Greater Manchester appoints first bus operators for new system

The Bee Network will connect buses, trams and bikes across Greater Manchester

Two bus operators have been appointed to run Greater Manchester's first locally controlled services since deregulation, it has been announced.

In September 2023, the region will be the first area outside London to have a regulated bus system since the 1980s.

Mayor Andy Burnham said Go North West will operate two large franchises and Diamond Buses would provide services in Wigan, Bolton, Bury and Salford.

The firms had both made "commitments around recruitment and pay", he said.

The mayor has pushed through a franchising model which will see control over fares, timetables and services moved away from transport firms and placed in public hands.

'Shore up the finances'

He said the appointment of operators was "a big statement of our collective ambition for our city region" and when fully in place, the plan would "take Greater Manchester up another level".

"The public should be in control of their bus system and finally they will be," he added.

The new system is a key part of the mayor's Bee Network, which will connect buses, trams and bikes in a tap-in-tap-out system for any of the 2.5 million people in the Greater Manchester region using public transport.

Mr Burnham said the move, which has not involved any job losses, would give public control over fares, routes and frequencies and put in place financial penalties for poor performance.

The changes will also be rolled out in Rochdale and Oldham by March 2024 and in Manchester, Trafford, Stockport and Tameside by January 2025.

Mr Burnham has already introduced a £2 cap for a single bus journey, £1 for children, or £5 all-day travel ticket and called on the public to "get on board" to back public transport.

He added that the more people used public transport, the more they would help to "shore up the finances behind the Bee Network".

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