Greater Manchester Transport Plans Oldham News

Oldham's buses, trains and trams are being stitched into a single network called the Bee Network, with the first eight local rail lines due to switch to public control by 2028 and the rest following two years later. The change matters because fares for children, pensioners and disabled passengers are already subsidised, and the same price cuts are expected to spread to all services once the network is complete.

Each day 5.6 million trips are made across Greater Manchester, and transport chiefs say the region now has the UK's most ambitious overhaul outside London. Oldham riders have already felt the difference: buses were brought under local control last year, the first place outside the capital to do so, and Starling Bank hire bikes have appeared on new walking and cycling routes.

Behind the scenes, the combined authority owns every bus stop and shelter and manages 400 miles of key roads. It also tells Oldham Council and the nine other boroughs how to shape new housing so that schools, shops and clinics sit within easy reach of a bus, tram or train.

The aim is a network that is 'easy to use, accessible and affordable, with enough seats for everyone' by 2040. Whether that promise survives future funding rounds is the open question hanging over every timetable printed from now on.