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 metropolitan area will be the first outside London to have local control over buses. Andy Burnham has decided to introduce bus franchising as an important milestone for an integrated transport network for Greater Manchester.
In theory, local control means simple tariffs and tickets with a price cap, integration between trams and buses, and a one-stop shop for travel information and customer care
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority will coordinate and invest in the bus network – defining routes, frequencies, tariffs and standards. By the end of 2025, GMCA can fully integrate the buses into the rest of the transport network as part of a passenger-centric network with simple end-to-end journeys.
The proposed bus franchise system will be introduced in three phases, with a sub-area being introduced each year between 2023 and 2025. Bury is located in Subarea B, which includes Rochdale and Oldham and parts of the north of Manchester City Council. The first franchise services could start operating in 2024.
Plans to improve bus infrastructure in GM are central to the Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2040, and as part of the five-year transport delivery plan 2021-2026, TfGM worked with Bury to create a Local Implementation Plan (LIP) for transport interventions, which are planned or proposed in the next five years, also for buses.
Local plans to improve bus infrastructure are in line with government policy set out in the new national bus strategy. In Bury, this includes refurbishing the Bury Interchange, improving bus links to city centers from the surrounding neighborhoods and developing priority actions for buses, including delivering high quality bus transit corridors to Bolton and Rochdale and upgrading the bus corridor to Manchester city center.
Bury benefits from the Altrincham-Bury and Bury-Piccadilly Metrolink lines, which will be integrated into the bus network as part of franchise proposals, with the ability to offer a daily cap on buses and trams, as well as simpler fares and tickets.
In Bury, 23.6% of households do not own a car, which is why many depend on bus connections. In the entire metropolitan area, 75% of journeys by public transport are made by bus.
Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, Chairman of Bury Council, said, “This is fantastic news that will change the way we travel around Greater Manchester and I am delighted that Bury will be among the pioneers.
“For many years, people across Bury have been asking for improvements in public transportation, which just doesn’t work. It is too expensive and there is hardly any coordination of services.
“Bus franchising is an important step forward in creating a cohesive and affordable system that benefits passengers and enables people to move around more easily and have better access to jobs and education. It will also play a key role in our ambitions to have a cleaner, greener fleet and reduce harmful emissions. ”
For more information on franchising and what it means for passengers and Greater Manchester, please visit www.tfgm.com/our-buses