Greater Manchester (Parliament News) – Andy Burnham vows to fast-track integration of local rail into Bee Network, aiming for full implementation by 2028.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has promised to accelerate the integration of local rail services into the developing Bee Network of public transport requirements if he is re-elected on May 2. The Bee Network is a locally generated brand already being involved in Manchester Metrolink light rail services, and slowly being rolled out across buses as branches of the city region move into franchised bus functions.
According to Railwaygazette, the aim is to facilitate the evolution of a fully integrated, account-based ticketing system for Greater Manchester, with recognisable components such as everyday fare capping and touch-in/out functionality already widely deployed in cities almost the world, including London.
Burnham expresses his officials have recognised eight regional rail corridors for integration into the branding and ticketing area, a strategy he hopes could be achieved by 2028.This list includes two routes already recognised for a trial of pay-as-you-go ticketing in 2025 under an arrangement announced by Rail Minister Huw Merriman on February 1 covering 17 stations.
A more comprehensive roll-out of PAYG on local rail services had been planned for completion by 2030, but Burnham acknowledges this timescale is too slow. ‘We desire it by 2028 and we don’t see any reason why people should have to wait. We’ve shown the Bee Network can be introduced in a three-year timeframe, so we believe rail can be integrated in a similar timeframe as well.’
One element of local rail services around Manchester is that many paths cross local authority borders to help large communities outside the city region; neither Buxton nor Glossop are in Greater Manchester, for instance. Burnham states this is going to be addressed, conveying that he had already been ‘lobbied by MPs in those areas who whine about their lack of access to the Greater Manchester scheme and they’re calling for improvements. I did confer them and I got strong support; it’s going to be useful for people in Glossop, and we’ll continue to work with all of our neighbours to make sure that things are done right.’
He also conveyed that he had held discussions with his mayoral counterpart in Liverpool, Steve Rotheram, about developing Bee Network ticketing coverage to positions on the route from Wigan to Southport, which is an effective commuter artery to and from Manchester. ‘He understands why, because it is a Manchester commuter line and that is why it should sit within the Bee Network’, Burnham stated.
Speaking to the Northern Transport Summit at Manchester Airport on March 21, Burnham conveyed his frustration about the pace at which the rail industry has pushed to finalise its approach to multimodal smart ticketing. ‘Rail has got to reach with the Bee Network now’, he pointed delegates.
‘We need to see the same speed of change on integrating rail into the Bee Network as we have had with bus and tram and that needs culture change in the rail industry. It’s been hard to operate with the rail industry — there is a gap between us and we don’t want to be always arguing with it.’
Burnham indicated that the rail sector is ‘in denial’ over the quality of services it offers, adding that it was ‘frankly shady that 53% of our stations in Greater Manchester are not available to disabled people’.
Speaking to local press on the edges of the summit, Burnham counted that he recognised the potential sophistication of the ticketing changes. ‘The Treasury would harbour to sign off some of this because we’d have to adjust the way the railways are operating with regards to fares and ticketing. But indeed, I can say to you that we’ve all agreed to work in this way.’