Greater Manchester Bus Stations given upgrade ahead of Bee Network transport network launch

Bus stations around Greater Manchester have been given a bright yellow update. This comes as the launch of the region’s new Bee network Transport plan edges closer. 

The London-style transport system will launch on September 24 and comes as Greater Manchester buses are placed into public hands for the first time since the 1980s. The first phase of bus franchising will be rolled out in Bolton and Wigan as well as parts of Manchester, Salford and Bury.

A large yellow hexagon with the iconic Manchester Bee is the logo of the network. These have pride of place at stations across the area. There are also Bee Network signs on window glazing as well as new wayfinding totem graphics on display as franchising rapidly approaches.    

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester said: “The arrival of Bee Network signs and colour schemes represented an exciting moment in the countdown to its launch. 

“Buses are at the heart of the Bee Network - an integrated public transport and active travel system for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester.

“Our bus stations and interchanges in Wigan, Bolton and Leigh look great with their new splash of yellow and are now ready to welcome the first Bee Network buses in late September.

All other stations and interchanges will progressively see the same changes as we work towards the entire network coming under the control of the Mayor and Greater Manchester’s districts by January 2025.” 

Transport Museum donation

To mark the start of a new era and the end of an old one in Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester will be donating the M symbol at Wigan Bus Station to the Museum of Transport. The design is adapted from the old GMPTE logo and is a familiar site at bus stops across the city region.