Present & Future of Bus Travel in Greater Manchester! (Bee Network)

Maxson Goh Films the first "Bee Network" branded bus to enter service in Greater Manchester on the 8 between Bolton and Manchester City Centre on the 24th of March 2023.
Diamond Bus North West 40810 ( MX21AUK ) , a Wright StreetDeck Micro Hybrid is seen here on the first revenue service trip bearing the "Bee Network" branding.
The “Bee Network” is Greater Manchester’s take on a London style bus system where the local authority manages bus operations and awards contracts for routes. All buses will eventually wear a unified yellow livery rather than the colours of individual operators.
This is similar to the system between the 1960s and 1980s where all buses services were provided by Greater Manchester Transport and painted in an orange livery.
Come 24th September 2023, Bolton, Wigan as well as parts of Bury and Salford will enter the franchising model, with the entirety of Greater Manchester’s network to be fully franchised by 2025.
Under the new model, buses, trams, some rail services and bikes in Greater Manchester will fall under a unified system and passengers can transition seamlessly between them for a fixed daily price.
This bus’s debut on route 8 marks six months before the franchising model is set to take place and is the first of many to bear the yellow livery.
Become a member to get access to perks:
/ @glitchfan2428
All footage filmed and edited by Maxson Goh aka glitchFan2428
No unauthorised use or duplication of the video is allowed.
Thanks for Watching and Please Leave a Like and Subscribe if you enjoyed the video :)

[@glitchFan2428]

Do ypu prefer a single unified colour for all buses, or a sea of different operator colours?

[@glitchFan2428]

@Dimensional Animations SAME 😂😂

[@Gareth2219]

many many colours better la

[@stwtranvids2078]

While a single unified brand makes it easier for customers to regconize a public bus, different livery themes would be great (ie. As the case in Brisbane with a council-run bus operator there has buses in different livery themes for the particular run it does).

[@danielrussell446]

The Manchester red and cream

[@wainerollins2587]

Whatever is good enough for London. If the privatised free for all model was any good for passengers, not only would Thatcher have deregulated London's buses, she would have done way before any other place. The fact that London's buses have never been deregulated and retained their red livery should tell you all you need to know.

[@PsychicLord]

Unified for me, it looks smarter and will help show that Manchester is going to have an fully integrated transport system over the next few months.

[@glitchFan2428]

Fair enough 👍🏻

[@marclikespigeons8240]

I think its much better to have unified branding. I live in Melbourne Australia, where the branding is consistent for all buses, but they are run by different companies, and it's much better than when we had lots of different liveries. The truth is, what company runs what bus is mostly irrelevant to travellers- only the different routes and services are. Unified branding makes way-finding simpler and easier to understand, and makes the system far less overwhelming to riders. It communicates that the network is interconnected, and creates a strong and recognisable brand identity that locals and visitors will become more familiar with- so riders know they can expect a consistent experience between all buses in their city independent of their operating companies. It also makes public transport more visible and recognisable on the street (and even more so with such a bold yellow livery!), serving as a constant reminder of the presence of public transport.

[@glitchFan2428]

You have some very valid points, and a strong argument for those in favour of a unified colour scheme 👍🏻

[@juliesmith5567]

So many yes ❤they are on this list and the 2 size and colour diamond and yellow keep it up😊

[@glitchFan2428]

Thank you

[@mitchellhurd9300]

Single livery and branding. One ticket, one network! For example - all bus operators running passenger services in the town I live in are part of Go-Ahead.

[@glitchFan2428]

Fair enough, although I believe that that's still private (Go ahead group) , for Greater Manchester it'll be under public (government) control. Interesting to see how it'll pan out

[@YaoboyProd2K15]

The London-style transport network model is back in Manchester!

[@c732n7]

i would prefer if each operator has its own livery

[@darren2514fv]

I prefer a sea of different colours

[@bussesandmore1263]

This will be a big change. It has its pros and cons like moast things do however i do prefare having different licarys as seeing one color can get boring but yellow will make it nice and bright on a rainy day im glad its not red!

[@glitchFan2428]

Red will just be a carbon copy of London I suppose

[@bussesandmore1263]

Yes i guss @@glitchFan2428

[@resketless]

I think it better single livery as it identify different company as too many livery can think of different bus company even with their bus logo but it depends on whether passenger will like different livery or single livery

[@glitchFan2428]

Hmmm then again it could result in passengers not knowing what company bus they are on, just like in Singapore

[@brandon322]

(Latest New News!) The Bee Network is fully owned and operated by Stagecoach Bus Manchester now. Stagecoach Bus Manchester also now most of all the bus depot’s in Manchester now also. 2023

[@user-oj4xm6by5b]

In my opinion, it is better if opreators retain their own livery and manage their own buses while being regulated and contracted by the local government to run certain routes. It's always nicer to see a diversity of colour schemes (and also induce competition among opreators to bring about the best of service standards). However, I would like to say that the "Bee Network" livery still looks eye-catching and a lot better-designed than the GCM livery in Singapore 🤣

[@glitchFan2428]

I too prefer the many different colours, although I feel the plain unified livery is pretty similar to Singapore's though hahha

[@powernetworker6526]

Honestly I agree that the kaleidoscope of colours is pleasant, but bus services across the UK have seen faarrr too many cuts and service reductions since privatisation, with companies Using low profits as an excuse for poor service (which may be true, but still sucks for passengers) Like I say, I personally love privatised liveries, but the system really needs a shake up so maybe this is for the best ~[^_^]~

[@peternolan4854]

The face of the busshhould be in a colour tor that bus number

[@starbeeplusnile3043]

Is arriva and stagecoach doing the same or just diamond north west

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

I'm from London and I can not say that I am a fan of these vehicle livery changes in a single liveried vehicle design. Imo this is just one step towards fully-nationalising the bus industry in the UK which would only lead to the same failures as in the 1950s & 1960s where services declined and did not recover at all under government ownership until deregulation and privatisation between 1989-1994. Here in London the rules are so strict that even if you break just one rule you can loose a contract to operate a service which is what is thought to of happened to Go-Ahead which used a single-door vehicle from route X26 and used it on route 293 for one day due to a vehicle shortage and then they subsequently lost the contract to operate the 293 service to RATP Dev London. It is also worth noting that they are planning on bringing out a unified livery scheme to Liverpool which also includes a standard interior design (unlike London) which I think looks better than the GM one but I'm still no fan of either...

[@glitchFan2428]

Oh wow that is indeed strict, I bet the enthusiasts loved the rare working though... Well over in Singapore where they practice the same kind of franchising, most new production batch buses have the same government corporate coloured interior scheme of grey and light blue which is getting boring really quickly. As enthusiasts I think we prefer variety as it's what makes the hobby more interesting.

[@3asonchan]

uk enthus : eh cameo!

[@mitchellhurd9300]

Seriously??? Because a single-door bus had to be used on a bus route in London due to a vehicle shortage, it meant the contract was lost? How ridiculous!

[@sgpublictransport34956]

This very similar to the Bus Contracting Model in Singapore but instaed of a Lush green livery, its Honey yellow. And in my opinion, when their BCM starts, maybe but some buses in that yellow livery while the rest retain their original livery or just get repainted when they are leased to other operators. So instead of going to Manchester and seeing yellow buses all day, you can see the buses in their different liveries!

[@glitchFan2428]

It will take time for the buses to be repainted to yellow, just like Singapore taking time repainting buses to green

[@sgpublictransport34956]

@@glitchFan2428 hmm.. maybe your right

[@glitchFan2428]

It's been like 7 years since BCM in Singapore was launched and there are still tons of buses in their operator liveries yet to be repainted. Some of them like the Scania K230UB which is being gradually retired, will probably never see the light of lush green

[@3asonchan]

​@@glitchFan2428 I think LG look very cursed on kub so they repaint sbst livery

[@stthecat3935]

I was almost tricked into thinking that the B8Ls were moved to SBS from the thumbnail lol

[@glitchFan2428]

But SBS don't have yellow bus leh 🤔🤔

[@stthecat3935]

@@glitchFan2428 No but somehow the bus in the thumbnail looks slightly more greenish than yellow

[@hoszeching4290]

Is it just me that spotted throughout the whole video there is no bendies ? I thought UK has bendies ?

[@glitchFan2428]

Bendies are incredibly rare in the UK, there isn't a single one in regular service in Greater Manchester.

[@hoszeching4290]

@@glitchFan2428 ahh I see... Thanks so much for clarifying maxson...

[@Gareth2219]

Great video but i think your voice could have been a little bit louder. Your voice is always muffled due to the engines haha

[@glitchFan2428]

Thanks, wow I turned down the bus engine noises 3 times in the edit already, seems like I have to do some more 😅

[@danielrussell446]

Shame it’s not the old Manchester red and cream

[@იან]

With the disaster that is the BCM in Singapore, I am not willing to bet and put my trust in any governmental authority to run any public bus transportation. However since this is the UK and not Singapore, only time will tell if the QOL of their public transport improves. Also uniformity is cancer and should be struck down at all costs. Nobody deserves to live in such a plain, uniform, conformed, soulless city

[@glitchFan2428]

I would agree with the part of uniformity tbh haha I prefer individual colours

[@იან]

@@glitchFan2428 True, just like Hong Kong. (A bit unfortunate that the NWFB brand is retiring in a few months' time)

[@glitchFan2428]

@@იან hmmm not very familiar with HK buses at the moment but I've seen some interesting things on social media like their green electric bus

[@იან]

@@glitchFan2428 They still even have flipdot EDS buses too!

[@lrvproductions]

Well this is nearly the end of different bus liveries.

[@glitchFan2428]

History repeating itself

[@MrColinTheBusDriver]

Many unified colour scheme

[@glitchFan2428]

U mean many different colour schemes or the fact that many places have unified colour schemes?

[@MrColinTheBusDriver]

@@glitchFan2428 Many different colour schemes

[@glitchFan2428]

Ahh I see

[@iDislikeAlotofThings]

I don't like the Bee Network livery, it's just matte yellow with just the operator logo and the bee network logo. A sea of colours is better than plain matte yellow.

[@glitchFan2428]

Well as an enthusiast I would be inclined to agree with you 😶

[@theBusManiac]

I would rather different colours but if it stops operators with this ghastly rainbow 🌈 pride branding then will happily accept a unified colour. Just don't put that hideous speech bubble on the front window please!

[@ne270]

Grow up James