Accessible public transport

Buses

All buses operating in Greater Manchester are now part of the Bee Network and meet legal accessibility standards.

New Bee Network buses have improved accessibility features which includes two wheelchair spaces, audio visual announcements and a hearing induction loop.

Eventually, we want all Bee Network buses to be fully accessible, with ramps, wheelchair bays, hearing induction loops, anti-slip flooring and audio and visual announcement systems – including announcements of next stop and final destination, plus other features.

Find out more information about wheelchair and mobility scooter access on Bee Network buses.

See more questions about bus accessibility on the Bee Network:

All buses running in Greater Manchester meet legal accessibility standards.

The new zero-emission electric Bee Network buses provide enhanced accessibility features. This includes two wheelchair spaces, audio visual announcements and a hearing induction loop.

Other buses running in Greater Manchester are being upgraded too. We want to make all Bee Network buses best-in-class and as accessible as possible for everyone, as quickly as we can.

We can decide where and when Bee Network services run. So we can make sure it’s easier and cheaper to get to where you want to go.

We’re making sure buses link up with other transport systems like Metrolink, our accessibility-award-winning tram network. It has step-free access across all 99 stops and audio/visual announcements on all platforms and trams.

Fully inclusive electric buses are running on the Bee Network alongside other modern vehicles, with more planned in future.

The buses have been designed with help from passengers and key groups like our Disability Design Reference Group, and we’ll keep listening to your feedback.

We can arrange for you to test your wheelchair using a bus that is not in service. You’ll have the space and time you need to try it out.

If you want to do this, contact the Bee Network Customer Contact Centre:

Call us on 0161 244 1000 (Monday to Friday: 7am to 8pm / Weekends and Bank Holidays: 8am to 8pm). *
Email hello@beenetwork.com

The Ring & Ride accessible minibus service is also available for wheelchair users.

*If you get in touch by phone, you can request LanguageLine Solutions. LanguageLine offer a telephone interpreting service for customers whose first language is not English.

We’ve made sure the new Bee Network app meets all accessibility standards. *

We worked with people and groups with different disabilities and accessibility requirements to help develop the app. We also carried out user experience research.
This valuable feedback will help us keep improving the app. We plan to add new features and functionality in future.

The app includes the following accessibility features:

Simple information, with icons used to help explain things.
The app adjusts to the assistive settings of the user’s device, supporting colour contrast and the size of text and buttons.
The app can be solely voice controlled using features of iOS and Android.
It supports screen reader technology using your device’s assistive technology.

*App development was supported by a robust equality impact assessment in line with TfGM’s Public Sector Equalities Duty. The app complies with the Public Sector Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA. In some areas the design of the app meets the stricter AAA standard.

We have worked with a range of people and groups, to listen to different lived experiences.

This valuable feedback helped shape printed and digital customer information, the new Bee Network app, the design of the new zero-emission buses, the Bee Network brand, and the Greater Manchester Bus Strategy.

Groups involved in this activity include:

TfGM Disability Design Reference Group
Autism Consortium
RNIB
Dementia United
Henshaws User Voice Group
Manchester Deaf Centre
Salford Deaf Community
GM Disabled People’s Panel
Guide Dogs
GM Youth Combined Authority
GM Youth Network
GM Race Equality Panel
GM Older People’s Network.

We’ll keep on having these important open conversations so we can work together to make the Bee Network as accessible as possible for everyone as quickly as we can.