Bee Network executives believe school bus chaos that left children shivering at stops and parents hundreds of pounds out of pocket has finally been resolved, following weeks of disruption since Greater Manchester seized control of half the region’s services.

The takeover on 5 January brought southern Manchester’s buses under Transport for Greater Manchester’s franchising system, but the promised “teething problems” hit hardest in Tameside and Stockport where pupils faced hour-long delays and “disappearing” services.

“It’s disgusting, honestly,” said a Droylsden mother whose daughter rides the 864. “We have lost £250 in lost earnings because my partner is self-employed and had to take the day off work [to drive her to school].”

Aftab Marchant, a father in Heaton Chapel, described watching the 42A evaporate from the Bee app: “It says due in eight minutes, then three minutes, then two minutes… then it never comes, and disappears from the app. On Monday (January 6), my wife left work to pick him up. There were eight or nine children at that stop waiting and eight or nine children at the next one too. On Friday (January 10), the same thing happened. Honest to God, his lips were blue when I picked him up - and he had a big coat on.”

Addressing the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on 30 January, chief network officer Danny Vaughan admitted school runs had been the “biggest concern” but blamed early-week snow and insisted operator Metroline has since bolstered driver training, tightened schedules and “added more buses”.

“Performance in the first week suffered because of the weather but it was a very, very successful switchover,” Vaughan said. “I think it’s a teething issue… I hope they are a thing of the past. The resilience is there and hopefully we will have a better service.”

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