Bus fares across Greater Manchester are set to get cheaper and easier to understand, as the Bee Network will take control of local routes from Sunday 5 January 2025.
This marks the city-region becoming the first in the UK to bring buses back under local control
From the beginning of January, Bee Network buses run across the whole of the city-region for the first time, with more than 250 routes in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and parts of Manchester and Salford joining on 5 January.
As a result, a new fare structure – aimed at being easier to understand and cheaper for all passengers – will be launched in all Greater Manchester’s communities.
• All single fares on any Bee Network bus will cost just £2 for adults and £1 for children, despite the national cap rising to £3.
• Every single fare will also become a ‘hopper’, meaning passengers can use the ticket to ‘hop on’ as many Bee Network buses as they like within one hour of purchase.
• Unlimited travel on all Bee Network buses will also become cheaper:
- 1 day Bee Bus ticket: £5 adult / £2.50 child
- 7 day Bee Bus ticket: £20 adult / £10 child (down from £21 and £10.50)
- 28 day Bee Bus ticket: £80 adult / £40 child (down from £84.50 and £42.70
• A new Bee Bus Annual ticket will, for first time, provide an option to get unlimited travel on all Bee Network buses for a year. Offering a saving of up to £240 and providing unlimited bus travel for the equivalent of £2.20 a day, people can buy up front or spread the cost weekly and monthly through participating credit unions across Greater Manchester.
The simpler fare structure across all buses is possible thanks to Greater Manchester adopting a franchising model, a process that started last year in some towns and will be completed on 5 January.
More than half the buses (54%) set to run on routes joining the Bee Network in the south of Greater Manchester will be new vehicles, rising to 66% in April. The new yellow fleet is currently being assembled at Manchester Airport and Ministry of Deference bases across Greater Manchester.
Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of Stockport Council, said: “I welcome the Bee Network arriving in Stockport, bringing our bus services under local control and simplifying fares for our residents.
“We all deserve reliable and efficient public transport, and I’m assured that this new initiative will help to improve routes, schedules, and the overall travel experience for those living in and visiting Stockport.
“Our new Interchange is a real jewel in our ongoing £1billion transformation of our town centre, and the Bee Network’s new services will hopefully help to connect our communities across the borough.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “Our mission, when we set out to build the Bee Network, was to make getting around Greater Manchester easier, cheaper and more reliable. Doing so will mean we connect people to education, jobs and each other like never before. We’re sticking to that promise.
“We’re cutting the price of travel to get more people on board and putting an end to the complicated and disjointed tickets that people have previously struggled with.
“Whilst next week will be an important step our journey, we’re not letting up on delivering even more improvements. The rollout of tap in, tap out contactless across bus and tram in March – with clear daily and weekly caps – will be a major moment in creating the London-style, integrated public transport system we set out to.”
Simpler bus fares in a week’s time will be a key step on Greater Manchester’s journey to create a truly integrated, London-style public transport system – an ambitious first in the UK to better connect communities and boost economic growth.
Following the launch of the Bee Network and the first phase of bus franchising in September 2023, several bus service improvements were made to Bee Network services including timetable changes on 44 bus services on the worst performing and most complained about routes.
From 5 January, immediate changes will boost services on key routes in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and parts of Manchester and Salford, with buses running earlier, later and more frequently to better connect with tram and rail services.
Next up will be the launch of contactless payments across both Bee Network buses and trams on 23 March 2025. The move will transform the experience for passengers, who will be able to tap in and tap out on buses and trams and know that they’ll always pay the best fare over the day or week.
Much like London, the tram element of the cap will work using the existing zones (four Metrolink zones in total). People will be charged the cap depending on how many zones they’ve travelled through by tram, with the added bonus of being able to use any bus, anywhere in Greater Manchester.
The move will see a maximum daily cap of £9.50 and weekly cap of £41 for unlimited bus and tram travel anywhere in Greater Manchester introduced from March. With off peak options costing even less.
Greater Manchester is turning its attention to rail, with plans to also bring eight commuter lines into the Bee Network by 2028, with more by 2030. This would unlock tap in tap out ticketing across bus, tram and train – giving passengers choice, flexibility and peace of mind that they’re getting best value.
The unprecedented move is aimed at tackling the historically complicated and disjointed ticket and fare structure across different modes of transport.
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “This kind of seamless travel between bus, tram and eventually train is an experience familiar in London and in many other cities around the world. It is now coming to Greater Manchester. It is all part of building a Bee Network that puts people and businesses at the centre of what we do and which will help improve the region’s productivity, drive sustainable economic growth and open up access to homes, jobs, education and opportunity.
“The next step, working with Government and Shadow Great British Railways, is to bring rail journeys within this system to complete a fully integrated transport network in the region. The detailed planning is under way to make that a reality too.”
