Details released on latest fire service cuts show Salford will lose its second fire engine. Gorton and Central Manchester will also lose a fire engine each. Guest article from the Salford Star Following news in October that Eccles was to have its second fire engine cut from service, Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, has rubber […]
Franchised bus system would ‘give better value for money’ for Mancunians says Sir Richard Leese
Public meeting saw Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, weigh in on the side of re-regulating the GM bus system in a franchised, London like model. Greater Manchester’s buses would be better value for money, more convenient and accountable if publicly controlled, an audience heard at a panel discussion organised by the Better Buses […]
Five reasons why Greater Manchester buses must be re-regulated
Last week consultation began over the future of buses in Greater Manchester. Since deregulation in the 1980s bus usage has declined while prices have risen. Change is needed and there are two main options to choose from. Re-regulation in the form of franchising or a private bus company backed partnership model. This is the case […]
Organiser of World Naked Bike Ride in Manchester explains why hundreds of nude cyclists took to the streets
You may have noticed some unusual sights in Manchester city centre last month – and your eyes weren’t deceiving you! There really were hundreds of naked cyclists riding through Manchester city centre on 7th June. It was for the World Naked Bike Ride, an annual event that takes place all over the world. I spoke […]
Burnham says GM needs a ‘new economy’ and promises funding for co-operative development
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has criticised the dominance of the “mantra about the free market” in shaping local economic policy and committed to pursuing a more co-operative economy for the region that sees industrial progress going hand in hand with social progress. He believes developing the “new economy” can be done while supporting […]
Food Poverty Action Plan aims to tackle hidden crisis in GM
The latest estimates are that 620,000 people in Greater Manchester are living in poverty, and struggle to put food on the table. Of those, around 200,000 are children experiencing food poverty. £30 billion per year has been cut from welfare budgets since 2010. By 2020, Local councils will have lost 60% of central government funding […]
Bus companies should be forced to provide a fleet that does not harm us
Pascale Robinson from The Better Buses for Greater Manchester campaign argues that re-regulating our bus services would improve our health, environment and economy. Better Buses are putting on a film and Q&A session at Bolton Socialist Club, Friday 22 March, 8 till 10pm. “The public ownership of rail, better control of bus services and investment […]
‘Critical for a liveable, prosperous and sustainable city’: Manchester City Council leader weighs in on bus reform
As public support grows for bus regulation in Greater Manchester, campaigners from Better Buses for Greater Manchester this week have been taking local council leaders for a ride… on a bus. Throughout Better Buses Action Week local residents have been inviting council leaders onto their commutes to convince them to support bus regulation and to […]
10 reasons why the bus companies’ partnership proposals will not ‘revolutionise’ our buses: we need regulation
Why do passengers and staff want a regulated network when £100 million has been offered for the alternative – partnerships? The fact that bus companies are suddenly offering a £100 million partnership package as an alternative to regulation shows just how great re-regulation of our buses is, and how much bus companies will do to […]
Greater Manchester plan for jobs, homes…and the environment?
After several delays the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has published the new draft of its Spatial Framework. The previous version, published in late 2016 met considerable criticism, especially from groups campaigning on green space but also from other quarters, including our own critique of its assumptions of accelerated “economic growth”. On the other side the […]