Franchised bus services in Greater Manchester will run more efficiently and effectively than those provided via the deregulated approach, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has claimed. It comes as the body counts down the final month until the rollout of the first franchising tranche, in Bolton and Wigan, on 24 September.
To support its statement, TfGM says that the operational cost of franchised routes will be less “than those recently funded by TfGM after they were withdrawn by operators.”
Those words come against a growing backdrop of industry figures involved in franchise preparation and tendering in Greater Manchester to question TfGM’s grasp of the cost of bus operation, and its capacity to oversee a large, complex franchised network of services.
Franchised services running under the Bee Network brand will bring what Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (pictured) says are “cheaper fares, new electric buses, earlier and later running services, and improved customer information.” Each of those measures have already been achieved in multiple areas of England via partnership working.
TfGM has detailed some service improvements that will be made on 24 September under the first stage of reregulation. That will see an uplift of daytime provision along the Leigh guided busway, while earlier and later departures will be introduced on some services to better coordinate with other modes.
In addition to battery-electric buses and service improvements, 30 new TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers will patrol franchised bus services and interchanges from the same date. Their involvement will include the checking of tickets.
That forms part of “a broader strategy to tackle fare evasion across all modes of public transport in Greater Manchester.” The penalty via a standard fare for anyone travelling without a ticket on Bee Network bus or Metrolink tram services will rise to £120 from the autumn.
TfGM will launch a Bee Network app and website on 18 September. Meanwhile, six customer commitments have been developed. “They set out what people should expect from their bus journeys and if things do go wrong, or people feel that those commitments have not been met, we want people to then be able to hold transport operators and leaders to account,” says Mr Burnham.
