Passenger's complain of bus delays and non arrivals following launch of Bee Network in Tameside.

 

It hasn't been a good start for the Bee Network since it came to Tameside on Sunday January 5. A friend told me that on two occasions he was waiting for the 389 bus to Stalybridge on Darnton Road. On one occasion it didn't turn up and, on another occasion, the driver drove past him. In both instances he had to walk.

Another friend told me that his last bus from Stalybridge to Ashton (237) didn't turn up and he had to book a taxi. On Friday, a man told me that he'd been waiting 40 minutes for the 330 bus from Stockport to Ashton at the bus stop near to the Village Motel in Dukinfield. I eventually got the bus and that must have been the first bus on that route to Ashton for almost an hour. Other bus passengers waiting for that bus had decided to walk. That bus service is supposed to be running every twelve minutes.

There have been numerous problems with the Bee Network since its launch in September 2023 and there are still continuing problems. When it was first launched, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the bus delays were due to a hectic 24-hours. They were paying their transport commissioner Vernon Everitt, over £600 a day to get things up and running and it is still a shambles to this day. Andy Burnham needs to pull his finger out. We were promised a London-style bus service and we're still waiting for one.