Better “bus tracking” functions could be on the way for passengers using new Bee Network bus lines across Bolton.

The ground breaking new buses, notable with their distinctive yellow branding, began rolling out of Bolton depots in September, with the borough one of the first in Greater Manchester to introduce the new publicly controlled services.

A meeting this week heard how Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham now intends for new tracking functions to be added to the Bee Network app.

Cllr Sean Fielding, of Breightmet, said: “Before we had the Bee Network, here in Bolton people were used to using the Diamond app to track their bus because the service was so bad that this was the only way to know if one was coming.

"Even though buses are more reliable under the Bee Network, and timetables are more trustworthy, people still tell me they miss bus tracking so I'm glad it will be coming back soon."

The Bolton News: The Bee Network was launched in Bolton earlier this yearThe Bee Network was launched in Bolton earlier this year (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Fielding, who sits on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Bee Network committee, said that he has been lobbying for improvements like this on the app since the new bus network was introduced.

He said that people in Bolton had become used to using bus trackers under the old system as an alternative to relying on timetables.

The app was officially launched in September to work alongside the new network.

Bolton and Wigan have been amongst the first of three stages that will see buses all over Greater Manchester go yellow.

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This process will see six liveries from the old bus companies, replaced by the Bee Network, eventually disappear across the whole of the city region as they have already done in the two boroughs of Bolton and Wigan.

Buses have also come under public control already in parts of Bury, Salford and Manchester before the rest of the city region follows suite.

Transport for Greater Manchester says that of the Bolton and Wigan fleet, 50 buses are zero-emission electric vehicles and all are fully accessible.

All the buses on the network will be equipped with passenger information screens and space for two wheelchairs, plus CCTV and two-way radios for security.

The app can be downloaded online.