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The Manc The Manc - 16th April 2020
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Plans to bring Greater Manchester’s rail services onto the Bee Network unveiled

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Ambitious plans to bring all rail services in Greater Manchester onto the Bee Network have been unveiled this week.

After the success of all the region’s buses returning to local control at the start of the year, Mayor Andy Burnham has set out Greater Manchester’s step-by-step plan to bring rail into the Bee Network by 2028, working alongside the rail industry to do this as the next part of his joined-up ‘London-style’ public transport system, which is intended to boost passenger numbers, and drive growth across the region.

Developed in partnership with the rail industry, Department for Transport (DfT) and Shadow Great British Rail, Mr Burnham says his plan is aimed at not only improving transport but unlocking major regeneration and housing opportunities on land around the region’s stations too.

Greater Manchester’s proposition is for eight commuter rail lines, covering 64 stations, to be brought into the Bee Network in three phases over the next five years.

Under the plan, the first two lines – which will work to connect Manchester to Glossop and Stalybridge, in Tameside – will join the Bee Network by December 2026, and then a further 32 stations, and all lines within Greater Manchester, would join by 2030.

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According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), by 2028, the plan for Bee Network rail integration is scheduled to deliver the long-awaited ‘tap in, tap out’ contactless ticketing system, and simpler integrated capped fares across all bus, tram, and train services.

Not only that, but Greater Manchester leaders have also committed to working with the Government and the rail industry to “improve reliability” and “implement service changes” to help drive growth too.

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Another major change is that TfGM has said it will work with the rail industry to accelerate the delivery of accessibility improvements – with more than 60% of stations on the eight lines set to have step-free access by 2028, compared to 43% at the end of 2024.

“Our rail system today is acting as a brake on growth and, as the UK’s fastest growing city-region, Greater Manchester deserves better,” commented Mayor Andy Burnham, as he unveiled his plans this week.

Andy Burnham urges Greater Manchester residents to ‘switch to the Bee Network’ in 2025

“We need a railway that is reliable and fully integrated with the rest of the Bee Network to drive growth and deliver new homes with public transport connections on the doorstep.

“Our plan puts passengers first by delivering a simplified, joined-up public transport network, with better services, stations and overall experience. Only by making travel by train more reliable, simpler, flexible and accessible to everyone, will we convince more people to leave the car at home and make the switch to the Bee Network.”

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If everything goes according to plan, it’s expected to boost the number of trips by train by 1.3 million each year.

Featured Image – Wikimedia Commons

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Manchester United reinstate season ticket of fan with dementia after fury over cancellation

Danny Jones Danny Jones Man United fan with dementia has season ticket reinstated after being mistakenly cancelled

Manchester United have quickly reinstated the season ticket of a lifelong fan suffering from dementia after it was cancelled following confusion over his attendance.

The Premier League was met with huge backlash this week after a fan account on social media posted a message from a fellow supporter explaining how their grandfather had been stripped of his season ticket for supposedly failing to attend the last five games – only that wasn’t the case at all.

As detailed in the lengthy text shared countless times on X, the elderly fan who not only struggles with the neurological condition but also doesn’t own a mobile phone, has been using a paper ticket with a QR code printed on it ever since the majority of stadiums transitioned to largely digital ticketing systems.

Not only were many quick to point out that e-ticketing can be excluding for fans of a certain age and/or accessibility needs but the result in this instance could have been avoided had they taken into account an issue no doubt many other supporters face week in and week out.

As the message goes on to explain, the QR code itself “hasn’t worked all season” and the stewards have simply been making an exception and letting him in on good faith and discretion, along with the presumption that there may have just been an error during the printing of the ticket.

However, since had and could not be scanned on each of these occasions, there was no real record of his entry on their database whatsoever, meaning that he unknowingly hit the limit of games supporters are allowed to miss before a season ticket can be removed.

As a result, not only was his season ticket of more than 45 years cancelled but his seat was immediately relisted for the ballot and quickly sold to someone else ahead of the Brighton game on Sunday, 21 January – at a now inflated price, no less.

Understandably, United supporters and various other clubs were left shocked by the error of the club, damning the decision as “shameful” and disgusting”, with many claiming that they are once again turning their back on so-called ‘legacy fans’.

One person replied: “Man United failing in their duties under the Disability Discrimination Act / Equality Act 2010, with regard to reasonable adjustments, and the club is now vulnerable to legal action […] Scandalous that clubs cannot just do the right thing anymore and only see fans as cash cows to exploit and (effectively) abuse as they see fit.”

What’s even more alarming is the worry that this has already or will happen again to other fans in similar situations, as a fellow Red responding to a response from the club reinforced the same concerns, claiming that they were unwilling to make reasonable adjustments for a family member with Alzheimer’s.

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Thankfully, as per multiple outlets, the club has now at the very least rectified this particular mistake and although the club’s Director of Supporter Services had been “unhelpful” up until that point, the right steps have finally been taken.

On the other hand, as the original poster wrote following the update, “Good to hear this has now been resolved, but it should never have happened in the first place.”

He quite rightly added, “Well done to everyone who reached out and played their part. Football is nothing without fans.”

Moreover, it’s clear that better measures and safeguarding practices need to be put into place when it comes to contingencies like this because although the Premier League has stated a full switch to digital e-tickets must be complete by the end of 2027 at the latest, there will always need to be exceptions.

As for ticket prices themselves, another banner up at Old Trafford after the club adjusted ticket prices and removed concessions across all categories for the remainder of the season – it read: £66 of your debt, not ours”. It’s not the first time fans have already protested since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s tenure began.

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Featured Images — The Manc Group

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