Plans for a 24/7 ‘night bus’ trial to start on some popular services in Greater Manchester have now been revealed.
Details of the long-awaited pilot have been revealed alongside the launch of ‘phase two’ of Bee Network public transport franchising in across the region this week – but, at this moment in time, the trial is still subject to “ongoing engagement, funding, and approval”, according to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
TfGM says the so-called ‘night bus’ pilot is set to launch in phase one bus areas, and is anticipated to include the V1 and 36 services.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and transport bosses at TfGM are keen to introduce 24/7 services to “supporting people working in the night time economy”, as this means customers will never miss the last bus home, whatever time of the day.
Daytime fares and tickets would apply on night services, TfGM has confirmed, so a single trip would be capped at the standard £2 fare.
"People here will have better, more frequent bus services…"
Hear from @MayorofGM, Andy Burnham who today visited Bury Interchange to mark almost one month to go until the launch of the second phase of the #BeeNetwork in Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and parts of Salford.
Services could also run hourly to “fill the gap in current provision” – which is thought to be between around 1am and 5am – seven days a week, and TfGM says it is currently in the process of working with partners to look at “the right level” of ‘TravelSafe’ support to make sure people feel as comfortable as possible on these services when it comes to their personal safety.
Andy Burnham has confirmed the trial will start “later this year”.
He added that the aim of the pilot is to “ensure that people working in hospitality, manufacturing, healthcare, or any number of other roles can get to and from work safely using public transport”.
“The details are currently being developed, and are subject to further engagement,” Mr Burnham continued, “but it will provide us with a blueprint as to what can be achieved as a part of the Bee Network in support of people in Greater Manchester.”
Plans for 24/7 ‘night bus’ trial on some services in Greater Manchester have been revealed / Credit: TfGM
As mentioned, details of the proposed 24/7 ‘night bus’ pilot have been revealed alongside the unveiling of what ‘phase two’ of the Bee Network means for Greater Manchester.
In case you’re unfamiliar, the Bee Network launched back in September of last year, and is our region’s “vision” for an integrated ‘London-style’ public transport system that “changes the way people travel” across all 10 boroughs – with the ‘phase one’ rollout bringing bright yellow buses to Bolton, Wigan, and parts of Bury and Salford.
‘Phase one’ consists of 188 bus routes, but ‘phase two’ is set to, quite literally, cover new ground.
When we launch the 2nd stage of the @BeeNetwork on 24/3, we will make improvements to your timetable.
This will include more frequent services and/or earlier and later running on the following routes: 17, 18, 52, 59, 67, 67a, 83, 97, 98, 100, 135, 350, 409, 423, 467, 468.
That’s because, on Sunday 24 March, buses in Oldham, Rochdale, and further parts of Bury, Salford, and north Manchester will come back under public control for the first time in almost 40 years.
The change will mean a total of 324 bus routes – 188 routes in ‘phase one’, and 136 routes in ‘phase two’ – totalling 50% of the bus network in Greater Manchester, will be managed TfGM as part of the Bee Network.
Services in ‘phase two’ will be operated by Stagecoach, First Group and Diamond under a franchising arrangement.
Find out more about the Bee Network on the TfGM website here.
Featured Image – TfGM
News
A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure
Danny Jones
Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.
The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.
Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.
But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.
Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.
“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”
Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.
Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.
They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.
“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”
As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.
“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…
The bizarre explanation behind Manchester’s new mini ‘green space’ – that’s completely closed off
Danny Jones
One thing you always hear people who live in central Manchester calling out for is green space, but when a new patch of grass does arrive, you don’t exactly expect it to be completely inaccessible.
Just a quick FYI to those of you passionate about supporting what little nature there is left in our city centre: brace yourselves, as this one is rather annoying…
For anyone who’s walked down Whitworth Street West past the once lively Locks, or even got off at Deansgate–Castlefield tram stop and come down the glass stairs closest to the Albion Bridge, you may have noticed a rogue patch of grass surrounded by black fencing next to the City Road Inn pub.
It could be considered a nice little lawn were it not completely fenced off, but the question is, why has it popped up there? Well, local lad Curtis Rothwell has recently debunked the whole frustrating mess for us in a helpful video.
Yes, as explained by the Pre-Construction Manager who works for local utilities contractor Zenit Infrastructure Solutions Limited, the somewhat laughable but disheartening gated green space on Whitworth Street is essentially a feeble attempt at adhering to permission laws.
As detailed by Rothwell, the plot bought for a sizeable sum last year (only the original developers didn’t have the funding to actually pull off their initial plans) is now set to become student accommodation.
Currently, real estate firm Tri7 – which has now been fully folded into the parent group known as Fusion, as previous part-owners already – still has a hold on the land for now.
However, after being ordered by Manchester City Council to tidy up the area in the meantime, as they await planning permission to be fully approved, they decided to lay these new rolls of turf there.
Ok, so while the notion of the Council ordering a property company to make urban spaces look pretty and the idea of introducing more grassy zones into the city sound good on paper, as you can see, the real-life result doesn’t quite match up.
Not only does this feel like a bare minimum effort to appease the local authorities ahead of erecting yet another skyscraper, but more importantly, it feels like sheer nonchalant neglect and/or plain dismissal of those Manc residents crying out for more grass, nature and a break from the concrete jungle.
The fact that the rare green space is totally blocked by tall, almost authoritarian-feeling fences and sealed off by a big, black gate comes across like a casual two fingers to both the Council and those living in the city centre.
Speaking to The Manc, Curt commented: “It’s positive the council can take charge of how our empty spaces look after demolitions. In this case, maybe the demolition was carried out too early, which happens, but when it does, greenery is the best look they can give to local people.”
You can see the latest update on the planning permission HERE, and for now, if you’re looking for green spaces in Manchester, you’ll find them more frequently beyond the outskirts and heading into the boroughs; this one is strictly off limits. Find a whole bunch of ones that aren’t down below:
Emily Sergeant -
20th February 2024 
