Greater Manchester is swarming into action, assembling a fleet of shiny yellow Bee Network buses as it gears up for full control of the local bus network come January. With the buzz building, an impressive army of new vehicles is getting ready to hit the streets, bringing a fresh wave of improvements to public transport across the region.
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
Thanks to the Bee Network’s push to raise standards, the buses serving Greater Manchester communities are getting a serious upgrade. With the new franchise model, Greater Manchester is setting a high bar for bus specs and the result is a whole colony of state-of-the-art vehicles already hitting the roads.
Hundreds of brand-new buses with better accessibility features are rolling out, preparing for the final 48% of services across Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and parts of Manchester and Salford to join the network from the 5th of January 2025.
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
The first of 140 gleaming new buses, all built in the UK, has already touched down at six Ministry of Defence sites, where they’ll be kept safe and sound until launch day. And the bus boost isn’t stopping there: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) just approved £71 million to grow and green the fleet, giving passengers a cleaner, more accessible journey.
Plans include buying 94 zero-emission electric buses (ZEBs) and 72 Euro VI buses from Stagecoach. These Euro VI vehicles are environmentally approved and under nine months old, taking over from older models and adding capacity to keep services strong and steady.
Greater Manchester’s Mayor Andy Burnham said:
"We’re pulling out all the stops to ensure we hit the ground running on 5 January. It will be a huge moment in realising our ambitions for the Bee Network and see Greater Manchester once again making history.
“Taking back control of all bus services in Greater Manchester is a complex and major undertaking - we are effectively doubling the size of the franchised bus network overnight. 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. They will help deliver that step change our residents expect and deserve from their public transport network; cheaper, cleaner, safer and more reliable services.
“It’s all part our joined-up plan to deliver our integrated Bee Network at pace. From introducing new services and encouraging more people to use public transport, to creating new jobs for our young people, we’re proving that local control of public transport not only delivers for our communities, but can drive economic growth at a local, regional and national level.”
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
With this transition, the Bee Network aims to connect public transport and active travel under one affordable, accessible, integrated roof. Greater Manchester is the first area in nearly 40 years to reclaim control of its buses, blazing the trail for a new era of public transport investment that fuels economic growth and opens up new opportunities for local residents and businesses alike.
It’s been just over a year since the Bee Network launched in the city-region’s north and west and although early days had their teething issues, people in these areas have already seen marked improvements in service – from cheaper and cleaner rides to record-breaking passenger numbers and extended routes.
The Bee Network’s night bus pilot on the V1 and 36 routes has been a hit, clocking up around 7,000 trips in its first month, making it easier than ever for people to travel between Manchester, Leigh and Bolton through the night.
The brand-new 615 service also launched last weekend, reconnecting Wigan with Middlebrook retail park, restoring a link that had been missing for four years.
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
Other Bee Network milestones include a record-breaking day for bus journeys on the 6th of September, with 305,000 trips taken and a new monthly Metrolink passenger record set in May 2024. And with contactless ‘touch in, touch out’ payments going live in March 2025, passengers will soon enjoy seamless travel across bus and tram.
Plus, it’s creating job and training opportunities for young people. Bus operators have hired 179 apprentices and Rochdale-based Mellor, one of three UK firms building Bee Network buses, has gained 15 new apprentice roles to meet demand.
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| Transport for Greater Manchester |
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 - an integrated public transport and active travel system for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester. In March we’ll move on to deliver integrated ‘tap and go’ ticketing between Metrolink and buses and then we’ll focus on the integration of eight commuter rail lines into the Bee Network by 2028.”
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