Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor and potential future prime minister, is spearheading a transformative approach to UK transport, moving away from deregulation towards public control. His flagship Bee Network, which has already revolutionised bus services in Manchester, could become a national model as the government pushes for rail renationalisation and bus franchising across the country.
From Deregulation to Public Control
Burnham criticised the legacy of bus deregulation, stating: “You go from deregulation to regaining public control, it’s just unbelievable what becomes possible. It’s mind-blowing that deregulation was ever, ever brought in – public interest went out the window and people were cut off.” Under his leadership, Greater Manchester’s buses have been transformed, with the Bee Network now serving as a symbol of public ownership.
The railway is also rapidly returning to state ownership, with most passenger train services joining Network Rail under Great British Railways (GBR) by the end of 2027. Meanwhile, bus franchising—pioneered by Burnham under mayoral powers—has been extended to all councils nationwide by the Labour government.
The Bee Network's Impact
The Bee Network combines franchised bus routes, the Metrolink tram system, and eventually urban rail services, emulating London’s Transport for London (TfL) model. Burnham has kept bus fares low, introducing a £2 single fare before the national scheme, and offering free or discounted travel for young people in further education. Patronage has surged by 24% over three years, reaching 178 million bus journeys in 2026.
However, the system still requires significant subsidy. Fare revenue funds only half of operations, with £88 million from trams and £269 million from buses in 2025-26, slightly less than the combined local and central government funding of £376 million. Transition costs included £135 million to buy back bus depots. Despite this, re-regulated services cost one-third less per kilometre than the previous deregulated system, which Burnham described as a “wild west” where private companies cherrypicked lucrative routes.
Burnham noted the financial burden of the old system: “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.”
Outsourcing and Public Ownership
Despite the Bee Network’s public branding, bus operations are still outsourced to private firms, but with obligations to run services dictated by Manchester, with unified branding and fares. Prof Tony Travers of the London School of Economics praised the system: “It has cost quite a lot in subsidy, but it could have gone wrong and it’s gone right. It’s a good system. When I go to Manchester now I use the tram, in the way I’d use the Métro in Paris – and that’s not true elsewhere in Britain.”
Labour legislation now allows councils to set up fully publicly owned municipal bus companies, a step previously barred under the Tories.
Rail Renationalisation
Rail renationalisation is progressing, with many services already publicly owned after the collapse of the franchising system during Covid. The government aims to bring all passenger services under GBR by 2027. Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy emphasised the need for local accountability: “If you’ve got a contract for something, the way to make money out of it is to read it carefully and find what makes you the most money, but on the railway that’s not the same as satisfying a customer.”
South Western Railway now operates with track and train under a single managing director, a model Hendy wants to replicate nationwide. He said: “We’ll go off and fix it. And that hasn’t happened to the railway for more than 30 years.”
Challenges and Future Vision
Travers warned that replicating Manchester’s success elsewhere will require enormous investment. “Places like Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol need enormous investment to get up to Manchester standards. He explicitly mentioned rural areas, too – and it’s enormously expensive to get them anywhere near where urban services are.”
Burnham acknowledged the challenge but remains committed: “I’ve been in politics a long time and I’ve never known anything as impactful as the Bee Network. And it makes me wonder, why did Westminster just ignore buses for all those years? Because this is something that is on every street. People see the change and they feel it.”
