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.”
Remarkable Lake District rescue of dog missing for THREE WEEKS
Daisy Jackson
A dog who was missing for almost three WEEEKS in the Lake District has, miraculously, been rescued.
Little Teddy went missing on 2 August, disappearing from his owner on Helvellyn.
Volunteers from Keswick Mountain Rescue Team spent the following weeks searching for the scrappy dog, with one eventually hearing him barking from Dry Gill.
The poor dog had got stuck in the gill in a dangerous location that required a full team of seven to bring him to safety.
Remarkably, Teddy appeared to be uninjured, though he had lost quite a bit of weight after three weeks living wild on the fell.
His rescuers gave him a small amount of food before securing him in a rucksack and carrying him back to Swirls car park.
The whole rescue took around three and a half hours, when Teddy was reunited with his very relieved owner and taken to the vets.
Teddy making his way down from HelvellynTeddy the dog was part of a rescue mission in the Lake DistrictTeddy was rescued after three weeks missingCredit: Keswick Mountain Rescue
Keswick Mountain Rescue said: “The team are absolutely delighted to share this update, as the news of this missing dog had deeply affected so many people across our local community.
“A remarkable outcome after nearly three weeks on Helvellyn, and a huge well done to everyone who kept searching and never gave up on Teddy.”
The mountain rescue team is funded entirely through donations – you can use ‘Buy me a coffee’ to make a small donation HERE, or donate the normal way HERE.
Full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026
Emily Sergeant
The full list of road closures set to be in place for Manchester Village Pride this weekend have been released.
Manchester Village Pride is a beloved celebration of LGBTQ+ life in Manchester, known for bringing thousands of people into city centre every August bank holiday weekend for four fun-filled, glitter-covered, disco-driven days… and although 2026 may look a little different to usual, you can always count on the city to welcome everyone in.
Every year, the lineup offers a wide range of activities for the LGBTQ+ community and allies to join together and celebrate, as well as provide opportunities to advocate for equality, engage families and young people, and celebrate queer arts and culture.
This year’s event is set to kick off this Friday 28 August and round out on bank holiday Monday (31 August).
🏳️🌈 On Saturday [29 August], it's the #PrideParade so you'll see plenty of rainbows in the city centre.
To allow the parade to take place: – There will be road closures in place – Some buses may operate on diversion – Trams in the city centre may experience minor delays
And of course, for the celebrations to all take place as safely and seamlessly as possible, a number of road closures and restrictions will need to be put in place, and Manchester City Council has now published a list of everything you need to know.
It’s advised that anyone making their way into and around the city centre this weekend use other modes of transport – such as buses, trams, and trains.
But for those who need to drive, you’ll want to pay attention to this list before setting out on any journeys.
The full list of road closures for Manchester Village Pride 2026 has been released / Credit: The Manc Group | Supplied
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 6am to 7pm:
Liverpool Road (Water Street to Deansgate)
Wollam Place (30m south of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Potato Wharf (Castlefield Hotel entrance to Liverpool Road)
Old Medlock Street
Lower Byrom Street (40m north of Liverpool Road to Liverpool Road)
Duke Street (Rice Street to Liverpool Road)
Stone Street (Liverpool Road to Bridgewater Street)
Barton Street (Bridgewater Street to Tonman Street)
Southern Street (Bridgewater Street to Liverpool Road)
Bridgewater Street (Collier Street to Deansgate)
Tonman Street (Liverpool Road to Longworth Street)
Saturday 29 August
All roads in this list will be closed from 9am to 7pm:
Deansgate (Trafford Street to Peter Street)
Quay Street (Little Quay Street to Deansgate)
Peter Street (Deansgate to Oxford Street)
Camp Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
St James Street (Deansgate to Longworth Street)
Jerusalem Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Marron Place (Jacksons Row to Deansgate)
Watson Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Museum Street (Windmill Street to Peter Street)
Mount Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Southmill Street (Windmill Street to Bootle Street)
Lower Mosley Street (Windmill Street to Oxford Street)
Oxford Street (Peter Street to Whitworth Street)
Chepstow Street (Great Bridgewater Street to Oxford Street)
Portland Street (Oxford Street to Abingdon Street)
Princess Street (Faulkner Street to Whitworth Street)
Whitworth Street (Beaver Street to Fairfield Street)
Samuel Ogden Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Sackville Street (Bombay Street to Whitworth Street)
Fairfield Street (Whitworth Street to London Road)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Aytoun Street)
Back Acton Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Minshull Street (Fairfield Street to Ebden Street)
Bus lanes will also be suspended on Bridge Street from Gartside to New Bailey Street, Whitworth Street West from Deansgate to Albion Street, and Portland Street from Princess Street to Newton Street, on the Saturday (29 August) too – running from 6am to 7pm.
Emily Sergeant -
14th March 2022 
