West midlands bus franchising

[Stu]

Have the total and ongoing costs of franchising in Manchester been revealed?

The other pertinent question to be answered is has franchising bus services in Manchester made them more reliable?

[B7RLE]

The other pertinent question to be answered is has franchising bus services in Manchester made them more reliable?

As someone who has multiple friends from different areas of Greater Manchester, I can confirm the answer to this is no

[ellspurs]

I went through Manchester (on my way to Glasgow) on Tuesday. I barely saw any of the yellow buses. Have they not franchised the area that covers the city centre/airport yet?

[B7RLE]

I went through Manchester (on my way to Glasgow) on Tuesday. I barely saw any of the yellow buses. Have they not franchised the area that covers the city centre/airport yet?

The south of Greater Manchester (south of the city) is set to be franchised in early 2025 - that includes the airport area

[ellspurs]

Ah, okay. That would explain the lack of yellow buses. Thank you.

[frostjay974]

As someone who has multiple friends from different areas of Greater Manchester, I can confirm the answer to this is no

It would be better if you went there and tested the services yourself before saying that. 

[Tony]

It would be better if you went there and tested the services yourself before saying that.

The biggest problem in Manchester is traffic seems even worse than Birmingham. If I go up there in the morning peak looking for specific buses to photo most of them seem to arrive in Central Manchester 20-30 minutes late. Franchising does nothing to help that. It seems Manchester is even more in need of Bus Priority than Birmingham is.

[Rachvince53]

The south of Greater Manchester (south of the city) is set to be franchised in early 2025 - that includes the airport area

I went through Manchester (on my way to Glasgow) on Tuesday. I barely saw any of the yellow buses. Have they not franchised the area that covers the city centre/airport yet?

Yes. The franchises have gone to Diamond North West and Metroline. The yellow buses for Metroline are currently in store, some in Cardiff I understand. 

[B7RLE]

It would be better if you went there and tested the services yourself before saying that.

I hear everyday about struggles with Bee Network services, across a wide range of them. I have also been up there once and I witnessed a convoy of vehicles on the 135, 59 and 409. 3 of the 6 routes that I rode on that day.

[ellspurs]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c86qy500545o

More info about moneys being distributed across the country for bus networks.