Bee Network: Phase two of Greater Manchester bus franchising announced - what to expect including night buses

The next stage of Greater Manchester’s Bee Network expansion has been announced. The Bee Network bus franchising is set to be rolled out across a wider area of the region at the end of March. 

Phase two of the project will see franchised buses take to the streets of Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester. These will come under public control for the first time in almost 40 years.

This next phase will mean that a total of 324 bus routes- combined from both phases- will be under the control of Transport for Greater Manchester. This is 50% of the region’s bus network. 

This latest step for Greater Manchester's public transport will be launched on Sunday March 24. A range of developments have been announced as part of the next phase.

Are more night buses coming to Greater Manchester? 

Confirmation of extended night bus routes in more areas of Greater Manchester has come as part of the phase two launch. The news is that a 24/7 night bus pilot is set to launch in phase one bus areas. 

This includes buses in areas of Bolton, Wigan, parts of Bury, Salford and Manchester. Included in these services are expected to be the V1 and 36 routes, and services could run hourly to fill the gap that is currently between 1am and 5am. 

What is the next phase of the Bee Network?

• Immediate service improvements to boost services on key routes in Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Bury, Manchester and Tameside, including more early and late services and better connections to first and last trams.
• Reversing frequency reductions introduced last year – before they were part of the Bee Network - delivering more daytime and evening services.
• Developing plans with bus operators to improve the worst performing routes across phase two services, with extra buses on standby, timetable changes and reviewing road junctions and signals to keep buses moving.
• A new journey planner will be added to the Bee Network app along with a live bus tracker by 24 March – so passengers can easily plan their journey, buy tickets, and see exactly where their bus is on the route.
• 30 additional TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers (TSEOs) patrolling franchised bus services, transport interchanges and bus stations, boosting the size of the team to 60 dedicated officers.
• 50 new Zero Emission Buses and 84 new Euro 6 Bee Network buses introduced into phase two areas over the coming months, with air conditioning, USB chargers, ramps, wheelchair bays, hearing induction loops, anti-slip flooring and AV announcement systems.

What have Greater Manchester officials said about phase two of the Bee Network? 

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “This next phase of bus franchising in Greater Manchester will not only mark another big step forwards towards the full delivery of the Bee Network, it also clearly demonstrates our commitment to improving public transport in the region.

“When services in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester become part of the Bee Network on 24 March, half of all the bus services in Greater Manchester will be back under local control and accountable to passengers.

Greater Manchester Transport Commissioner Vernon Everitt said: “Safe, reliable and affordable public transport and active travel facilities are central to improving life for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester. This next phase of the Bee Network is a further significant step towards making an integrated London-style system a practical reality here.

“Passengers will see some immediate service, safety and customer information improvements from 24 March, including earlier and later services, a number of new buses, upgrades to the Bee Network app – including journey planning and bus tracking - and more TravelSafe officers at interchanges and on buses. We also continue to keep fares low and offer cheaper fares for journeys using a combination of both Metrolink trams and buses.”