Widespread improvements are coming to bus services in every part of Greater Manchester later this year. Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has revealed 36 service changes, the most significant and wide-ranging upgrades to the Bee Network since bus franchising was completed in January last year.

It comes after the Mayor gave a major update yesterday on plans to deliver a decade of good growth in Greater Manchester, backed by at least £500m of investment from the National Wealth Fund, taking the GM Good Growth Fund to almost £2bn.

Only made possible by bringing buses back under local control, the improvements include:

• 24-hour night buses throughout Greater Manchester: Five new night buses will bring a 24-hour service to parts of the region that haven’t previously had them, including in Oldham, Stockport, Tameside and Trafford. Alongside the continuation of existing night bus services, it means the Bee Network will provide round-the-clock connectivity in all 10 boroughs (Thursday – Saturday), providing support for 625,400 people in jobs that operate late into the night* and helping them, and those enjoying everything Greater Manchester’s nightlife has to offer, to get home safely.
• Brand new services: Three new bus services will better connect residents from Woodford Garden Village to Stockport town centre; from Ashton, Stalybridge and communities around Dukinfield to Hyde and from Wigan and St Helens via Abram, Golborne and Newton-le-Willows.
• Better connections to key employment/visitor destinations such as Manchester Airport, Kingsway Business Park in Rochdale, Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, MediaCity in Salford and the Trafford Centre. Logistics North in Bolton will also see its bus timetables amended to better align with shift patterns.
• More buses during the day, evening and weekends. These include more frequent buses on the route linking Middleton, Stakehill Industrial Park, Rochdale town centre and Kingsway Business Park; on services between Partington and Manchester city centre; between Oldham, Failsworth and Hollinwood and Manchester city centre and those connecting Bury with Bolton, Rochdale and Salford. Additional capacity is also being provided to accommodate the passenger growth being seen on the busiest Bee Network services, including Oxford Road, one of Europe’s busiest bus corridors.

The interventions announced today, subject to final costing and approval, are planned to be implemented during the 2026/27 financial year.

They have been shaped by feedback from local residents and passengers and build on the more than 80 improvements already delivered through bus franchising as the Bee Network continues to play a key role in powering Greater Manchester’s £100 billion economy, which is growing faster than the UK average. 

The changes will deliver significant benefits for communities right across the city-region, connecting people to jobs and opportunities and attracting more people on to the bus network – a key priority in the Greater Manchester Strategy. 

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:

“These changes will benefit people right across Greater Manchester. They have come about as a direct result of your feedback and support for the Bee Network and have been made possible by the decision we took to bring our buses back under local control. 

“By expanding Bee Network night buses to every borough, and providing more frequent services to key employment locations, we are creating more ways for people to access jobs and opportunities across the region.

“This is just the start. As we continue to lead the way on economic growth, so will we continue to lead the way on transforming the Bee Network, setting us up for another decade of good growth so that everyone in Greater Manchester can live a good life.”

(Picture: TfGM)