Greater Manchester’s Yellow Buses Through The Ages

From Bee Line Buzz Company to the Rochdale Runners

As we know that Greater Manchester’s franchised buses will be in yellow and black, it is worth noting that yellow buses are far from novel in our City Region. Historically, they have orange and white, white, orange and brown, and several other colours before then. None of them being in yellow till The Bee Line Buzz Company came on to the scene.

The Future’s Yellow: 2024 Start for Greater Manchester’s Publicly Controlled Buses

Bus Franchising Scheme to begin a year earlier than expected

Greater Manchester’s Bus Franchising Scheme is set to start a year earlier than anticipated. With the pandemic, it was envisaged that franchised operations would begin in Sub-Area A in 2023, with Sub-Areas B and C following suit in 2024 and 2025. This morning [10 May 2021], it was announced that a fully franchised bus network will be in operation by 2024.

What Colour for Greater Manchester’s Buses

Is the future orange and white or pink with yellow spots?

Unless we know different by the end of May, we shall be bracing ourselves for a new era of franchised bus operations by 2025. There will be endless chat on social media and blogs as to what bus routes will change, the fares, the cost of running the whole thing, and fun things like the livery.

Franchised Buses Get The Green Light

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham goes for Bus Franchising Scheme

Nearly four years after he was elected as Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham stuck to his pledge to reform Greater Manchester’s buses. Following a second consultation, he made his announcement at 1440 beside Stand E of Ashton-under-Lyne Interchange. The Free Trade Experiment with Greater Manchester’s buses will be consigned to history in four years time.

Gimme (Flexi) 5! Stagecoach Greater Manchester Introduces Flexible Season Ticket

New flexible season ticket offers five days unlimited travel on Stagecoach Greater Manchester buses for the price of four days travel

Over the lockdown period, working from home has become the norm for white collar workers. Some of which have previously paid for seven-day, 14-day, monthly and annual season tickets for local buses, trams and trains. For some people, spending two days in the office and three days working from home has taken over from doing five daily commutes. Owing to this trend, the days of ‘traditional’ season tickets are numbered.

Tameside and Glossop Bus Service Changes, 26 January 2020

Traffic chaos curtails 150 route

• 150 route curtailed to begin in Gorton;
• Retiming tweaks for 389 and 350 routes.

As is the norm for the January set of changes, the first set of bus service changes of 2020 is a sedate affair. If you live in Stalybridge or Ashton-under-Lyne, only two routes are subject to minimal service changes. If you live in Hyde and fancy a trip to the intu Trafford Centre – or Chorlton-cum-Hardy, there is one change that doesn’t make for good reading.

Old Trafford Match Bus Reinstated

Temporary restoration of 255F route in time for Manchester United versus Aston Villa

Though players and managers may come and go, the same can seldom be said with bus routes. On Sunday, the 255F match bus from Piccadilly Gardens to Old Trafford will be reinstated on a trial basis.

Publicly Controlled Buses: A 2020 Vision of Greater Manchester’s Franchised Bus Network

East of the M60 looks at how Greater Manchester’s buses will be franchised

On the 14 October (this coming Monday), the people of Greater Manchester will be able to take back control of their local bus network. From this day forward, Transport for Greater Manchester and the Office of the Mayor of Greater Manchester (using powers vested under the Greater Manchester Devolution Agreement) will open a public consultation. This will last until the 08 January 2020.

Bury and Rochdale Bus Service Changes, 27 October 2019

Special Report: Transdev’s radical renumbering of local buses in Bury and Rochdale

• Bury and Rochdale local services renumbered;
• Plus tweaks to other bus routes in Rochdale and Bury.

For the first time in East of the M60‘s existence, we shall be looking at the service changes affecting Bury and Rochdale passengers. As many of our blog’s regular readers are based in Oldham and Tameside, we mainly focus on bus services in those two areas. Owing to the scale of the service changes in Bury and Rochdale, they are worthy of acknowledgement due to the ramifications this may have on Greater Manchester’s bus network.

Tameside and Glossop Bus Service Changes, 27 October 2019

Welcome return for Hyde – Tintwistle – Glossop bus route

• 397 service revived after eight year gap;
• 396 rerouting in Smallshaw and Hurst?
• Tweaks to 409’s daytime service.

If you have read about FirstGroup’s changes for the Oldham and Saddleworth area, you will be happy to find that the latest service changes in Tameside and Glossop makes for calmer reading.