Buses across Salford and Greater Manchester have returned into public ownership on Sunday almost four decades after deregulation.
The eye-catching yellow buses have been spotted throughout Salford in recent weeks and are part of a larger integrated public transport network plan.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, described the roll out on Sunday as a “truly historic moment.”
Under the new system, buses will still be operated by commercial companies, however they will be accountable to the GMCA’s Bee Network Committee.
Today’s been a momentous day for GM.
We’re back in control of our buses and, to celebrate, we’ve cut the cost of combined bus and tram travel by 20% for everyone.
Watch the highlights here and then book your tickets for this coming week via the #BeeNetwork App. 👍🏻#GetOnBoard pic.twitter.com/9YxbSs9gPd
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) September 24, 2023
This means local authorities will control routes, timetables and fares whilst retaining the power to award contracts to operators as well as punish sub-par service.
The scheme is currently in phase one which sees Go North West and Diamond routes integrated into the network in Bolton and Wigan, and parts of Bury, Salford and Manchester.
The decision to move to a public controlled franchise system began with the Bus Services Act 2017 and was sealed in March 2021 with the franchise scheme. This was ultimately a long time coming after decades of disenchantment with local bus services after the Transport Act 1985 saw buses deregulated.
According to a Department of Transport report in 2021 this resulted in higher fares and fewer services eventually causing a large drop in passenger numbers.
A Greater Manchester Combined Authority representative said the number of bus journeys in Greater Manchester almost halved from 355,000,000 at the time of deregulation to 182,000,000 in 2019 before Covid. Meanwhile bus passenger numbers in London, where deregulation was not imposed, doubled.
Watch 🎥 The Journey to the #BeeNetwork
Full film on YouTube: https://t.co/caJ0ZUFJgP pic.twitter.com/mLKqsNTL3d
— Bee Network (@BeeNetwork) September 25, 2023
This harks back to the original premise of the Bee Network to create an integrated public transport network similar to that in London. The Bee Network remains firmly in its infancy as the GMCA plans to integrate every bus route in Greater Manchester and by 2030 include local trains into the network.
Whilst no major changes have been made to trams, it is now possible to view buses and trams in the Bee Network app as well as buy joint bus and tram tickets.
Stagecoach, First and Diamond operated bus services in Oldham, Rochdale, and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester will enter the Bee Network from 24 March 2024.
All bus routes currently in the Bee Network can be found here.
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