24-hour services and flat £1.50 ‘hopper’ fares included in new Greater Manchester bus plans
A new five-year plan being discussed tomorrow iincludes new £1.50 'hopper' fares, 70 new 10-minute service routes, and more evening and Sunday services.
The mayor and council bosses have submitted new plans to Westminster to help make bus travel cheaper for thousands of people in Greater Manchester.
The £1 billion bid for cheaper fares sees a long-term goal to overhaul bus travel in the region take another step forward after the mayor confirmed plans to bring buses back into public control.
The five-year plan, due to be discussed by leaders on Friday morning, features new £1.50 ‘hopper’ fares, 70 new 10-minute service routes, 2,000 more accessible bus stops and more evening and Sunday services – not to mention redesigned and rebuilt transport interchanges.
This would mean be there would be 70 new bus routes, with regular ten-minute services making it much easier to just turn up and go – rather than having to hang around in the bus station for half an hour (or longer) waiting for your next ride.
The bid also promises to include 20 new outes with ‘24 hour services’ and ‘three or four’ express bus routes for places not served by the Metrolink, although it is not clear as to where specifically these will be.
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Whilst there is currently no list of where these high-frequency services would run, there is a map to gie some indication – showing them spreading throughout the region.
Credit: GMCA / TfGM
Andy Burnham has previously made a lot of noise about bringing a London-style travel network to Manchester. These new plans are the first step in that direction.
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By simplifying the range of different bus fairs across Greater Manchester into flat £1.50 rates that can be used to hop on and off services, daily fares for travellers across the region will be reduced by around 25%.
Plans to make travel cheaper and simple across the ten boroughs also include ‘attractively priced one day and one-week travelcards’ as well as the new £1.50 ‘hopper’ fares.
But of course, improvement costs money – hence why the mayor and council bosses have submitted their bid to the government’s ‘Bus Services Improvement Plan’ fund.
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According to the calculations made in the report, a rising subsidy of between £10m and £60m (by 2030) would be required from central government in order to keep fares at these cheap levels for passengers – notwithstanding dropping passenger levels caused by Covid.
Whilst suggesting a range of different bus corridors, for the fastest routes inspiration has been drawn from the Leigh Guided Busway.
Credit: GMCA / TfGM
Plans would involve the segregation of large swathes of highway, and come as part of a longer-term solution.
In the short term, the authority also wants to upgrade eight current key routes – notably Salford Crescent to Media City, Wigan to Bolton, Rochdale-Oldham-Ashton, Bury Rochdale and Ashton-Stockport -adding more accessible bus stops, as well as more signs, gates and signal priorities.
Routes between Altrincham to Carrington and Sale West to Broadheath are also included in the upgrade plans.
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There is also plans to make the majority of the bus fleet electric, with two-thirds of buses in the plans would be electric, whilst the rest would be remodelled existing vehicles in the network.
Council bosses will discuss the plans on Friday 29, October.
Feature image – Commons Wikimedia
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Labrador puppy dies after being ‘deliberately thrown’ into Greater Manchester marina
Daisy Jackson
A five-month-old Labrador puppy has died after being ‘deliberately thrown’ into a marina in Greater Manchester last week, suffering ‘multiple fractures’.
The tiny pooch was initially pulled to safety by a passing member of the public, who found her struggling in the water between two boats.
The black puppy, who was nicknamed Peggy by RSCPA staff, had suffered such severe breaks to her jaw that she would have been unable to eat or drink and was humanely put to sleep.
The RSPCA is now urging local businesses to check their CCTV for any information relating to this shocking incident, and for any witnesses or people who recognise Peggy to come forward.
The puppy was thrown into the water at the Portland Basin Marina in Ashton-under-Lyne last Wednesday 12 March, and was pulled from the water by a passer-by at around 3.20pm.
Peggy was found near the steel footbridge with no sign of anyone nearby.
When Peggy was found, she was lethargic and extremely cold, and though she was stabilised and transferred to the RSPCA’s Greater Manchester Animal Hospital later that day, her serious and inoperable injuries led to her being put to sleep.
Her jaw appeared to have been prised open, leaving her tongue hanging out and the poor puppy suffering.
Peggy was not microchipped and it’s not known if her injuries happened as a result of the fall, or if they occurred beforehand.
Labrador puppy Peggy dies after being ‘deliberately thrown’ into Greater Manchester marina. Credit: RSPCA
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Kate Sargent, who is investigating, said: “Everyone who has been involved in this terrible incident has been left feeling shocked and saddened by what happened to Peggy.
“It’s hard to understand how anyone could do something like this to such a young dog. We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to the kind people who got her out of the water and sought help, and to the veterinary teams who saw her.
“We’d appeal to anyone who recognises Peggy or who was at the marina at the time to get in touch so we can progress this investigation further. We are also asking nearby businesses and homes in the surrounding area to check their CCTV and video doorbells.”
Anyone with first-hand information is urged to contact the RSPCA’s appeals line, in confidence, on 0300 123 8018 quoting reference number 01467665.
NHS slam ‘unacceptable’ rise in physical violence and sexual assault towards frontline staff
Emily Sergeant
Frontline NHS staff are facing a rise in physical violence, inappropriate sexual behaviour, and discrimination at the hands of members of the public.
According to the shocking revelations from the latest annual NHS staff survey published last week, around one in seven NHS staff (14.38%) experienced some from of physical violence directed at them from patients, their relatives, or other members of the public in 2024.
The report revealed that the number of attacks on staff has increased by nearly 14% since 2023.
Staff experiencing discrimination at work reached also reached its highest level in five years, with more than half (54%) saying the discrimination they received from patients and the public was based on their ethnic background.
One in 12 (8.82%) NHS workers experienced unwanted sexual behaviour in 2024, which included offensive comments, touching, and even assault.
Frontline NHS staff are facing a rise in physical violence at the hands of the public / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
On top of these findings from the staff survey, the national education and training survey – which was also published last week, and seeks to hear the thoughts and experiences of those currently training within the medical field – found that 13% of learners said they experienced or witnessed forms of ‘unwanted, harmful, or inappropriate’ sexual behaviour by patients.
A whopping 744,358 NHS staff members took part in the 2024 survey, which is the highest ever level in staff in its 20-year history.
The survey gives a snapshot of what it’s like to work in the NHS, right from the beginning of a career, throughout their working lives, and into retirement, and are used by NHS organisations to ‘make things better’ for staff and patients.
They’re also being subjected to inappropriate sexual behaviour and discrimination / Credit: rawpixel
“It’s totally unacceptable that NHS staff are facing physical violence, sexual assault, and discrimination from patients and the public while at work,” commented Dr Navina Evans, who is the Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer for NHS England, as the survey findings were published.
“We know that the most important way to stamp out incidents of unacceptable behaviour is to give people the confidence to report it, and it is important that the voice of every member of NHS staff is heard through these surveys and acted upon.
“The NHS sexual safety charter has also now been adopted by every integrated care board and NHS trust in England to enforce a zero-tolerance approach to letting unwanted behaviours go unaddressed”.
Georgina Pellant -
28th October 2021 
