New buses to be added to Bee Network for 2025

Public control of Greater Manchester’s buses has been rolled out in stages since 2023

About 140 new buses will be added to the publicly-controlled Bee Network, before it takes over all services across Greater Manchester in the new year.

This will be in addition to the purchase of 72 Stagecoach buses, which are less than a year old, and 94 electric buses, following the regional authority’s recent approval of a plan to invest £71m in expanding the fleet.

Public control of the region’s buses has been rolled out in stages since the launch of the Bee Network in September 2023.

The remaining half of services - including those in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and parts of Manchester and Salford - will join the network on 5 January.

In the meantime, the new buses will be stored at six Ministry of Defence sites.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said: “We’re pulling out all the stops to ensure we hit the ground running on 5 January.”

He said it was a “complex and major undertaking”, adding: “There’ll no doubt be some bumps along the road, but it’s essential we ready our fleet of modern yellow buses to hit the streets.”

The network was hit with teething problems when it first launched in 2023 and also when it started services in northern parts of the region in March.

Extra services

Mr Burnham recently confirmed single fares in the region would remain capped at £2 in 2025, despite rises in other part of the UK.

He has previously said they could only keep Bee Network fares low “if more people use it”.

In an effort to improve services and lower fares, buses returned to local control in 2023 following the deregulation and privatisation of bus firms in 1985.

Following public demand, the network recently added a new service when the hourly 615 between Wigan and Middlebrook retail park was restored last weekend - four years after it was scrapped.

More night buses have also been operating in parts of the region since September, as part of a pilot scheme to improve workers’ safety and the local economy.

Passengers will also be able to tap-in and tap-out with their cards and smart devices for both buses and trams from March, paying a maximum daily total of £9.50.

Nearly 200 apprentices have also been hired in the region by bus operators and builders.

Vernon Everitt, transport commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “The third and final stage of bus franchising in January marks a huge milestone in the delivery of the Bee Network.”

He said eight commuter rail lines would also join the Bee Network by 2028.