It’s only 6 months until Greater Manchester's transport network is changed forever - buses are set to come under local control and get the amazing Bee Network yellow branding! Today, the first co-branded bus was unveiled and it’ll enter service in Bolton today on the number 8 route to Manchester city centre.
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| Diamond Bus North West |
Diamond along with Go North West will be leading the change in Wigan and Bolton and parts of Salford and Bury. Both operators will transform their buses into the iconic yellow colour, with more and more appearing on the roads as we get closer to the 24th September, when full franchising begins.
In preparation for the big change, 50 brand new electric Bee Network buses will enter service on the first day, as well as new Euro VI buses. Come March 2024, 50 more electric buses will join the network when the second part of the franchising scheme starts.
The reveal of the new yellow co-branded bus comes as an order is placed for a further 170 electric buses that will operate in and around Stockport by 2024.
The buses will be jointly funded by Stagecoach and local and national government, with Stagecoach’s £37.2m investment match-funded by £35.7m from Greater Manchester’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) fund and a local contribution of £12.5m.
All of the 270 new electric buses will be fully accessible, with wheelchair bays, hearing induction loops, audio and visual announcement systems and anti-slip flooring.
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
“Today is a significant day on our journey towards the Bee Network – marking six months until we start to bring buses back under public control for the first time in decades.
“To get ready for the change – and I hope start to build some excitement – we’re working with Diamond and other operators to introduce co-branded Bee Network buses onto those services that will be amongst the first to come back under local control.
“I am also delighted to announce that by working closely with Stagecoach we will have another 170 brilliant new buses running on our network from next year, with a brand new, world-class electric bus depot.
“This is very much the start of our journey that will ultimately deliver a greener, integrated and more inclusive transport system that will transform how people travel around our city-region.”To support the roll out of a new fleet of world-class, environmentally friendly buses, Greater Manchester has been awarded £7.5m from the Department of Levelling-Up Housing and Communities to buy land for a leading, state-of-the-art electronic bus depot.
“This preparation of the bus fleet for franchised operation in six months’ time marks a further significant step towards the integrated Bee Network and transformation of public transport and active travel in our growing city-region.
“From September we’ll also have dozens of new, state-of-the-art buses serving passengers in Wigan, Bolton and parts of Salford and Bury. These will be the first of many across Greater Manchester that will, alongside the new lower fares – which are already increasing ridership – and improvements to travel information, improve bus travel for everyone who lives and works here.
“All buses will be operating under franchised arrangements by January 2025, which will for the first time enable effective planning of the network alongside Metrolink and active travel facilities. Under the recently announced Trailblazer deal, we will then work towards integration of local rail services into the Bee Network by 2030.”
While the colour of buses is changing – helping customers get used to the new look of the Bee Network fleet – buses will otherwise remain as they are, and no further changes will take place until September. Until then passengers should continue to contact their operator in the usual way.
Nice way to blow over £140m - pity the traffic wont be any better in Andy's new Manchester Utopia.
ReplyDeleteStagecoach are providing more than 50% toward the cost of 170 new electric vehicles for Manchester, have I missed something, or has there been an anouncement which has awarded the Stockport franchise area to Stagecoach?
ReplyDeleteIt would be quite awkward if Stagecoach didn't win the Stockport franchise, that's for sure. The details on the funding for the 170 buses was announced back in March 2022.
DeleteIt's going to be an absolute disaster. Burnham seems determined not to learn from the past. The claimed efficiency savings are a myth, management costs alone will inevitably go up. And for funding step change investment, Greater Manchester certainly can't raise more cash at better terms than a multinational can, and would, if there was a good reason to do so (more passengers). People definitely do not want to be forced to change mode if the only reason is to save Burnham money. Passengers absolutely despised this element of the integrated model used in Tyne and Wear in the 80s, pre-deregulation, and quickly showed their preference when the free market gave them a choice. Burnham will be universally reviled as the man who pressed on regardless, despite being shown that London style bus management means the passenger is the only one who loses when the authority can't make the sums add up, and the local and national tax payers expect and demands that public transit is given less cash than more important users of their money.
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