Seven bus services across Greater Manchester have been saved as transport bosses announce funding worth £2.5m to keep the routes running. It follows Diamond's decision to cut bus services after missing out on a major contract.
The operator will still run some of the first buses to be brought under public control later this year, but Go North West will run most of the franchised bus services in Bolton and Wigan as well as parts of Salford, Bury and Rochdale. Last month, Diamond and Vision said they would be cutting services from April due to the 'uncertainty' created by the bus franchising announcements.
However, mayor Andy Burnham promised to 'pull out all the stops' to save services which were set be scrapped when Diamond pulls a fifth of its bus fleet from the Bolton depot. Now, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has said it will subsidise some of the bus routes which were under threat.
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Mr Burnham said: "People right across Greater Manchester rely on bus services to go about their daily lives, and so we have taken decisive action – as we did last year – to ensure communities are not cut off. It is really important that people have access to a stable and reliable network, particularly when, in just a few months’ time, we start to bring buses under local control for the first time in nearly 40 years.
"We have heard loud and clear the concerns from residents and I hope the announcement today will reassure passengers that their bus service is safe and demonstrates our long-term commitment to investing in, and bettering, public transport through the Bee Network."
Although contracts still need to be signed, TfGM has announced how the bus services which were under threat would be affected by the subsidies. Bosses explained that the funding will be used to save services from being scrapped.
The 520, 561, 562, 575 and 527 routes which were due to be withdrawn will continue to run with the same timetable thanks to the subsidies, while the 163 will be reduced to every 15 minutes. However, the 8, 36 and 37 from Bolton via Salford to Manchester will still be run by Diamond on a reduced timetable of every 15 minutes from Monday to Saturday, as will the 524 and the 582.
Diamond will continue to run the 21 service without any subsidies. But TfGM has not revealed which bus companies would operate the rest of the routes.
TfGM boss Stephen Rhodes Greater Manchester's transport committee on Friday (February 17) that around 28 buses must now be sourced alongside additional drivers for these services to continue operating. He explained that income from fares on these routes will cover some of the costs of subsidies, but the move will ultimately require approximately £2.5m from TfGM's budget.
This money will partially come from government funding given to the city-region from the Bus Recovery Grant and Bus Service Improvement Plan. Similar steps were taken last summer to save dozens of bus services which were set to be withdrawn or reduced because they were deemed unprofitable.
However, Diamond said it was not withdrawing services for financial reasons, but because of the 'uncertainty' created by bus franchising. Councillors on the transport committee were warned of further instability as all buses in Greater Manchester are brought under public control by 2025, starting in September.
Mr Rhodes said he could not guarantee that TfGM would be able to subsidise all services that are withdrawn by operators during the franchising process.
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