A new funding boost of 65 million GBP has been pledged to bring 220 additional electric buses to Greater Manchester’s Bee Network.
Almost 60 million GBP will be invested into converting an additional 13% of the operator’s bus fleet from diesel to electric, with the first vehicles set to be in service by 2027.
The Bee Network Committee has also endorsed plans to introduce new tram and tram-train services within Greater Manchester; with 5.7 million GBP in funding approved for the next phase of works on the Oldham-Rochdale-Heywood-Bury Tram-Train ‘pathfinder’ scheme to connect Atom Valley.
With the new funding; Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will be able to progress plans for the tram-train route, as well as explore a number of options to improve the tram fleet as a whole.
Works will include the identification of new vehicles for the existing Metrolink network, as well as similar models that will also be able to run on rail infrastructure in order to boost capacity across the network.
Additional funding has also been secured for the delivery of a new Travel Hub in Tyldsley, with work set to begin at the start of 2026. The Hub will provide 99 parking spaces, including a set of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations and accessible spaces close to the Leigh Guided Busway.
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said:The Bee Network is making public transport more affordable, frequent and cleaner and these further steps will deliver more improvements for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester.
We are accelerating investment to introduce even more electric buses to add to those which already comprise 20 per cent of our vehicles, marking another significant step towards the goal of a fully zero-emission bus fleet by 2030.
Major improvements lie ahead for the tram network too, as we look at modern tram-train technology to connect further parts of Greater Manchester directly to the Metrolink network. This will make journeys by public transport faster and more convenient and further build an integrated transport network for our growing city-region.
All investment and expansion of the Bee Network forms part of the Greater Manchester Strategy (GMS), which aims to provide a decade-long vision for the city region’s economy.
The funding approved is also part of the 1.07 billion GBP City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement, which helps fund Greater Manchester’s pipeline of transport infrastructure projects.
