Transport for Greater Manchester is set to introduce additional night buses, new routes and more frequent services across the Bee Network, with changes expected to benefit up to 740,000 people.
Most of the changes will be introduced between 30 August and 6 September. Further changes are planned from January 2027.
The changes will include new and extended services, as well as increased frequencies at times intended to support commuters, shift workers, shoppers and people travelling in the evening and at weekends.
Night Buses
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford will receive 24-hour bus services as part of the changes. This means all ten Greater Manchester boroughs will have at least one night bus operating from Thursday to Sunday.
Five new round-the-clock services are being introduced. The services are intended to improve access to employment and leisure destinations for people travelling outside conventional bus operating hours.
TfGM estimates that the changes will support around 625,400 people working in Greater Manchester’s night-time economy, as well as passengers travelling for leisure.
The changes also include an extension of the 216 service into the night, improving connections between Ashton and Tameside. The service is expected to support access to venues and businesses operating during the evening.
New Routes and Increased Frequencies
Several new routes will also be introduced.
The new 377 service will connect Woodford Garden Village with Stockport town centre. The 612 will operate every 30 minutes between Wigan and St Helens via Abram, Golborne and Newton-le-Willows.
An hourly 388 service will connect Ashton and Hyde via Stalybridge.
In Bolton, the 615 will be extended to provide a direct half-hourly connection between Bolton town centre and Middlebrook Retail Park. The change follows requests from local residents and is intended to support both retail trips and journeys by employees working at the site.
Additional morning journeys will also be introduced on the 507 and 511 services to help workers travelling to Logistics North with early starts.
TfGM said the package has been developed using feedback from residents, public transport users and businesses across Greater Manchester.
Up to 740,000 people living within walking or wheeling distance of the routes due to be improved are expected to benefit. Of these, around 408,000 live in more deprived areas, where residents are less likely to have access to a car.
Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:The Bee Network belongs to the people of Greater Manchester and it needs to work for every community. As we build it, we’re listening and responding to what residents want with the biggest set of improvements we’ve ever made in one go.
We’re bringing night buses to every borough, launching new routes and ensuring buses run more often in the mornings, evenings and weekends. In doing so, we’re making it easier than ever for people to get around the city region by bus. But we’re also supporting our businesses, whose staff and customers need a reliable and safe way to reach them.
Almost three quarters of a million people live within walking distance of a bus route we’re improving over the next few months. And we’ll continue improving connections for even more communities based on the feedback we get.
The changes build on more than 80 service improvements introduced since bus franchising was completed across Greater Manchester.
The Bee Network recorded a 24% increase in bus patronage between 2023 and 2026, according to TfGM. Punctuality has also regularly exceeded 80%, compared with less than 70% before buses returned to public control.
