Bee Network’s Final Takeover: Manchester's Franchising Model Explained

[@CJB83041]

I am from Manchester and trust me it is so much better the 163 on Sundays used to be every hour now they are every 15 minutes the bee network has been a massive success so far I can’t wait for the trains to integrate in 2028 it’ll make travelling around Greater Manchester so much easier and simpler.

[@f.g.9466]

I'm not so sure that the train service will be massively improved. As highlighted in the video the poor infrastructure is the cause of many issues and without those major key investments that would improve capacity on the network there is limited scope to what an operator can improve.

[@BLACKSTA361]

​@@f.g.9466Including old Train Sets breaking down etc. If the Bee Train Network is supposed to be launching less than 3 years then where are the Train set orders. Surely theyre not thinking of launching this with old Northern trains right?

[@jimbrocklehurst6678]

I’ve not seen any benefits but glad you have.

[@joesinderson8987]

I totally buy in to the franchising model. For too long buses have been a private monopoly run by national companies with no care for the communities they serve. I do worry though that public bodies will spray the cash around just for the sake of it. On the 163, are four times as many people using the Sunday service now to justify a quadrupling in provision? I'd love to think there are but really find it hard to believe. But then is it a case of chicken and egg and this is needed to stimulate growth.

[@EarlEBird-fz6yr]

I'm from Trafford in Greater Manchester and the Beeline Network is a game changer - Well done!

[@BenRattigan]

A unified and locally controlled brand makes sense, one place to buy tickets, one place to hold accountable.

[@Telssa1]

I'm from Prestwich, Manchester, and stopped driving a couple of years ago. The Bee Network upgrade in buses has been tremendous, and combined with their app, bus travel is so much better than it used to be, such that I MUCH prefer life without a car. There can be glitches, delays and the odd missing bus, but 90% of the time (via the app) you can detect those things from your armchair, and sidestep them. There's a more leisurely attitude to getting off and on buses now, drivers are generally more patient. The unformity makes the city feel more "sorted".

[@john1703]

Strategic services such as buses, rail, water, gas and electricity supply should not be in private hands. I was a schoolboy in B'ham in the 1960s. The corporation buses just worked.

[@Bungle-UK]

Without private enterprise, you wouldn’t have a rail network in the first place.

[@john1703]

@Bungle-UK When there was genuine competition, not monopoly franchises.

[@Bungle-UK]

@ Barely any competition on the vast majority of routes.

[@garethking1639]

@@Bungle-UKthat doesn’t mean it should stay private.

[@rankedcitizen]

Much much better now, as someone living in the area within tranche 2, before bee network it was mainly controlled by first bus. Their busses (mainly B9s) were outdated, strikes were often and services were extremely unreliable. With the newer buses and overall improvement i can say that the situation has MASSIVELY improved! Although i still wish that more initiatives were taken to provide more metrolink/commuter rail routes, as some bus corridors are only in place due to a lack of a proper rail system in most areas

[@PJS_Everything]

Yeah glad you think that way, videos like this always get spammed on by enthusiasts saying Bee Network is bad but they only hate it because they loose their favourite companies.

[@scottbrick9918]

As a man of west Yorkshire, I wish that around here had integrated trams and buses, it would be so much more useful than the unreliable private buses

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Let's hope Tracy Brabin will follow in Andy Burnham's footsteps then!

[@NothingToDismay]

@NetworkNewsUK She confirmed franchising last March...

[@adamlee3772]

I remember the days of South Yorkshire Transport. The buses should never have been privatised, neither the railway. Never perfect but way better than today.

[@unifaeggi]

It sounds a little bit like in Switzerland, We never fully privaticed the Busses. The lines and Timetable is made by the goverment in cooperation with the Bus Companies and the Bus Companies execute the Plan. But many Bus Companies are also Goverment owend. So ther is much mor Goverment Control. But many things go also to subcontracters. Like the fames PostAuto in Switzerland wich cover basically every corner of Switzerland. They are moastly operated by subcontractors. But in Switzerland, the coordination goes all over Switzerland. The Trains, Trams, Busses and even Ships have an integral timetable. And also one ticket System. This makes traveling su easy and verry attractive.

[@ianmansbridge3646]

What an amazing improvement to public transport I have seen in recent years living in Old Trafford.

[@jmalloy2202]

I live in a area Bee Network buses was phrased in March 2023, initially there was teething issues, not enough bus drivers, which I thought bee network should of recruited bus drivers first, and many of the bus drivers didn’t know the routes they was on due to lack of local knowledge. but apart from that, the buses punctuality I feel have slightly improved, but I’m also mindful of more traffic congestion that can delay buses. and the first bus of the day I get in the morning. (always turns up on time) and I’ve also noticed, bus drivers seem more friendlier.

[@networknathan]

Great video. Excited to how the network evolves!

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Thanks Nathan, great to see you here!

[@Phil-ws5jp]

There is no way First, Stagecoach, Arriva & co would ever improve our buses, the cancellations and delays with First on the 83 & 84 Oldham to Manchester routes were a bad joke. Any improvement or change was going to cost money, but the status quo wasn’t an option.

[@joeypalmiero7576]

My student term bus pass is about 1/3 cheaper this term than last term and I can get more buses with it

[@bobzfatgamezroblox6805]

Brilliant analysis, top man!

[@abdulsamadafolabi3189]

Since bee network took over in tranche 2 the bus services have increased massively and I cannot complain at all :) sometimes turns up a little late but still arrives and it is much better service compared to before :) before bee network the buses were frustrating to go with because of frequent cancellations but is now much better

[@Phil-ws5jp]

The Oldham Road bus corridor to Manchester is certainly better than in First Bus days. The electric buses are a big improvement for passengers, some of the old diesel buses were really past there best. The app is very convenient to use, only niggle being the Bus/Rail day ticket is not available on the app yet, only from the bus driver or at the station. As I am old enough to remember SELNEC it seems like we have gone full circle, my only concern being if we get a new government or Mayor in a few years who is hell bent on unraveling the good work done by Burnam and his team. The £2 single and £5 day bus ticket is really good value. All we need now is to get the rail under the Bee Network and get the frequent cancellations on the Airport rail link sorted, at the moment the amount of last minute cancellations on the trains is totally unacceptable

[@jennyst]

Keeping fares at £2 thanks to the savings when the rest of the country goes up to £3 apart from London at £1.65 is a great story

[@Moshimulations]

unfortunately London isn't £1.65 anymore, it went up a few years back to £1.75 per hour of Bus/tram usage.

[@bh_92-k4t]

@@Moshimulations I’m amazed London hasn’t become £2 bus single, same with the tube outside zone 1

[@jossdeiboss]

This is exactly how local transportation should be: the local authority is there to put everything under one medium-sized brand, to improve cohesion, whilst private entities run the buses in the cheapest way possible to "win" more money and at the same time alleviate the burden of actually running the buses out from the Council. I have the same concerns for rail capacity but I think everybody in the UK agrees that powerhouse MUST be completed and - if necessary - extended to replace the cancelled HS2 leg. So, maybe not 2028, but I am confident sometime in the future also Manchester will have its own "Manchester Overground" system.

[@Moshimulations]

Maybe one day through out the country, through these network changes that there would be a card that unifies all transport networks, like oyster cards, but for every city transportation. They did this in the Netherlands with OV chip cards being a national card rather than just a singular city transport card. Prospects are exciting for transport throughout the country.

[@jossdeiboss]

@@Moshimulations Absolutely! That is how it should be! I am very familiar with the OV chipkaart - as I visit the Netherlands quite often. That is EXACTLY what we should have. You have the same in Japan with the PASMO card, that unified different "local" cards, such as the SUICA, IKOKA etc

[@Jordan_Warrington]

From Manchester and the trams have been amazing. The tap on system can be a bit buggy leading to unnecessary fines but still good. The buses are better and the changes to their fares are great. Only waiting on the trains now.

[@Phil-n7c]

Interesting detail about the number of bus journeys halving since deregulation. Of course on the other side of the ledger the number of cars on the road has doubled in the last 30 years, due to the population increase but also the increase in two and three car households. I don't think this is sustainable so hopefully if public transport improves, this can start to shift back.

[@tommcmanamon8327]

Stockport still does not have a single tram stop in a borough of 300,000. It has been ignored for the past two decades. The bee network is not completely connected. It should re branded as the BUS network

[@desiro3503]

The bee network has had a detrimental effect on getting into Manchester from outside it, they forced warringtons own buses with the X5 and are refusing to reinstate the route from Warrington to Manchester airport which is terrible for those living in Warrington but within Manchester it seems to be doing well

[@bh_92-k4t]

Which is odd considering they still have the 100 serving Warrington from Central Manchester

[@davidjb-750]

Was going to say the same. Got one gen other night from Warrington when all the trains were cancelled at Central Station due to flooding. Took a while to get to the Trafford Centre but for £2 you can’t whack it!

[@derloos]

I hope they can bring everything under one fare. I stayed with a friend from the Altrincham area 15 years ago, and my eyes popped when I saw how much it cost to get to the city by tram, back then. No idea how people manage on northern incomes.

[@JhonMayall]

Be good to have an heritage route with a couple of Atlanteans or Fleetlines running with the new buses.Or any other type if not a fan of the above.!!

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Yeah that would be nice, but it would likely be run by a separate company to the Bee Network, a bit like how London's routemaster heritage route, the T15, isn't actually run by TfL.

[@IshaqAli-z1j]

When they have been taken over it takes a while, like now tranche 3 is open up and runnign, right now there is some operational delays of upto 30 mins but after the initial period it then becomes more better

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Teething issues are to be expected with any new system but long-term improvements are always welcome! Thanks for watching the video :D

[@IshaqAli-z1j]

@NetworkNewsUK Ye obviously. And no problem

[@truebluehube]

Stockport doesn't need the tram so much with the 192 bus every four minutes and a train every 5 minutes

[@IshaqAli-z1j]

@NetworkNewsUK Speaking to a bus driver today I found out that there is both a shortage of buses and drivers at Hyde road depot leading to delays and cancellations at Metroline

[@Andrewjg_89]

What about extending the Manchester Metrolink to Port Salford and Stockport. I should think that the Manchester Metrolink should extend to Stockport and Port Salford.

[@jonhoughton372]

Interestingly, out of all the operators with Bee Network contracts, only one has its head office in Greater Manchester. The smaller companies that were snubbed for contracts and forced to close were mostly all based within the county's borders.

[@trueriver1950]

None of the smallest companies had what it takes to run the mind of large scale part of a network that's important to make the whole thing work together. The smaller companies formed after deregulation either merged or were swallowed up by huge companies: one of the biggest predators being Arriva, which last time I looked was owned by foreign railway companies....

[@jonhoughton372]

So where does that leave Stotts? Or Nexus Move? Closed, with their operations being handled by companies from Scotland and Singapore. It's a travesty and a hypocritical one at that.

[@jammiedodger7040]

The railway network should all be under the British Rail but have close cooperation.

[@trueriver1950]

I disagree. Merseyrail offers the best local train services outside London, and does so precisely because of being under local control. More liaison is going to be needed by Manchester's local trains because they will continue to share rails with national services (in contrast to Merseyrail which is effectively a separate network with a few interchanges with the non-Merseyrail trains). If we can get the results of the buses on Bee Network tranches 1 and 2 plus even half the advantages of Merseyrail we will be doing well.

[@SMlFFY85]

I still miss the super comfy seats on certain GM Busses back in the day, they'd be considered 5 star luxury by today's standards.

[@Josh96Williams]

Could you do a video on the new bus network model coming into effect in the Liverpool City Region with the New Metro Scheme?

[@NetworkNewsUK]

I'd need to do a bit of research on it but it's definitely something I'd be interested in doing!

[@LeeCorne]

I'm in Stockport, so it's only just changed over and I don't use buses much, although my kids do for school. I'm 100% behind the return to public control as deregulation was a disaster. My only gripes are with the livery. Purely from an aesthetic point of view, I don't like the pale yellow livery and I don't see the point in calling it the bee network if the black stripe is barely noticeable. Also, the logo is too complex - it needs to be simple like the London Transport roundel. The font is awful and too big - I get that they're trying to make a big thing out of it, but it's over the top. I hope that the font is toned-down and ideally replaced with something less garish once the network is bedded in a bit. I would have prefered a return to the white and orange of the SELNEC/GMPT days, but Burnham ruled that out early on. :(

[@rockerjim8045]

great news. Q how are the Kelpies nr Falkirk in Scotland included in this clip?

[@peterdowden7694]

The logo/image/graphics look like a giant leap into the 1980s but everything else is great

[@memediatek]

Does mean the livery looks pretty good on a pacer, some people have made it for video games

[@markbooth1117]

Will the 348 improve, they seem to disappear at Carrbrook at the end of the route from Ashton-under-Lyne and don't appear again going back to Ashton for ages, the actual timetable is a figment of the imagination. Never mind the ones that are cancelled at Ashton with no notice.

[@SiverBirch1234]

the App is a waste of time,most of the buses in South Manchester cant be found on the map as tracker settings are never working and cant locate the service

[@barriegannon]

Please re regulate the Taxi’s

[@johnrafferty8087]

It's slightly different from the London model aswjole Depots are put up for tender rather then individual routes as in London

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Ah that's good to know, thanks for the clarification!

[@tsimeone]

Still franchised though 😒 should be fully public

[@johnwalker6736]

Eventually,this will turn full circle,and return to being fully run by the council.Back in the 1950’s / 60’s,the Manchester Corporation Transport department ran an efficient,reliable service.

[@jimbrocklehurst6678]

Getting buses to run on time and sometimes run at all. I’ve just waited 35 minutes for a bus that should run every 10 minutes 219. No Stagecoach were not better . Waiting for buses that don’t come is an excellent reason to use a car. Early days but I’m not impressed so far.

[@edanalan]

Hope one tram ticket can free interchange to bus service

[@jimbrocklehurst6678]

My bus routes 216/219 and 317 are just as bad. Many times during the day timetables mean nothing. 30-40 minute waits are usual. Will Burnham sort it ? Doubt it he knows nothing about buses he is chauffeur driven at the rate payers expense. Hope he proves me wrong

[@leonardclarke394]

two pound don't you mean 3 pound for a start

[@NetworkNewsUK]

Nope, it's staying at £2 in Manchester for the reasons I explained in the video

[@duncanetjacquelinejack4481]

I preferred SELNEC colours!

[@markcoyle396]

All I see is if the buses go on strike there will be no other service to catch

[@rpmillam]

Gr8 news improvements tunnel between Victoria and Picadilly

[@NetworkNewsUK]

No plans for a tunnel at the moment unfortunately

[@rpmillam]

@NetworkNewsUK I know, but I can dream.

[@jammiedodger7040]

The whole country should go back under regulated buses and Leyland should be bought back into British ownership.

[@davidjackson2580]

The problem is that it reinforces the ludicrous notion of "Greater Manchester". I live in Marple and as far as I'm concerned, we here have nothing whatever to do with Manchester and this is very much a Cheshire town. I just hope there will be secessionist candidates in the May elections and we can withdraw from "Greater Manchester".

[@truebluehube]

Marple is in Stockport which is in both Cheshire and Lancashire historic boundaries and has been in Greater Manchester for over 50 years it has more to do with Manchester than Chester or Lancaster. With the new changes coming the High Peak will be in Greater Manchester as well and the Tory enclave of Marple totally surrounded.

[@56SCOTT]

selnec mark 2

[@AdhdCity]

What a load of bollocks, in order to charge a congestion fee 😂

[@i_wouldprefer_not_to1196]

Sorry but Mayor Potato Head has actually achieved something I never thought possible: worsened the services!

[@gman1353]

The Bee Network was created for political purposes only not to help the public, but having said that it could have been done cheaper by leaving the garages to the previous owners and tendering on a route by route basis just like in London thereby smaller operators could have bid and won for at least the smaller routes and grown in size over time. More operators could have come in and bid for each route giving value for money.

[@91Durktheturk]

Let's see what will happen. One should not forget that hundreds of millions of pounds in upfront costs have been spent to set up franchising, by hiring expensive consultants, on buying depots from private operators who were running buses in Manchester anyways. I think if TfGM had spent that money on bus lane provision, the speed and reliability of existing bus services would have been improved at a fraction of these costs. And I'm not so sure if TfGM will do a better job at designing a useful network, or controlling costs, compared to the existing operators. So far it seems that franchising will cost £100 million more, and that the set-up costs have been around £230 million.

[@philsowter9092]

The next Sadiq Khan, we all know what people think of that idiot,all these new buses have to paid for so higher council tax bills ulez cameras and whatever else he can rip you off with,don't forget that tfl in London is losing money on a daily basis so what makes Burnham can do any better.

[@philsowter6720]

Let's face it, he's after a knighthood,

[@jammiedodger7040]

Newer doesn’t always mean better personally I think older is better.

[@Bungle-UK]

Burnham. The man who said taking Northern Rail off Arriva was a magic solution (it got worse) and who covered up the grooming scandal.

[@michaeljohndennis2231]

I live in Manchester myself and this can only work if a total ban on all private car ownership and use within 50 miles of Manchester is immediately brought into force, in partnership with other government departments and insurance companies, covering such things as vehicle registration, insurance, MOT’s, road tax, driver testing and driver licensing etc, including for taxis and EV’s, in the national interest, given that available public transport provision is now deemed to be sufficient - I’ve already written to the government about this, citing what I’ve seen of traffic congestion in my home village on visits home to my family in Rural Ireland who live less than 50 miles from Dublin and I’ve also written to the Irish government about this decades long issue - in my long experience, the big mistake that governments make and which must always be avoided is that people must never, ever be trusted to do the right thing nor to act responsibly and must always be forced to do things via ever more draconian legislation and enforcement of same via strong leadership, even if hardline or communistic - the simple fact is that if you live less than 50 miles from any major city, you don’t need a car and the government must actively stop you from doing so, any “reasons” and any other (nonsensical) arguments are just lame excuses which must be firmly shut down by government laws that are firmly enforced - in fact, the government should be confiscating and seizing for scrappage all private vehicles within 50 miles of all major cities in the national interest

[@Bungle-UK]

I assume you live in a mental institution? Incidentally, do you have a list of other activities you would like to ban in your dream world of complete government control over us?

[@trueriver1950]

Yeeeaah right. Transport for London only works because they banned all cars within the M25, right?

[@philsowter9092]

A typical labour idea, can't think of anything new so lets go back,by the way his security team had to escort him out of Oldham depot for his own safety,tfl down in London are being run at a constant loss so what gives Burnham the idea he can do any better.

[@Bungle-UK]

Heidi saying how much the government supports buses at the same time as she put fares up by 50%. You can see why she was such a failure at TfL.

[@damiendye6623]

Before COVID prices wasn't controlled as such £3 is still cheaper than 2019 prices

[@shakadee6839]

Well i remember GM buses that service was great until when stagecoach took over, the service got from bad to worst the buses was always late it was a complete joke. You never know when they were coming from when they were not. I even got refused entry by two stagecoach female driver's one refused to take me on the 50 route because i question why were they always late and the second one just drove right pass me😡. Well this is the honeymoon period for 🐝network and as i said to the people giving out the information I'll give it 6 weeks before I say anything good or bad but one thing that i noticed you see more buses on the road. And I do hope that the public respect them and keep their feet off the seats. But good riddens to bad rubbish as far as stagecoach is concerned I never liked when they took over in 1986 from GM buses. I dont mind if it's public or privately run, as long as people get to their destination on time give and take with the road conditions I can work with that. Ive always said it and I've witnessed it now they've lost the franchise which is good I'm glad. So let's big up the 🐝network lets see what improvements they can offer 🙏🏿🤗🤔🇰🇳🇯🇲🇬🇧

[@Phil-ws5jp]

There is no way First, Stagecoach, Arriva & co would ever improve our buses, the cancellations and delays with First on the 83 & 84 Oldham to Manchester routes were a bad joke. Any improvement or change was going to cost money, but the status quo wasn’t an option.