Andy Burnham has made calls for ‘London-style’ bus fares across the North of England.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester appeared at the Transport for the North conference in Leeds yesterday and claimed that fares set at £1.55, just like in the capital, would be a “game-changer” for millions of northern residents and has “the potential to elevate us”.
Mr Burnham told the Yorkshire Post that Greater Manchester could act as a “template” for the idea of a standard £1.55 fare for single journeys to be adopted across the North.
With Greater Manchester due to take buses back into public control under a franchising system from 2023, Mr Burnham said that the region could have the fares system in place by mid-2024.
This is providing the government offer sufficient support.
Off to Leeds for the big @Transport4North conference where I will call for London-level bus fares for the North of England.
£1.55 a journey would be a game-changer for millions here.
“We could be a template for the rest of the North, particularly for combined authorities where the powers do exist to put buses under public control,” Mr Burnham told the Yorkshire Post.
“We think what we would do would be helpful to Leeds, helpful to Liverpool and helpful to other places as they look to go down a similar path.
“It’s perfectly doable.”
Giving a further insight into how the standardised transport system could work in Greater Manchester, the Mayor said: “In our case, we would integrate the buses with the tram system. As well as it being £1.55 for a bus journey, you would have a daily cap on what people could expect to pay on any given day, no matter how many buses or trams they took.
“This would be a big shift from the very overpriced transport system we have got at the moment to a London-style system which I think would bring huge benefits.
“It could be done [in Greater Manchester] by the middle of 2024 [as] we’ve got a plan to do that, but it does require the government to back us properly with obviously the funding but also the powers we need.
“It is a big vision but it is the best example of levelling up I have seen so far.”
🗣 “Greater Manchester is a world class city-region in many ways, but our transport system is not,” adds Andy at @Transport4North#TfN21
“A London-style transport system, with London-level fares for 2.8 million people, has the potential to elevate us – that is levelling-up.” pic.twitter.com/cpRvV6Hjqm
— Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham (@MayorofGM) September 20, 2021
Addressing the concept of a London-style bus fares in a statement issued earlier this month regarding Greater Manchester’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2038, Andy Burnham said: “We know that transport sits at the beating heart of all city-regions and the fact is that ours is just not fit for purpose.
“A single 20-minute bus journey between Middleton and central Manchester can cost £4.50 – compared to the £1.55 hopper fare in London. Around one third of our residents do not have access to a car [and] those that do, drive a lot due to a lack of better alternatives [so] half of all trips in our city region are less than two kilometres, and, shockingly, four in 10 of those trips are currently made by car.
“A single, London-style, integrated transport network that is accessible, affordable and reliable will unlock Greater Manchester’s economy.
“It will significantly improve air quality and it will help us to level up our communities.”
After asking the government to give the region the “money and powers” needed to “get the job done”, Mr Burnham then added: “Our people deserve much better and this is the first phase of our plan to give them a world-class transport network.”
Featured Image – Flickr
News
More than 100 ‘unsafe’ counterfeit Labubus seized in Oldham
Daisy Jackson
More than 100 counterfeit Labubus and accessories have been seized in Oldham, the council has announced.
The Labubu dolls – a plush collectible with giant smiles and bunny ears – have been seized because they are fake, and unsafe.
The haul of 104 Labubus has been given a street value of between £800 and £1000 – but if they were the real deal, they’d be worth more than three times as much.
The poorly-made figures were being sold for a fraction of the price of a real Labubu, which are manufactured by Chinese company Pop Mart (it’s set to open its second Manchester store in the Trafford Centre next week).
Oldham Council’s Trading Standards team said it seized the counterfeit Labubus from local businesses and found that they were unsafe and poorly made.
Officers raised concerns about the safety of the dolls, which had small parts such as eyes, hands and feet broke off easily, creating a choking hazard.
What a genuine Labubu should look like. Credit: The Hoot Leeds
They were also missing legally required safety marks such as the CE or UKCA labels, and lacked the name and address of a UK supplier, which is another legal requirement.
Councillor Elaine Taylor, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Licensing, said: “Oldham Trading Standards carries out regular checks to help keep unsafe products off the shelves. In this case, these counterfeit toys failed safety standards and have now been removed from sale.
“We know it can be tempting to buy toys that look like a bargain, but parents need to be extra careful. Fake toys like these may be cheaper, but they can put children in real danger if they’re not made to strict safety standards.
“If anyone has concerns about toys they’ve purchased, or if they see unsafe products on sale locally, we’d encourage them to get in touch with Trading Standards through the Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133.”
Council publishes list of central Manchester roads set to be resurfaced this summer
Emily Sergeant
A list of roads in Manchester that are set to be resurfaced before the summer is out has been published.
Manchester City Council recently asked residents in the region what their priorities were for their community and what issues they wanted to see tackled – and for many, the answer was the quality of the road surfaces.
Since then, the Council says it has been ‘engaged’ in a long-running programme of improvement works throughout the borough.
Now, with just over a month of the summer season left, it has been confirmed that some vital resurfacing works are due to start over the coming weeks in north and central Manchester, bringing a range of improvements to key district roads along with it.
First up, from Saturday 9 August, Hollinwood Avenue is to be resurfaced.
The Council has published a list of Manchester roads that are set to be resurfaced this summer / Credit: MJ Richardson (via Geograph)
Anticipated to take six weeks to complete, this work will be carried out during weekend closures from 8am-5pm, with the road remaining open during the working week.
The closure area will be between Greengates Roundabout and the Oldham boundary at Owler Lane, and a signed diversion route will be in place while work is carried out, and access for residents will be maintained at all times.
Then, starting from Saturday 16 August, resurfacing works will begin on Moss Lane East, between Alexandra Road and Princess Road.
Work will take place between 7am and 5pm on weekdays, and 8am and 5pm on weekends, and during the works, the road will be completely closed – with a signed diversion route in place and access for residents maintained.
As always, disruption is expected and the public is encouraged to plan ahead / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
These works are expected to take six weeks to complete, and as with all resurfacing projects, residents should expect some disruption and may need to plan ahead.
The Council is aiming to keep disruption to the public at a minimum, where possible.
“We know how important it is to our residents that key roads are well maintained, which is why were glad to be able to deliver this latest round of improvement works,” commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment, and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“I’d like to thank people ahead of time for their patience during the course of these works and would advise them to check when closures will be in place and where the diversions are.”
You can find more information on the resurfacing works on the Council website here.
The Manc -
21st September 2021 
