First Bus to electrify Oldham depot after safety concerns

A further 50 electric buses have been on order since last year, ready to operate when Oldham, along with north Manchester, and the remaining parts of Bury and Salford see their buses come into the Bee Network.

Bolton’s depot has already been electrified by Oldham-based contractor Wilmott Dixon, in order to charge the first 50 of 100 electric buses.

Infrastructure including a private high-voltage ring main and substations, together with low-voltage distribution to feed 25 dual EV charging stations was installed at the depot prior to the Bee Network’s launch.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority had been looking to use the contractor again for the Oldham bus depot upgrade.

However, according to the GMCA’s decision: “First Group has informed TfGM that they would support the electrification of the depot however as they are the current operator, they considered that the risk profile from an operational and safety perspective is too high to allow another client and contractor to undertake works while they continued to operate the depot.

“First Group subsequently offered to undertake the electrification works on the premise that they are funded by TfGM.”

The £30 million funding from the Government’s City Region Sustainable Transport Settlement is budgeted for the 50 buses, as well as upgrades to the depot.

It is understood that First will begin work in late November, running up to March 2024 – the month Bee Network buses are set to begin operating in the borough.

From March 24, 2024, buses in the borough will be operated by Stagecoach and Diamond under the unified Bee Network brand, with unified ticketing, joining areas already in franchising, including Bolton, Wigan, Salford and parts of Manchester.

Stagecoach and Diamond will take over routes in Oldham from First, under Bee Network branding (Image: Jack Fifield, Newsquest)

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The remaining parts of the city region are set to join from January 2025, with passengers then set to be able to tap-in and tap-out across all buses and trams.

Zoe Hands, managing director of First Bus in Manchester, said: “We’re pleased to support Transport for Greater Manchester in preparing our Oldham depot for electrification as the Bee Network expands and new vehicle technologies are introduced into the fleet.

“First Bus has extensive experience in the transformation of depots to electric from our programme at sites across the UK.

“We will bring this knowledge and expertise to Oldham and manage the conversion alongside the continued operation of the depot to serve local communities and the wider region of Greater Manchester.”

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Andy Burnham riding a Bee Network bus (Image: TfGM)

TfGM’s bus franchising director, Anne Marie Purcell, said: “Following the launch of the Bee Network, we are continuing to work hard to bring buses back under local control in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and parts of Manchester, Salford and Tameside from 24 March.

“Electric buses are a key part of the Bee Network and we need to make sure we have the right infrastructure in place to help us deliver our ambition of having a zero-emission bus fleet by 2032, and we’re pleased to be working with First Group on the electrification of the Oldham depot.”

New buses include upgrades such as audio-visual stop announcements, which have been seen on London’s buses since 2009.

The system may even go cashless in the future, with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham previously saying there was "an argument both ways" and that a decision had not been taken, before adding that most felt it would be safer and speed up journeys to go cashless.