Bolton's night bus is proving popular with those working in or enjoying Greater Manchester’s night-time economy  -with thousands of people getting onboard in the first month.

The Bee Network brought back the night bus in September.

It’s the first time a publicly-operated night bus service has run Greater Manchester since the mayor took control of buses last year.

The move means some 135,000 residents are now within a five-minute walk to a night bus stop, paving the way for people living in Bolton as well as Leigh, and Salford to get home after-hours.

Since the launch, around 7,000 people have used the new 24/7 hourly night buses.

Existing late-night buses have also seen a boost with more than 53,000 passengers making journeys over a month.

The weekly average number of passengers using buses between hours of 10pm and 7am has grown by four per cent on the V1 and six per cent on the 36.

Running on a trial basis, the services on the V1 and 36 routes connecting Manchester with Leigh and Bolton via Salford run at least every hour both ways, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Between September 1 and 28th September 28 around 7,000 trips were made across the new, additional hourly services which run between midnight and 6.30am on the V1, and 11.45pm and 6.55am on the 36.

These journeys account for 14 per cent of overnight trips on both routes, with Friday and Saturday nights proving the most popular among passengers.

The scheme is also having a positive impact on the number of people using later-running services, with a total of 53,413 travelling on both new and existing night buses between 10pm and 7am.

The 24/7 transport pilot scheme is providing 24-hour connectivity for around 135,000 people living within a five-minute walk of the two routes, including students and people working in the hospitality, healthcare and logistics sectors.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “Before we launched this pilot, we knew that people had been crying out for better public transport at night and into the early mornings, so I am really encouraged to see so many people are making use of our night buses.

“Providing late-night bus services remains a key part of our vision for the Bee Network, and these encouraging figures show that the demand is there for safer, reliable and more affordable public transport at these times of the evening.

“The far-ranging benefits of these services are already being felt, whether it’s helping people getting home from a night out and boosting our night-time economy, or creating essential new connections for the people working within this sector to get to and from their place of work.

“This pilot is crucial in allowing us to gather the insight we need to deliver on our aspirations for more Bee Network night buses, while also making the case for extra funding to provide better services for the people and businesses in Greater Manchester.”

Night buses use the same capped bus fares first introduced in 2022 to provide a simplified ticket offer consistent across all bus services in Greater Manchester.

The V1 and 36 serve areas which were among the first to be taken over by the Bee Network in September 2023, and whose buses are now under local control for the first time in nearly 40 years.

The final phase of bus franchising launches in the south of Greater Manchester in January 2025, making the region the first outside of London to regain full control of its bus network.

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “Trialling these two night bus services is allowing us to open up more transport options for people working in our night-time economy, which in turn enables further economic growth and higher productivity for our growing region.

“With passenger numbers increasing week by week, it’s clear that these services are already providing vital support to the night-time economy and helping people get to and from work around the clock.”

The safety of passengers and staff onboard the night buses remains of paramount importance, and since the launch TravelSafe Support and Enforcement Officers (TSEOs) have been deployed to provide extra reassurance and visibility.

All night buses are be equipped with high quality CCTV cameras, and drivers can be in regular communication with both their operational control room and TfGM’s 24/7 operational control centre.

As part of the pilot scheme Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is also partnering with Strut Safe, a volunteer-operated support line which offers people a friendly voice to keep them company when walking between a bus and their front door.