Bury to lead biggest bus shake-up in generations

Bury will be at the forefront of the biggest change to the region’s bus network since 1986.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has announced that the city-region will be the first outside London to have local control over buses. Andy Burnham has decided to implement bus franchising in a major milestone for integrated transport network for Greater Manchester.

Local control will mean simple fares and tickets with price capping, integration between trams and buses, and a ‘one-stop-shop’ for travel information and customer support

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority will coordinate and invest in the bus network – setting the routes, frequencies, fares and standards. By the end of 2025, this will allow the GMCA to fully integrate buses with the rest of the transport network, as part of a passenger-focused network with easy end-to-end journeys.

The proposed bus franchising scheme will be introduced in three phases, with one sub-area introduced each year between 2023 and 2025. Bury is in Sub Area B which includes Rochdale and Oldham and parts of the north of the Manchester City Council area. The first franchised services could start operating in 2024.

Plans to improve bus infrastructure across GM are central to the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040 and, as part of the Five Year Transport Delivery Plan 2021-2026, TfGM have been working with Bury to create a Local Implementation Plan (LIP), setting out the transport interventions planned or proposed over the next five years, including for bus.

Local plans to improve bus infrastructure are aligned with Government policy as set out in the new National Bus Strategy. In Bury, this includes Bury Interchange redevelopment, enhancement of bus links to town centres from surrounding local neighbourhoods and the development of bus priority measures including delivery of Quality Bus Transit corridors to Bolton and Rochdale, as well as Bus Corridor Upgrades to Manchester City Centre.

Bury benefits from the Altrincham-Bury and Bury-Piccadilly Metrolink lines which under franchising proposals would be integrated with the bus network, providing the ability to offer a daily cap for journeys across both buses and trams and simpler fares and ticketing.

In Bury, some 23.6% households do not own a car, with many reliant on bus services as a result. Across the conurbation, 75% of public transport journeys are made by bus.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of Bury Council, said: “This is fantastic news which will change the way we travel across Greater Manchester, and I am delighted that Bury will be among the pioneers.

“For many years, people across Bury have been crying out for improvements to public transport, which simply does not work. It’s too expensive, and there’s precious little co-ordination of services.

“Bus franchising is a major step forward in creating a joined-up and affordable system which will benefit passengers, enabling people to move around more easily and bring greater access to jobs and education. It will also play a key role in our ambitions to have a cleaner and greener fleet and reduce harmful emissions.”

To find out more on franchising and what it means for passengers and for Greater Manchester visit www.tfgm.com/our-buses

ENDS

Press release issued: 26 March 2021.