Buzzing around Greater Manchester
Part Two
14 July 2024
ABOVE: Stagecoach Manchester 11271 (SN69 ZGG), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, passes along the Rochdale Road in Royton, working a Bee Network service on route 409 from Rochdale to Ashton-under-Lyne via Oldham. All photos in this article were taken on Saturday 29 June 2024, except where otherwise stated.
I'm looking at how the Bee Network is changing the face of buses in Greater Manchester, and my chosen way of doing this is to make a circuit, by bus, of the region outside the city of Manchester itself. I want to complete the circuit in a day and I have so far traversed from Bolton, via Wigan, Leigh and The Trafford Centre to Stockport. All this is described in Part One.
The day has become rather tight, and I've actually already failed in one part of my mission - to avoid the city of Manchester itself - but I don't realise this until I'm at home drawing up the map of my route for this website!
My first encounter with The Bee Network is actually a couple of days earlier, when I arrive in Chorley, Lancashire, and spot a Bee Network bus heading for Wigan on route 632. Chorley is one of those 'border' towns as far as buses are concerned, I think, with buses from the north (Preston Buses and the Blackburn Bus Company), Stagecoach principally from the west, and the aforementioned Bee Network from the south.
Twenty four hours after that first encounter, I'm actually riding on a 632 from Wigan back into Chorley - my first actual ride on a Bee Network bus. That's part of another ludicrous adventure that I'll have to save for another day...
ABOVE: On Friday 28 June 2024, Go North West ADL Enviro200 MMC 4117 (SK73 CSO) is on Shepherds Way in Chorley, and is about to do a circuit of Chorley Bus Interchange in order to gain entry, having worked route 632 from Wigan.
A couple of days later finds me in Bury, and I decide to pop over to Ramsbottom, which is only 20 or 25 minutes away on the 472 / 474 circulars (and these really are circulars - they run opposite ways around a loop from Bury, with the 472 going anti-clockwise via Walmersley, Ramsbottom and Holcombe Brook, and the 474 taking the clockwise route). My 474 from Bury is an ageing Volvo B7RLE Wright Eclipse 2 single-decker, still in Go North West colours. Most of the buses, though, are Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 double-deckers in Bee Network livery.
ABOVE: Go North West 3283 (LX60 DWU), a Volvo B9TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 2, passes Park Farm, on the Manchester Road north of Walmersley, whilst working circular route 472 from Bury to Ramsbottom. It's Sunday 30 June 2024.
Everywhere you look, there is evidence of the Bee Network taking hold.
And a journey into Manchester, also from Bury but on a different day, shows me how old and new buses alike are gaining the livery - and it suits them all!
ABOVE: YT09 BJV (left), a Scania N230UD OmniCity, is now with Stagecoach Manchester, which has numbered it 15381. It was previously with Go North West as its 3614, but started its life with RATP London United as SP 65. It is seen here working Bee Network route 135 (Bury to Manchester). On the right is Stagecoach 11833 (YX24 PHK), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, also on the 135, new to / for the Bee Network. The location is the Walker Road stop on Bury Old Road, near Prestwich, and it's Tuesday 2 July 2024.
And even those that are not in the full livery are clearly operating on the Network, with Bee Network stickers applied to confirm allegiance.
ABOVE: Not yet fully dressed for the Bee Network, but with appropriate stickers for anyone in any doubt, is 16852 (MX58 EBL), transferred from Go North West to Stagecoach Manchester, and working route 98 from Bury on Tuesday 2 July 2024. It is seen outside the Longfield Centre in Prestwich.
But back to my journey; I have taken a short-cut and reached Stockport at 1454 - I estimate that it would have been 1645 if I had stuck to my original plan. Over 310,000 people live in Stockport. In the 18th century, Wikipedia tells us that the town had one of the first mechanised silk factories in the British Isles. Stockport was also at the centre of the country's hat industry, which by 1884 was exporting more than six million hats a year. The town's football club, Stockport County, is consequently nicknamed "The Hatters".
ABOVE: Stagecoach Manchester 11811 (SK24 CKE), passes along Wellington Road North in Stockport, with the town vista laid out behind. Unfortunately the route details have been lost from the photo. On the right is the historic "Midland Pub", which was reportedly threatened with demolition a few years ago to accommodate a cycle path. Yes, you read that right - a CYCLE PATH!
The old Stockport Bus Station closed in 2021 and the new Interchnage opened in March 2024 (not April as I said in Part One - now corrected). A temporary bus station plugged the gap adjacent to Heaton Lane car park. I recall that it had about six stands, with other services being dispersed around the town's streets. You can still see where it was...
ABOVE: The site of the temporary Bus Station in Stockport, adjacent to the Heaton Lane car park. Buses pulled into six "sawtooth"-style bays in the centre of the picture. More Stagecoach and Bee Network buses can be seen on Wellington Roasd North just to the right of the picture.
The new Bus Interchange is a much more substantial affair. As well as 18 stands, it is reportedly "Metrolink-ready", should the Manchester Metrolink tram ever be extended to the town, as has been proposed on a number of occasions.
On the roof of the building is a landscaped park / community space, circling the main bus parking area:
This of course provides a wonderful bird's eye view of the Bus Station beneath:
ABOVE: Eight buses can be seen in this view from the "Tissue Box" above Stockport Interchange. Front left is Stagecoach Manchester 11808 (SK24 CKA), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, which has just brought me in from The Trafford Centre on route 25. Next to that is similar 11840 (YX24 PJJ), on route 203 to Central Manchester. Stagecoach is the dominant operator here, but that may change when Metroline moves in on Tranche Three of the Network's implementation.
Because of the oval-shape of the cut-away, the Interchange has apparently already been nicknamed "The Tissue Box"! One can see why, especially if one looks at the stunning aerial photograph in this Manchester Evening News article.
The Bus Station itself is modern, airy and spacious (more spacious than I have made it look in this photograph):
As I board my next bus and it reverses off the stand, I get a decent perspective of the railway viaduct, the new apartment block and the bus parking area:
ABOVE: In the foreground is Stagecoach Manchester 19346 (MX08 UCS), an ADL Enviro400, which will shortly pick up a route 11 working to Altrincham - one of the ones that got away!
Time to get back to my circuit of Greater Manchester. I'm taking the 330 to Ashton-under-Lyne. As I recorded in Part One, I wasn't quite sure whether the previous bus, on route 25, was part of the Bee Network at this stage or not. The 330 is definitely not. It's currently a Stagecoach Manchester service operated with ADL Enviro400 MMCs.
When I passed through a couple of years ago I had quite a hunt to find the right stop to board, but the new Bus Interchange has made it much easier today.
The M60 motorway (the Manchester Outer Ring Road) passes through the centre of Stockport, and junction 27 is on the edge of town, at the Portwood Roundabout. This is a vast roundabout, and our bus has to turn right onto the Carrington Road. But a handy cut-through has been provided for buses only, to save them circumnavigating the whole roundabout. Curiosity here is that there was a Wesleyan Chapel on the site of this roundabout, built in 1846 and demolished in the 1950s, after which the stones were removed "for safety reasons". Six soldiers from World War I rest here, and a permanent memorial was unveiled to them in 2022 (see article).
ABOVE: The Portwood Roundabout, outside Stockport Town Centre, sees Stagecoach Manchester 11738 (YX73 OXT), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, approaching the town at the end of a run from Ashton-under-Lyne. In front of me is the Bus Lane which allows my bus to cut right across the 'bottom right' quadrant of the roundabout, emerging where the green lorry can be seen and heading down the road beyond. On such a large roundabout, this priority lane probably saves several minutes, even if the traffic isn't heavy.
This 1514 departure on route 330 through the south-eastern suburbs of Greater Manchester is delivered at frantic pace by a driver who is in a blistering hurry. My notes record that he runs two red lights (right turns on both of them) and is the only driver I have sees in Greater Manchester to ignore the 5mph limit in one of their Bus Stations - Hyde in this case.
ABOVE: Stagecoach Manchester 10586 (SN16 OUB), another ADL Enviro400 MMC, on the approaches to Bredbury.
There is noticeably less yellow around - this is the area that the Bee Network has yet to significantly penetrate. All that will change in January 2025 when Phase Three of the scheme is introduced.
Despite the frantic drive, the bus arrives three minutes late, at 1602. It's been a quiet run, and there's been no obvious cause of delay. If a driver has to drive the way this one did in order to keep to the timetable, then the timetable is probably too tight. It will be interesting to see if anything changes when the Bee Network takes over. There's a temporary "summer" timetable being introduced on this route from 21 July. Whilst the frequency is reduced from every 12 minutes to every 15, the journey time increases from 45 to 49 minutes - interesting.
ABOVE: Another quartet of Stagecoach Manchester buses - none part of the Bee Network - has gathered at the Ashton-under-Lyne Bus Station. Left is 10587 (SN16 OUC), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, which must have been the next one after the one that brought me from Stockport on route 330. Nearest the camera on the right is MX58 FUB, an ADL Enviro400, on frequent route 216 from the City Centre, one of three buses on route 216 that all arrived at Ashton Interchange at the same time as I did. A similar vehicle, also on the 216, is in front, as another Enviro400, escapes from the Bus Station in front of those. This scene might look very different in six months' time.
At Ashton I had been planning to catch the 350 to Oldham - one of the most picturesque routes I know - but time considerations (again) push me to the 409 towards Rochdale. We're suddenly back on the Network and I'm on another 24-reg ADL Enviro400 MMC. The presence of a Ticketer machine disguises the fact that this is a Stagecoach-provided service, and I have to check the legal lettering when I get off to confirm this.
So it looks as though the Bee Network is requiring Stagecoach to adopt Ticketer machines instead of its preferred VIX TP5800, unless this is just a bus that has been transferred from another operator. My ticket is read easily, showing again that the Bee Network is removing borders between operators to make a seamless operation. There are display screens on this bus but one of the adverts is for something that is available "until 9 June", and it's now three weeks after that.
ABOVE: Manchester Metrolink tram 3131 is about to cross in front of us at Oldham King Street, as a Stagecoach Manchester ADL Enviro400 waits whilst working route 76 (Oldham to Manchester Piccadilly).
The 409 calls into Oldham Bus Station, where the 350 would have dropped me, but has taken a much faster route - 24 minutes via Hathershaw instead of 84 minutes via a much more convoluted route! So I'm another hour to the good (plus an extra 15 minutes' waiting time has been avoided) and feeling that the completion of my circuit might now be achievable.
ABOVE: Stagecoach Manchester 11255 (SN69 ZFP), leads a fellow 409 across the Broadway / Shaw Road junction with Oldham Road in Royton.
From here it was always going to be the 409, and another 28 minutes brings us to Rochdale.
ABOVE: At least eight buses are in view at Rochdale Interchange, including (left) Stagecoach Manchester 11263 (SN69 ZFY), an ADL Enviro400 MMC, parking up for a break before another route 17 trip to Manchester City Centre, and (to our right, foreground) First Manchester 58012 (WR24 AZZ), a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mellor Strata on route 447 to Wallbank. Behind that is the only non-Bee Network bus in evidence, an Optare Versa on Rosso route 464 to Accrington. Five more Bee Network buses (yes, there are five, if you look closely enough!) complete the scene.
Again I have had to amend my plans. I had intended to take the 467 or 468 to Bury, and then the 511, which does a slightly twisty back-street route from there to Bolton. But, again for time reasons, as it's gone five, I have abandoned this in favour of a more direct route.
But I do get to ride the 467, in the opposite direction, a day later. The route is operated with 24-reg Volvo B8RLE MCV Evoras - solid single-decker buses with big windows, if not great legroom.
If included in my circuit, this would have been my first FIrst Manchester route operating under Bee Network colours (First picked up some smaller contracts in Tranche Two). Of course, First's presence in this region is a shadow of what it was until a few years ago when, as one of the dominant operators in the city, it pulled out of everything in the region except its Oldham depot. It then lost Oldham to Stagecoach as part of the Bee Network changes, but took over the former Rosso (Transdev) depot in Rochdale (are you keeping up)?
ABOVE: On Sunday 30 June 2024, First Manchester 69632 (BV24 LTU), a Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, is at Rochdale Interchange between trips on route 467 from Bury. Alongside is Stagecoach Manchester 11804 (SK24 CJV), awaiting departure on route 17 to Manchester.
The silver lining is that I am now about to board a direct bus to Bolton, to finish my circuit. This is the 471, which runs via Bury and will take about an hour-and-a-quarter. We're right up to date here with ADL Enviro400 EVs from Go North West. This bus has audio next stop announcements. There is a display screen as well but it's not working.
I'm the first person at the stop for the 1710 departure from Rochdale Interchange, but will not be the first to board. As the bus pulls in, three seemingly pre-teen children come out of nowhere and walk straight to the bus. They try to squeeze on before the passengers from the previous trip have even got off (single door buses prevail in Manchester) and have to be turfed off by the driver. They then try to jump on again when the passengers have all left, but the driver wants a moment to himself first. When he does open up, there's no stopping them, and they're straight up the stairs to the front seats. Another family group of three barges past me while I wait behind the gate for people to alight, but I manage to reassert my place ahead of that group at least. Manners aren't a strong point here, by the look of things.
The kids play their loud music and exchange a few profanities, as well as taking a few gasps from their vapes. I suppose I should be glad that the canned tin of drink they have is a soft one. I wonder where the parents of feral youths like these are, and where they think their children are.
Thankfully they leave quickly, before Heywood, and I am able to secure the front seat for the rest of the way. Unfortunately another enemy decides to return at this point - the rain. It has left me alone since Leigh, but now it's back with a vengeance.
ABOVE: A Go North West Volvo B5LH MCV EvoSeti passes Heywood Library, and the fabulous Parish Church of St Luke, on route 163 from Bury to Manchester
The 471 is a busy service, running every 12 minutes. The major intermediate point of the route is Bury. We call in at the large interchange here but are soon on the move again.
ABOVE: Go North West 2047 (LG73 FXV), a BYD D8UR-DD ADL Enviro400EV, in Bolton Street, Bury, working route 471 towards Rochdale.
The bus gets pretty busy from here, and the half-hour journey to Bolton sees more and more people joining, so it's a well-loaded bus that gives me a first view of the Interchange here:
ABOVE: Bolton Interchange, and the University beyond
And at 1824 - two minutes behind schedule - the 471 pulls into Bolton Interchange, and my circuit - which began at 0925 - has been successfully completed.
It has taken one minute shy of nine hours in total. I haven't covered as much ground as planned - my decision to short-cut the Trafford to Stockport leg by not going via Altrincham is particularly vexing; my having since realised that I strayed into Manchester as a result, if not the City Centre. I spent a lot of time making the detour via Wigan - 137 minutes in total to Leigh, when I probably should have just taken the 582 direct to Leigh in 34 minutes!
But we are where we are. I have circumnavigated Manchester, and I've seen a lot of interesting sights (and lots of rain) in the process! A good day, if tiring.
ABOVE: From Beeline to Bee Network: a mix of colours for Go North West 4567 (YX63 LLG). As well as the dominant red livery, a hint of First coroprate colours can be seen at roof level. This bus was new to First Beeline in Berkshire. It is working Bolton local route 534.
And what of the Bee Network? I know it had a few issues in its first weeks, but it seems to be settling down nicely into a coherent operation. It's noticeable that one cannot easily tell which operator is running a service, and encouraging to see that my ticket's QR Code could be read by any bus, regardless of operator. Exactly as it should be.
Not all of the buses are yet painted in Network colours, but that will take place over time. I'm not a huge fan of the slightly bland yellow livery, with no relief of any kind - very like the bland London red livery that we now endure. However, the yellow one is growing on me.
Whilst Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has aspirations for his buses to emulate those in London, I hope he doesn't aspire to that model too rigidly. London's operation is inefficient. It's slow to react to changing circumstances, it's allowing standards to fall, and it is having all the resilience stripped out of it. London's patronage is dropping and the network is falling into a circle of decline.
By contrast, early indications are that the Bee Network is growing its customer base. It is thinking about its image and is creating a strong network, as well as investing heavily in new buses. Standards are good - there's a common uniform and the logo appears everywhere, including on bus tickets. I didn't see a single bus running around without a route number or destination display, for example - the same cannot be said for London.
When Tranche Three is in place early in 2025 (with Metroline as the lead operator for that tranche - I didn't see that coming), and all buses are yellow, I think it will be a stronger brand than London. I hope that other Mayors who fancy franchising their buses will start to look to Manchester, rather than London, as the model to follow.
ABOVE: Diamond Bus North West 20608 (YY73 OXS), an ADL Enviro200 MMC, on the Bolton Road just outside Bury.
I'll be back in Greater Manchester after Tranche Three goes live. I might do another circuit - but more carefully planned to fit into the hours available next time! And I really must stay somewhere on the route next time - again, I had around an hour's travel each way outside of the circuit itself, making for an eleven-and-a-half-hour day in total (0805 - 1935)!
BELOW: An approximation of the second half of my circuit, including the planned deviations that I turned down
BELOW: My full circuit, as completed
