With the £2.00 single fare in full swing on our buses, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go to some weird and wonderful places for the price of a red top tabloid’s holiday offer. As well as offering great savings on a bog-standard journey from Preston to Walton-le-Dale, it offers potential for lengthier trips if you don’t mind travelling at a more leisurely pace.
Continue reading “The Trans-Pennine Ten Pound Challenge”
Three months on from the start of Greater Manchester’s £2.00 fare scheme, the Department for Transport began a similar scheme at the start of this month. In many parts of the UK, a £2.00 bus trip typically covers six stops. Outside Greater London, a five mile journey could be as high as £4.70 one way, encouraging many passengers to plump for the operator’s day rover tickets or season tickets.
Continue reading “Terrific Two Quid Bus Trip Tips”
In a year’s time, there will be quite a buzz in our city region as The Bee Network takes shape. Firstly, the Metrolink trams will have a slightly different livery. Secondly, there will also be (bee?) hireable yellow bikes in our city centre.
Continue reading “Greater Manchester’s Bee Network: New Livery and New Buses by 2023”
In three months time, Greater Manchester will take a step closer towards re-regulating its buses. Though franchised operations will commence in 2025, it has taken back control of some of its bus fares.
Continue reading “Greater Manchester’s Bus Fare Deal: £2.00 Singles from September 2022”
Take one single train ticket, then add the most powerful elected mayor outside of London. Introduce another single train ticket for a journey within Greater London. Simmer for 24 hours or more on social media then add to existing North-South Divide and Us Versus London arguments till the end of time.
Continue reading “Greater Manchester’s Rail Fares: An Un-Fare Advantage?”
I could think of several ways of spending half an hour of my leisure time. One is listening to the entire ‘B’ side of Foxtrot, Genesis’ 1972 LP which includes the magnificent Supper’s Ready. Another is sitting on a 216 bus or tram bound for Manchester city centre. By opting for the latter, I unearthed a little gem in Ellie Harrison’s production, Bus Regulation The Musical.
Continue reading “Bus Regulation The Musical: The Review”
Next month, the people of Greater Manchester will be involved in a far-reaching consultation to transform the city region’s bus routes.
Continue reading “Have Your Say on Bus Franchising in Greater Manchester”
Greater Manchester is one step closer to seeing off Nicholas Ridley’s free market experiment. A free market experiment that has seen a 45% drop in bus patronage in Greater Manchester. An experiment which has seen swingeing cuts to the city region’s bus routes and the shotgun divorce of GM Buses in 1994.
Continue reading “Our Network: Tameside’s Future Transport Network in Greater Manchester”“The Free Market Experiment” – officially known as The Transport Act 1985 – stated that competition would benefit all bus passengers. This was based on the precedent set by The Transport Act 1980. By the end of that year, the state-owned National Bus Company would see competition from private coach operators. The launch of British Coachways, a private sector consortium, would introduce more choice and competition for passengers. Within two years, National Express saw off the British Coachways consortium with its fares and integrated network.
Continue reading “What’s Eating Into Greater Manchester’s Bus Network?”
There are two transport related footnotes which have had a great effect on my near forty-year existence as a child of the universe. The first one was the early years of bus deregulation, which has been well documented on this blog (as My Life in the Company of Buses). The second one, which I haven’t mentioned till now, was the split of GM Buses into GMS Buses and GM Buses North.
Continue reading “Andy Burnham: The Free Market Has Failed Greater Manchester’s Buses”
East of the M60 