Diamond Bus North West and Go North West will operate the home-to-school services that are part of the third and final tranche of franchising rollout in Greater Manchester, Transport for Greater Manchester has confirmed.
That will begin on 5 January 2025 and broadly capture the south and east of the city region. Rotala subsidiary Diamond Bus North West has gained seven contracts and Go North West two, covering a total of 37 schools.
The awards mean that only one small operator – Vision Bus – will be active within the Bee Network franchised regime when rollout is complete. It gained home-to-school services via the first tranche. In total, six operators will deliver franchised services in the conurbation.
Transport for Greater Manchester says that under the home-to-school services awarded via the third tranche of franchising, there will be no changes to schools served or the number of buses required.
Director of Bus Stephen Rhodes adds: “Awarding the last round of franchised contracts for school services is a major milestone towards delivering the Bee Network. We are absolutely committed to delivering regular, reliable services to ensure that they meet the needs of pupils who will be relying on them to get to and from school.
“We have made performance and reliability a key part of the contract award to deliver this positive change. We look forward to working with Diamond Bus North West and Go North West over the coming months as we prepare to deliver the completion of bus franchising on 5 January 2025.”
Diamond Bus North West will add the tranche three home-to-school awards to the regular service work it took up earlier in the franchising process.
Says Executive Director Bob Dunn: “We are pleased to have been awarded a further seven franchises within Greater Manchester, meaning that by next year, we will be operating 18 small or school bus franchises.
“We are currently working hard making preparations for January and we look forward to meeting our new customers and colleagues early next year.”
Go North West is already a significant player via successes in the first round of bus franchising in Greater Manchester. Managing Director Nigel Featham says: “We are delighted to be awarded additional contracts and look forward to working closely with Transport for Greater Manchester to deliver high quality school bus transport.
“These contracts add to our existing large franchise work that we operate at depots in Bolton and Wigan. We have an exceptional team at Go North West and are proud of the quality of services we provide for passengers.”
