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Bee Network: fares and ticketing announcement

30 Jun 2023

To mark the three month milestone until the transformational Bee Network starts, a number of new announcements on fares and ticketing have been revealed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham

Bee Network

For anyone using public transport in Greater Manchester, the beginning of the Bee Network is nearly here. The first Bee Network buses will start operating in parts of Greater Manchester from 24 September 2023.

Eventually the Bee Network will be your one-stop shop for all journeys using public transport and active travel (walking, cycling, or wheeling) making them simpler, more accessible, more reliable, more sustainable, and better value with capped fares and flexible tickets.

The key to making the Bee Network a reality is Greater Manchester's buses coming back under local control, which starts from September this year. You might start to see a splash of yellow on buses, stops, and shelters soon. 

Here are some good things you can ‘Say yellow’ to…

  • New combined tram and bus tickets to cut the cost of travel when bus services come under local control for the first time in nearly 40 years in September 2023.
  • The current low-cost, capped single, daily, and weekly bus fares extended until September 2024.
  • Operators confirmed to run second phase of locally controlled franchised bus services from March 2024.
  • Greater Manchester to become first area outside London to pilot contactless touch-in/touch-out travel on some local train services in 2025.

The move to a simplified, integrated and lower-cost fare structure is a key part of the Bee Network, supporting a high volume, low fare transport system, which will transform the way people travel across the city region.