Bus fares across Greater Manchester are to be capped at £2 for adults under new plans to transform public transport in the region.
Following a judicial review last week, where a judge ruled in favour of the region’s buses being brought back under public control, mayor Andy Burnham has today announced a series of major steps to move Greater Manchester towards a London-style public transport system, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
During what has been described as “a major event to outline a new era for Greater Manchester”, Mr Burnham has set out a revised timetable for the introduction of bus franchising.
Regulated buses will first introduced in Bolton, Wigan, and parts of Salford and west Manchester from next autumn, before Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, and areas of north Manchester will follow in spring 2024, and then Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, south Manchester, and remaining parts of Salford are expected to run by the end of 2024.
From this date, customers will be able to take advantage of capped fares across the whole region on buses run by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).
As mentioned, these newly-announced plans by the Mayor come after a legal challenge brought by bus operators against the city-region’s bus franchising plans was dismissed last week, and are said to signify “a key next step towards the delivery of the Bee Network vision”.
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Some good news to start the week.
From next year, as we take control of our buses, we will:
▪️cap adult fares at £2 ▪️cap child fares at £1
The era of people paying £4 or more for a single journey is coming to an end.
The new £2 capped ticket will function as a ‘hopper’ fare.
This means that the same ticket can be used for any change of bus within 60 minutes of the ticket being bought, regardless of how many times a person changes buses within that hour.
This move clears the way for a new franchising model taking control over buses away from profit-focused operators and placing it instead in public hands – which makes the region the first outside London to have this power in more than 30 years.
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The franchise model is estimated to cost around £135 million and means fares, timetables and routes will be set by local authorities instead of private companies, but operators may continue running services under a franchise system.
Speaking on the new bus fare caps ahead of the official unveiling of the plans later today, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “The court ruling means we now have the green light to deliver on our plans to deliver a London-style public transport system [and] make travelling by public transport more appealing, easier, and significantly, put our people before profits.
“The government has signalled its intention to support our ambitions many times over and we now need them to work in partnership with us to help us turn our shared vision into a reality.”
Greater Manchester will have a new Transport Commissioner to take a leading role in the delivery of the Bee Network, with former Transport for London (TfL) Managing Director of Customers, Communication and Technology, Vernon Everitt, having been appointed.
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🗣️ "We will make travelling by public transport more appealing, easier and, significantly, put our people before profits."
🚍 Today Andy will set out the major steps we're taking to deliver a London-style public system for Greater Manchester.#NewEraGMhttps://t.co/89NaDuZGmX
— Mayor of Greater Manchester (@MayorofGM) March 14, 2022
“I’m delighted to welcome Vernon onboard, as we deliver a new era of London-style transport for Greater Manchester,” Mr Burnham added.
“He is a great signing for this city-region [as he] spent 14 years as a Managing Director at Transport for London, leading on London’s integration of public transport through simple and intuitive fares, ticketing and customer information.
“In Greater Manchester we are leading the way and developing a blueprint for other city-regions to follow when it comes to improving intra-city transport and connectivity between our villages, towns and cities.
“My ambition is that soon here in Greater Manchester it will be simpler, cheaper, and more reliable to get around on public transport.”
Sara Cox tipped to replace Scott Mills for Eurovision 2026
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester’s very own Sara Cox is reportedly set to replace Scott Mills at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest following his sacking from the BBC.
Mills was axed by the news and entertainment corporation on Monday, 1 April, for ‘misconduct’, which has now been revealed to involve a historic relationship with a boy aged under 16.
While the fallout surrounding Scott Mills is only just beginning, the task of finding his replacement in multiple roles has already begun – though it looks like one may have already been decided.
Now reported by multiple outlets, it appears as though Bolton-born Sara Cox is first in line to pick up Mills’ co-hosting duties for this year’s Eurovision show.
Having already been involved with coverage of the event on multiple ocassions in the past, it now appears that she’ll be in post for the Grand Final too.
As a long-standing radio and TV staple, it only takes a quick look at social media to see how much backing she has already received in the past, with a post from last year reading, “Great to have Sara Cox back commentating on Eurovision“, and others from over a decade ago praising her past presenting.
In fact, it might not end just here either, as many are already calling for her to replace the 53-year-old breakfast show host.
From her days as a Radio 1 favourite to becoming a BBC mainstay across the board, her popularity only seems to have grown over the last decade, especially thanks to her charity fundraising efforts.
While an official announcement is yet to be made, the feeling is that it is all but confirmed for her to take over from Mills as part of the Eurovision commentary team.
As for the now vacant early morning slot on BBC Radio 2, the likes of Claudio Winkleman, Vernon Kay, fellow Manc Nick Grimshaw, the aforementioned Rylan, and several others have all been floated as potential stand-ins/future full-time hosts.
Do you think both should be given to Sara Cox, and if not, who would you like to see replace Scott Mills?
Millions of UK workers to get pay rises from today as National Living and Minimum Wage increases
Emily Sergeant
Millions of workers across the UK are set to begin receiving substantial pay rises from today.
After the Government announced back in November that it would take the recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission, and increase both the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, those changes have now come into force in a bid to ensure people on lower incomes are ‘properly rewarded’ for their work.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Low Pay Commission, it’s an independent body made up of employers, trade unions, and experts whose role is to advise the Government on the minimum wage.
As mentioned, the rate recommendations introduced today were agreed unanimously by the Commission.
This means that the living wage, for eligible workers who are aged 21 and over, has now risen by 4.1% from today to £12.71 an hour.
For a full-time worker, that means a pay increase of £900 a year.
Millions of workers in the UK are getting pay rises from today / Credit: John Kakuk (via Unsplash) | Pexels
The National Minimum Wage rate for workers aged 18 to 20-year-olds has also increased today by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour, and then for 16 to 17-year-olds, and those on apprenticeships, the rate has increased by 6% to £8 an hour.
“The recommendations we made last autumn sought to balance the need to protect the economy and labour market, whilst providing a real-terms increase for the lowest-paid members of society,” commented Baroness Philippa Stroud, who is Chair of the Low Pay Commission.
“A lot has changed since we gave our advice to the Government last autumn, and we are now beginning to gather evidence for recommendations later this year.
“The current economic uncertainty makes it essential that the Commission hears from those affected by the minimum wage and builds consensus for evidence-based recommendations.
Workers aged 21 and over are now legally entitled to the National Living Wage after the age threshold for the highest rate was lowered from 23 in 2024.
National Minimum Wage rates are available to workers aged 16 upwards.
Emily Sergeant -
14th March 2022 
