TfGM

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. TfGM is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities. It is an executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), the city region's administrative authority.

The strategies and policies of TfGM are set by the GMCA and its Greater Manchester Transport Committee (GMTC). The committee is made up of 33 councillors appointed from the ten Greater Manchester districts (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan).

History

The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC (South East Lancashire/North East Cheshire) Passenger Transport Executive was established to co-ordinate public transport in and around Manchester. Between 1974 and 2011, it was known as the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), until a reform of local government in Greater Manchester granted it more powers and prompted a corporate rebranding.

Services

Manchester Metrolink

The Manchester Metrolink light rail system launched in 1992. Entirely subsidised by TfGM without a government grant and operated by KeolisAmey. It carries over 43.7 million passengers a year. With 99 stations, it is the second largest local transport network in the United Kingdom after the London Underground. Further expansion to Stockport is envisaged.
*Altrincham-Bury line
*Altrincham-Piccadilly line
*Bury-Piccadilly line
*East Didsbury-Rochdale line
* Eccles- Ashton line
*Manchester Airport-Victoria line
* MediaCity- Ashton line
*Crumpsall -Trafford Park Line

Rail services

Rail services are operated by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales. TfGM subsidise fares on certain local services and fund station refurbishments on an ad hoc basis.

Buses

* Free Bus and Metroshuttle: launched in 2002, offering free bus services around Manchester city centre. New services were provided in Bolton, Oldham and Stockport after success of the service in Manchester.
*Bus services operated by private operators including Arriva North West, Bullocks Coaches, D&G Bus, Diamond Bus North West, First Greater Manchester, First West Yorkshire, Go North West, Rosso, Stagecoach Manchester and Vision Bus. From 2023 these will be merged into the Greater Manchester-wide "Bee Network".
*Maintenance of bus shelters and stations, including Shudehill Interchange.
*Ring & Ride – An accessible, low-cost minibus service for people who have difficulty in using public transport.

Highways and cycling

*Greater Manchester Urban Traffic Control Unit (GMUTC) – responsibility for road management transferred to TfGM in 2009. Entails installation, maintenance and management of traffic signals, limited areas of road safety (2012), incident response and event management via a traffic control centre.
*Cycling – promotion of the Greater Manchester Cycling Strategy and delivery of Cycle Hubs and regional cycle routes.

Fares, ticketing and information

*Subsidised fares on certain services
*System One travelcards
*Get me there
*Public transport maps and timetables
*Website
Route Explorer application

File:Metrolink Tramway, Radcliffe Station.jpg,
TfGM owns Greater Manchester's light rail system, which includes over 64 miles of track and 99 stops across seven of the ten Greater Manchester boroughs.
File:YJ14BJY.jpg,
TfGM owns the free bus service around Manchester city centre.
File:Manchester Piccadilly - Arriva 195007 leaving for the airport.JPG,
Commuter rail services are provided by train operating companies (TOCs). TfGM subsidises local rail services and helps to fund station improvements across Greater Manchester.
File:Parker Street - geograph.org.uk - 2711601.jpg,
Bus services in Greater Manchester are deregulated. TfGM owns and maintains bus stations, stops & shelters. It implements the System One multi-operator and multi-modal travelcards, and subsidises some fares.
File:Mancunian Way UMIST.jpg,
TfGM is responsible for managing the Key Route Network of major roads, as well as maintenance of traffic signals.

Bee Network

The Bee Network is a proposed integrated transport network for Greater Manchester, composed of bus, tram, cycling, and walking routes. TfGM's vision is for the network to be operational by 2024, with commuter rail services joining the network by 2030.

Originally devised in 2018 as a network of active travel routes, the vision for the Bee Network was expanded following the Greater Manchester Combined Authority's decision to use the powers given to it under the Bus Services Act 2017 to introduce a bus franchising scheme for the city region. The active travel subset of the Bee Network was then renamed the ''Bee Active Network''.

Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (TfGMC)

TfGM inherited the responsibilities of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive (GMPTE), which was established in 1974.

On 1 April 2011, the GMPTE became TfGM, a new regional transport body for Greater Manchester that forms part of the new Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). As a result, GMITA was abolished, replaced by the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (TfGMC) which ultimately reports to the Combined Authority. TfGMC and its subcommittees are made up of a nominated pool of 33 councillors from the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester who manage TfGM and create transport policy in Greater Manchester.

Although it differs in certain structural forms, on the day of its inauguration TfGM became the second most powerful and influential transport organisation in England after Transport for London, as it united previously splintered governance over transport policy in the boroughs under one body.

It elects its own Chair and Vice-Chair and assumes the functions previously performed by GMITA, as well as the newly devolved transport powers and responsibilities from government and the ten metropolitan councils which make up the area. The 33 councillors have voting rights on most transport issues, despite not being members of the GMCA: major decisions still require approval by the GMCA, but the functions that are referred (but not delegated) to the TfGMC include making recommendations in relation to:
*The budget and transport levy
*Borrowing limit
*Major and strategic transport policies
*The local transport plan
*Operation of Greater Manchester Transport Fund and approval of new schemes
*Appointment of Director General/Chief Executive of TfGM

Corporate identity

TfGM uses a corporate identity designed in-house. The black and white "M" logo is adapted from the GMPTE logo and is used on bus stops across Greater Manchester.

Legal case

A High Court case decided in 2012 between Thales Group's transport and security subsidiary (supplier of the tram management system) and TfGM considered the operation of an audit clause in a contract, and the extent to which a supplier must comply with this.Fenwick Elliott
Dispatch, Issue 152 February 2013
accessed 8 May 2022

See also

*Timeline of public passenger transport operations in Manchester

References

External links

*
*
Official website of Transport for Greater ManchesterGreater Manchester Integrated Transport AuthorityGreater Manchester Transportation UnitSELNEC plans for urban rapid transportGreater Manchester Congestion Charge Proposals

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Organisations based in Manchester
Public transport executives in the United Kingdom
Transport in Greater Manchester
2011 establishments in England