‘Did Westminster just ignore buses?’ Burnham aims to shake up UK transport

‘Public interest went out the window and people were cut off’ … Andy Burnham wants to leave behind the neoliberal approach to transport. Illustration: Guardian Design/GettyView image in fullscreen‘Public interest went out the window and people were cut off’ …

Andy Burnham wants to leave behind the neoliberal approach to transport. Illustration: Guardian Design/Getty‘Did Westminster just ignore buses?’ Burnham aims to shake up UK transportIn the fourth of a series on nationalisation, we look at plans to emulate Manchester’s Bee Network in Britain’s buses and rail Will Burnham ‘go big’ in expanding the role of the state?

Atlee: the postwar blueprint that inspires Burnham How council housebuilding is central to Burnham’s vision Whether or not the promised land is reached via renationalisation, the man set to be next prime minister is clear what he wants transport to leave behind.“You go from deregulation to regaining public control, it’s just unbelievable what becomes possible,” said Andy Burnham, reflecting on the bus system he transformed in Manchester. “It’s mind-blowing that deregulation was ever, ever brought in – public interest went out the window and people were cut off.”

Greater Manchester’s buses may have been an egregious example. But the road taken by Burnham as mayor could now be followed nationwide.The railway is rapidly returning to state ownership, with most passenger train services joining Network Rail under a new Great British Railways (GBR) by the end of 2027..

Meanwhile, the move to public control of buses via franchising is being rolled out across much of the north: pioneered by Burnham under mayoral rights since extended by Labour government to all councils nationwide.The yellow Bee Network pin, prominently affixed to Burnham’s lapel on Monday at his first speech as PM-in-waiting, is as proud a service medal as any metro mayor can muster.“We put the bee on the side of the buses to denote that public control.

And now we’re acting visibly, tangibly in the interests of our residents,” he told the Guardian in an interview shortly before the Makerfield byelection was called.If his political philosophy of “Manchesterism” has changed anything to date, it is this: an essential service reshaped to deliver under elected local officials for the common good. And a simple tenet that helps connects Burnham to northern voters – if it’s good enough for London, it’s good enough for us.

View image in fullscreenBurnham said he put bees on Bee Network buses to denote public control. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PAThe Bee Network, combining Greater Manchester’s newly franchised bus routes with the Metrolink tram system and eventually urban rail services, has consciously, stubbornly emulated a system only seen in the UK under Transport for London.Burnham, like Sadiq Khan again in the capital, has staked a lot on keeping bus fares low – instigating a £2 single bus fare before and after the government did so nationwide, and providing free or discounted travel for young people in further education.

Mancunians have also benefited similarly from fare capping, “hopper” fares – a single fare if using more than one bus in an hour – contactless payments and night buses, all of which have helped drive up patronage by 24% over three years to 178m bus journeys in 2026.TfL’s patronage is enough to cover the cost of operations without large public subsidy – fares pulling in £5.5bn, road charges £1.

6bn and business rates £2.2bn – but it still relies on central government grants for capital investment, and its buses are cross-subsidised by Tube income.Transport for Greater Manchester can only get so far.

Fare revenue has continued to rise but funds only half the operation, £88m coming from trams and £269m from buses in 2025-26 – slightly less than the combined local and central government funding of £376m.Buying back bus depots that once belonged to the city “stuck in my throat”, said Burnham, part of transition costs of £135m before launch in 2023. However, he said re-regulated services cost one-third less per kilometre under the Bee Network than the old regime, a “wild west” of buses plying Manchester’s streets but only cherrypicking the lucrative routes.

Councils had to pay private companies to run some services and to cover discounted travel for old and young.“They had you over a barrel,” Burnham said. “I had to pay in the old world for every time a 16-year-old or 70-year-old used that bus pass – they got that fee.

Now we’re just forgoing revenue.”View image in fullscreenThe Bee Network bus still outsources the running of the buses to the big bus firms of old. Photograph: James Speakman/PAFor all the symbolism, the Bee Network still outsources the running of the buses to the big bus firms of old.

They now do so with the obligation to run the services that Manchester dictates, with unified branding and fares.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“It has cost quite a lot in subsidy, but it could have gone wrong