Night buses coming to Tameside in 2025 says Burnham

Andy Burnham has said that he plans for night buses to come to Tameside within a year.

Speaking to Joe McGrath on a BBC Radio Manchester phone-in on Thursday, September 5, the Mayor of Greater Manchester said: “It’s what a 24/7 city should have. We’re a growing city, we’re a powerful city, we’ve got things happening around the clock in Greater Manchester. You’ve got to have public transport to match. 

“I hope this is the start of an extensive night bus network serving our boroughs.” 

Answering a question from Stalybridge resident, Elizabeth, he committed to introducing night buses to the area. 

“We will be bringing night bus services east. We’ve started in the west of Greater Manchester, that’s where the first trial is. Within a year, I would hope that we’ll have a night bus serving Stalybridge and the Tameside borough. That is my plan, that is my intention.” 

There is no direct late-night bus from Manchester to Stalybridge from Sunday to Thursday, although the 219 heads there at 11:50pm, 1:20am and 2:40am on Fridays and Saturdays. The latter bus continues to Glossop, via Hollingworth, Tintwistle and Hadfield, arriving at Henry Street at 3:43am. 

These are the last bus times from Manchester city centre to elsewhere in Tameside: 

Audenshaw: 219, 11:50pm (Mon-Thu); 2:40am (Fri-Sat); 11:40pm (Sun) 
Denton & Hyde: 201, 11:51pm (Mon-Thu); 1:15am (Fri-Sat); 11:31pm (Sun) 
Droylsden: 216, 12:10am (Mon-Sat); 11:20pm (Sun) 
Dukinfield: 221, 6:13pm (Mon-Fri) 
Hattersley: 10:51pm (Mon-Sat); 10:31pm (Sun) 
Mossley: no direct service to Manchester 

Mr Burnham also announced the introduction of a new way for commuters to access yearly tickets. 

“For people in low paid jobs, it’s sometimes hard to afford the cost of public transport in our city region. It’s particularly hard to get the discount that comes when you buy an annual pass, so people who can afford the upfront cost of an annual, they can get the discount, but sometimes lower paid people can’t put up £1,000 for an annual [pass]. 

“We’ve come to an agreement with the 14 credit unions in Greater Manchester. From January, people will be able to pay for an annual Bee Network bus pass with a total value of £800, but they can buy it from a credit union. 

“What it means is that they’ll be able to pay for that pass via weekly or monthly instalments. So, they get the benefit of a discount, because they’re committed to paying for an annual, but they can pay for it via weekly payments. It means people can save almost £5 per week on the cost of bus travel, almost £20 per month, and £240 over the year.” 

Buses in Tameside will join the Bee Network in January 2025.