Andy Burnham will ‘pull out all the stops’ to save bus services under threat

Andy Burnham has promised to ‘pull out all the stops’ to save bus services under threat in Greater Manchester.

It follows Diamond’s decision to pull around a fifth of its bus fleet from Bolton with a dozen routes affected, including the 163 between Bury, Heywood, Middleton and Manchester.
 

Read more: Plea for Diamond to think again over plans to scrap town’s ‘lifeline’ bus service to city centrePublished: 27 January 2023

The move comes after the operator missed out on the first large contracts under the new bus franchising system set to be launched in Bolton and Wigan this year. The company won seven smaller contracts in the two boroughs and parts of Salford and Bury, but Go North West will run most services from September.

However, Diamond said that due to the ‘uncertainty’ created by the decision, it would have to reduce the frequency and partially withdraw some services. This includes commuter routes such as from Bolton to Salford and Manchester.

Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday (26 January), the Greater Manchester mayor said he understands why people are worried about the changes and promised to ‘pull out all the stops’ to fix it.

He said: “We’re on it. This is the kind of thing we expected once we made the announcements late last year and we’re now just talking to Diamond and Go about how best to resolve the situation.

“Let me just say to everybody who depends on that service, I am going to pull out all the stops to ensure those services are still running. Don’t worry, we’ll give you a clear answer soon.”

The comments came after listeners contacted BBC Radio Manchester with concerns about a ‘massive gap’ if services such as the 163 route from Bury to Heywood, Middleton and Manchester are cut as planned.

The 21, 520, 561, 562 and 575 routes will also see the majority of journeys withdrawn while the timetable of the 8, 36 and 37 from Bolton to Manchester would be be reduced.

 

 

Some councillors described Diamond’s decision as ‘sour grapes’ for missing out on the big contracts at a bus services sub-committee meeting last week.

However, the operator told councillors this ‘couldn’t be further from the truth’.

Mr Burnham added: “To be fair to Diamond, the announcements that we made late last year had the effect of changing their business quite significantly because they currently are providing a lot of the services in the Bolton area so their role is changing quite a lot so it is fair that they’ve got to look at their current situation and decide how best they’re going to adapt to the new situation. But between the two of them, we’re talking to the two of them and I’m hoping soon we’ll be able to bring positive news to say it’s all in place.

“I don’t want to see any services lost in Greater Manchester as we go into the new world.”

All buses in Greater Manchester are set to be brought under public control by January 2025 with the first franchised buses to be rolled out this September.

Diamond has been contacted, but previously declined to comment further.

Joseph Timan, Local Democracy Reporting Service