, the Conservative candidate at the mayoral election in 2024, criticised the change, saying it relied on expensive government subsidies.

She said: "If the buses aren't running at full capacity, then you are going to need subsidies, and that money will come from our pockets."

The Bee Network was beset by delays and cancellations when the system was launched in Wigan and Bolton in September 2023.

There were also problems with training new drivers when the second phase was rolled out in Oldham, Bury and Rochdale in March 2024.

But Everitt said while there could be teething problems in the first few days, the system had seen improved take-up in recent years, as well as improvements in punctuality.

“It’s not perfect, but it‘s getting far, far more reliable," he said.

Some of the yellow Bee Network buses are already operating in Stockport

More than 250 routes in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and South Manchester have now joined the network.

Changes to come include the introduction of the “hopper fare”, meaning a single fare will be able to be used on any additional bus within 60 minutes of buying it, as well as cheaper weekly and monthly tickets.

Contactless payments on buses and trams in Greater Manchester will be launched in March 2025, with a maximum daily cap of £9.50.