Andy Burnham admits Bee Network buses ‘not where we want them to be’

Andy Burnham has admitted Bee Network bus services are ‘not where we want them to be’ but has made a key promise.

The Greater Manchester mayor unexpectedly addressed all Manchester councillors directly, exactly one month after Bee Network bus franchising was completed. 

But the transition to running buses has not been smooth, the mayor has admitted. Despite the mayor’s admission, his address was met with applause from councillors on all sides.

He told councillors: “Services in Manchester were affected by tranche 2 in March 2024 and more recently by tranche 3 in January. In relation to tranche 2 [in north Manchester], I would want to say it’s not where we want it to be yet. 

“It’s still improving. That’s the same with all tranches.”

That led Mr Burnham to make a key pledge to the town hall: “I guarantee to you that these services will slowly improve as we go through 2025. The incentive is on the operators to get better.”

Although services are below his expectations, the mayor believes Bee Network buses ‘are already better than what they replaced’ in north Manchester. 

“It was 75 percent punctuality last week,” he went on. “It was low 70 percent [before the Bee Network]. We have had a lot of extra buses into routes operating from Queens Road. You will see significant improvement in that area.

“We have been working with Manchester council and GMP in Cheetham Hill to put double yellow lines and box junctions and added three more buses — and it’s started to improve.

“In the south of the borough, we have made a better star than anywhere else. Last week our data said they were as good or better than what they replaced.”

TfGM boss Danny Vaughan last week said he hoped ‘teething issues’ were ‘a thing of the past’ following a wave of complaints. TfGM’s target for bus punctuality is 80 percent, with its latest data suggesting 74.8 percent of services left on-time in the last week of January. 

The mayor also accepted there are ‘issues with school services’ but added ‘we are working on those’. Furious parents have hit out at the Bee Network in Tameside and Stockport.

“It’s disgusting, honestly,” said one furious Droylsden mum lamenting ‘horrific’ hour-long delays on the 864 bus. “We have lost £250 in lost earnings because my partner is self-employed and had to take the day off work [to drive her to school].”