Transport strategy

Oldham residents have until 9 March to tell Greater Manchester leaders how buses, trams, trains and safe walking and cycling routes should be shaped for the next quarter-century. A 12-week consultation on the draft Greater Manchester Transport Strategy 2050 and its 2027-37 delivery plan opened quietly on 9 December, replacing the existing 2040 strategy and the current five-year plan that expires next year.

The new documents keep the Bee Network at their heart, promising to extend the yellow-branded bus and tram system that has already redrawn travel patterns across the city-region. The 2050 strategy lists long-term goals, while the delivery plan spells out which projects will be built, funded or lobbied for between 2027 and 2037. Ten local implementation plans, one for each borough including Oldham, will follow once the region-wide blueprint is finalised later this year.

Council chiefs say the rewrite is needed to lock in recent gains: simpler fares, restored evening services and 24-hour buses on key corridors. They also want public backing for tougher choices, such as reallocating road space away from cars and accelerating the switch to zero-emission fleets so Greater Manchester can stay on course for its 2038 net-zero carbon pledge.

No price tag has been published yet, but officials admit that steady funding from Westminster, combined with local council tax and possible road-user charging, will decide how much of the vision becomes concrete. Previous estimates suggested £1 billion would be required every year to keep transport improvements on track; the final strategy is expected to set out a clearer figure once the Treasury's long-term spending review lands.

Paper copies of the draft strategy are available at Oldham Library and at council customer centres. Online, residents can complete a short survey or join one of the remaining virtual drop-ins before the March deadline. Whatever survives the red pen this spring will shape every bus route, cycle lane and station upgrade Oldham sees for the next generation.