Adam Cailler, a regular user of Manchester's Bee Network buses, has criticised the service for significant price increases, poor reliability, and tracking app issues, despite the network costing £134m to set up.
Price Hikes and Compensation
According to Cailler, the cost of a 28-day ticket rose from around £54 under the previous operator Go North West to £87.40 under the Bee Network. The increase caused such anger that network bosses were forced to give free six-month passes to those who had purchased the 28-day tickets.
Reliability Issues
Cailler, who uses the 135 service—one of Manchester's most popular routes—stated that the service is meant to run every six minutes but rarely comes every 15 to 20 minutes. He noted that reliability has worsened from a user's perspective. Network officials have responded by claiming the service is more reliable than ever, but Cailler pointed out that social media users are quick to highlight the service's decline.
App and Network Costs
The only positive mentioned by Cailler is the Bee Network app, which tracks buses and provides accurate information—sometimes. He wrote that often the app displays a question mark over the bus being tracked and says tracking information is unavailable. Cailler also noted that many buses in the fleet have not yet been painted in the network's yellow livery, despite the £134m setup cost. He concluded that these issues cannot be dismissed as 'teething problems' given Burnham's praise of the network.
