A series of major updates have been announced for Greater Manchester’s Bee Network, two years on from the project’s initial inception.
Unveiled by Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Transport Commissioner, Vernon Everitt, at the Shudehill Interchange, the updates include additional buses, cheaper travel and new 24-hour services.
From Thursday 4 September; two new 24-hour buses will begin pilot services along both the 135 and 17/17a, connecting Manchester and Bury via Prestwich, and Manchester with Rochdale via Middleton. The buses will serve key employment and hospitality spots on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with night buses on the V1 (Leigh via Salford) and 36 (Bolton via Salford) set to continue seven days a week until March 2026 at the earliest.
Other expanded services include more frequent 5, 5A and 280 bus journeys, with the increased frequency covering additional stops including Dunham and Warburton, as well as an increase to an hourly service for the existing 280 Bee Network service and an expansion from Dunham Massey via Warburton to Lymm. This will also now run later into the night.
There will also be increased frequency on routes in Bolton and Leigh, including a shortened wait time for the 582, which will begin running every 10 minutes as opposed to every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday during the daytime. The V1 will also receive an increase in peak services, running every 4 minutes between 07:00 and 8:00 Monday to Friday from Leigh.
Beginning from 1 September, young people aged 18 to 21 can apply for the new 18-21 bus pass, which allows young people to make use of half price bus travel across the region.
Elsewhere, passengers using Apple Pay will now be able to utilise a new Express Mode, which allows those with an iPhone or Apple Watch to pay for their journeys without waking or unlocking their device.
Other ticketing updates include a move to digital for the network’s Our Pass – which offers 16-18 year olds access to free bus travel, as well as reduced-price tram travel. The new pass will be available in the Bee Network app.
Transport for Greater Manchester has also stated that it will be conducting another trial of the lifting of pre-9:30 travel restrictions for older and disabled people, which came to an end earlier this week.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:Our region has the fastest growing economy in the UK, and the Bee Network will continue to play a vital role as we look to build on our plans set out in the Greater Manchester Strategy to make the next 10 years the best decade for our region since the Victorian era.
While the Bee Network is already delivering a much improved service compared to the non-franchised system it replaced, with more punctual, frequent, affordable and cleaner buses, we are always looking at how we can improve the experience for everyone travelling with us, and to encourage people to use the bus more often.
These proposals include enhanced and expanded bus routes, more night buses and half price bus travel for our young people, alongside commitments to revisit free round-the-clock travel for people using concessionary passes following the end of the current trial.
We are still only two years into this journey and these latest announcements underline our commitment to providing the best possible public transport system to support the people, communities and businesses which are helping to grow Greater Manchester’s economy.
