TfGM Bus franchising update

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), will plan and co-ordinate services under a system called bus franchising, in what is the biggest change to public transport in the city-region in nearly 40 years.

Phase One of bus franchising will begin in six months, on 24 September 2023, and on Friday the Mayor and local authority leaders unveiled the first Bee Network co-branded buses.

In December 2022, the contracts to run the first locally controlled services were signed. Go North West was awarded the two large franchises in Bolton and Wigan. Diamond was awarded seven smaller franchises within the phase one area.

To help customers become familiar with how the new Bee Network buses will look, Diamond – who currently run services in Bolton – has agreed to start transforming their buses into Bee Network yellow now.

To ensure a smooth transition, the roll out of franchising is taking place in three phases:

100 new, electric buses have already been ordered, which will feature the distinctive black and yellow of the new Bee Network brand. A programme to upgrade much of the existing fleet will also take place. This process will be gradual. From this month, some buses will start to look different and people will start to see some buses turning yellow before franchising begins, to help people get used to the change. In these cases, vehicles will temporarily carry the brand of both the Bee Network and the existing operator – but nothing else will have changed (yet!). Customers should continue to get in touch with their bus operator in the usual way.

More information

More information is provided on the attached briefing note and on our dedicated webpage: https://tfgm.com/our-buses.

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