A quarter of buses operating in Greater Manchester on the franchised Bee Network will be battery-electric by the end of April 2025 as part of ongoing procurement of those vehicles, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has said.
That milestone is part of several that tie in with completion of the rollout of franchising when the third tranche goes live on 5 January 2025. That will see over 250 routes including school services across the southern half of Greater Manchester come under public control.
A Freedom of Information Act response by TfGM in August disclosed that battery-electric buses had been ordered by either successful franchise operators or TfGM from Alexander Dennis, Volvo and Wrightbus. Many of those are already in service.
The Volvo purchase includes 170 BZL models that are part-funded by the Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas scheme. Those buses were intended for Stockport depot, which is part of the third tranche of franchising. However, delay in securing a site for a new operating centre for those vehicles has seen them reallocated to other parts of the Bee Network.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham recently visited one of the depots that will be operated by Metroline Manchester under the third tranche, in Wythenshawe. He notes that TfGM is looking to strike a long-term deal to source power for Bee Network trams and battery-electric buses directly from a renewable energy generator.
TfGM adds that a claimed 331 new buses will operate on tranche three routes, accounting for more than half of all vehicles required to meet PVR. That total will increase to 405 new buses, or 66% of the requirement, in April 2025.
That year will also see the start of a bus networks review process, exploring how services can better serve communities by making improvements that TfGM says “would not have been possible before franchising.”
Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester Vernon Everitt describes rollout of the third tranche of bus franchising as “herculean,” although he adds that completion of reregulation “is only the first chapter of the Bee Network story.”
Metroline Manchester has recruited what Regional CEO Patrick Sibley says is over 100 drivers, a local senior management team and more than 30 supervisory and other managerial team members ahead of the transfer.
Separately, Mr Burnham has written to Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander to make the case for eight rail lines in Greater Manchester to be brought within the Combined Authority’s oversight. He wants a firm timeline to make that happen. Doing so would “create the first fully integrated transport system outside London by 2028,” TfGM says.
