Dandy Andy

[whiteinfrance]

It's the pessimism that kills you!

[Victor_OTT_17]

The 'Couldn't give a flying f**k' is the problem. That attitude is what made Brexit happen. I didn't vote in the Brexit referendum because I believed that the British public weren't fkn stupid enough to vote us out of the biggest single market on the fkn planet (or disc as some believe: probably the fkn Brexit voters)! The 'Couldn't-give-a-flying-fkrs' are as complicit as the voters that vote for the 'stupid thing' ... me included!

[Sean_Nile]

you have to question Burnham's judgement.

[Madron]

Contender for ' MOST BORING TOPIC OF THE YEAR'

[Sean_Nile]

Contender for ' MOST BORING TOPIC OF THE YEAR'

But not as boring and predictable as the labour party itself

[Sean_Nile]

Tax private cars and provide bus rides for £2 a pop to get into your 15min cities.

This is the new freedom provided by new labour.

[CUSSIE01]

The 'Couldn't give a flying f**k' is the problem. That attitude is what made Brexit happen. I didn't vote in the Brexit referendum because I believed that the British public weren't fkn stupid enough to vote us out of the biggest single market on the fkn planet (or disc as some believe: probably the fkn Brexit voters)! The 'Couldn't-give-a-flying-fkrs' are as complicit as the voters that vote for the 'stupid thing' ... me included!

I didn’t vote in the referendum either because I was stuck on a runway in Paris while trying to get home from the 2016 Euro finals in France due to another summer strike by French air traffic controllers or baggage handlers or airline staff ********………
Same as the greedy ******* train drivers in Britain who earn on average between £69,000 & £75,000 p/yr striking every holiday egged on by their ******** friends in the unions holding the country to ransom. I vote in every election cos there’s no point in complaining if you don’t make the effort so I’m very happy to have voted “ Don’t give a flying **** “ in this one.
Didn’t realise I had this rant in me either Victor, thanks mate.

[Sean_Nile]

Andy Burnham's bus experiment in Manchester.

Andy Morgan, July 27, 2026, ★
Says the 471 between Rochdale and Bolton is late most days, with waits exceeding 30 minutes and, on the day of the review, the bus hadn't appeared. �
Trustpilot

Janet Comer, July 25, 2026, ★★★★★
Praises a friendly 409 driver who greeted passengers warmly. Says Manchester is lucky to have the Bee buses. �
Trustpilot

Colin Andrew, July 24, 2026, ★
Says the app is useless, sometimes showing no service while a bus is actually arriving. Also criticises the online timetables and says the service isn't dependable. �
Trustpilot

Jim Roberts, July 17, 2026, ★
Complains about customer service, saying complaints are funnelled through an AI system and the complaint portal produces errors. He describes the organisation as having little incentive to resolve problems. �
Trustpilot

Sateesh Kumar Boganadham, July 14, 2026, ★
Simply says the 263 service is extremely poor and unreliable. �
Trustpilot

Paul P, July 8, 2026, ★
Complains that buses were excessively hot during a heatwave and lacked adequate air conditioning. �
Trustpilot

P Smith, July 5, 2026, ★
Criticises the 285 Timperley circular for finishing at 9:20pm despite late pub openings associated with an England football match. �
Trustpilot

Mohammed Othman, July 3, 2026, ★
Says app bus times are almost never accurate and complains about the price relative to transport quality. �
Trustpilot

Kelly Brayshaw, June 12, 2026, ★★★★★
Gives a driver a glowing review after he stopped to help a 95-year-old woman at Oldham bus station. �
Trustpilot

Kim Grace Linder, June 7, 2026, ★
Says buses frequently ignore passengers signalling for them to stop. Also complains about driver attitudes and interactions on routes 82, 83 and 84. �
Trustpilot

Naomi Fearon, June 4, 2026, ★
Reports buses being late, poor frequency and buses disappearing from the app despite supposedly running. Calls the app inaccurate and the service embarrassing for a major city. �
Trustpilot

Joe Butterworth, June 1, 2026, ★
Warns about repeated contactless payment attempts after he had already paid for a journey. �
Trustpilot

R P, May 31, 2026, ★
Criticises Bee Network management, arguing that drivers are inadequately supported when dealing with difficult passengers. �
Trustpilot

Lenny Davies, May 25, 2026, ★
Says the 203 is never on time and that he had to take a taxi to avoid being late for work. �
Trustpilot

Kenza, May 18, 2026, ★
Complains about ticketing errors, difficulty obtaining refunds and poor communication from customer service. �
Trustpilot

Kat, May 18, 2026, ★
Says buses are almost never on time and sometimes don't appear at all while the app says they are running normally. She nevertheless identifies the £2 single fare as the one major positive. �
Trustpilot

Zaneta, May 8, 2026, ★
Says repeated errors with her bus pass cost her more than £30 and that customer service failed to resolve the problem. �
Trustpilot

Delwar Hussain, April 19, 2026, ★
Complains about misleading app information, cancelled or delayed buses not being properly reported and buses failing to stop. �
Trustpilot

Alena McAllister, April 15, 2026, ★
Describes a 457 that remained at the bus station instead of making its scheduled departure. She blames poor management and calls the network unreliable. �
Trustpilot

Miss NJ, June 24, 2025, ★
Reports that roughly one in four buses is late, criticises Sunday provision and describes the 521 as particularly unreliable. She also alleges drivers have missed stops. �

[Sean_Nile]

July 2026, Gill H, ★
Says she and family members were charged £60 each after apparently tapping correctly on the tram. Calls the system a scam and criticises customer service. �
Tripadvisor

July 2026, MrJ, ★
Says bus drivers are frequently rude and buses rarely arrive on time. However, he says the Bee Network pricing itself “can't be faulted”. �
Tripadvisor

April 2026, Paul T, ★
Says a bus arrived about five minutes early and left before the advertised timetable, leaving him behind. Calls the timetable unreliable and says the service cannot be depended upon. �
Tripadvisor

November 2025, Shirley R, ★
Says the 114 and 181/182 services are repeatedly late, missing or marked “Not in service”. Describes the service as a nightmare. �
Tripadvisor

February 2026, Sandra, ★
Says three buses arrived together but the 52 passed without stopping, despite her trying to flag it down. She criticises the driver's behaviour. �
Tripadvisor

September 2025, Finley C, ★
Calls the Bee Network “chaos in a yellow jacket”, complaining about lateness, cancellations, incorrect routes and unreliable timetables. �
Tripadvisor

November 2025, ghsh x, ★
Says buses routinely don't turn up and passengers can wait more than an hour for a service that should have appeared several times. �
Tripadvisor

October 2025, Sherpa27229327295, ★
Complains about drivers arguing, missing stops and going down the wrong road. Says they eventually had to pay five times the bus fare for an Uber. �
Tripadvisor

January 2026, Alison F, ★
Says the 288 could be a good airport service if the driver turns up, but she has repeatedly been caught out by missing drivers. �
Tripadvisor

June 2025, Lynn M, ★
Says the live map is effectively useless, with buses appearing on the map but not actually arriving. Also complains about buses passing stops and passengers being left late for work. �
Tripadvisor

August 2025, Jabulile M, ★
Says a driver charged £5 rather than £2 for a short journey and was rude when challenged. She says subsequent complaints produced no refund. �
Tripadvisor

January 2025, Rosalind C, ★
Complains about a driver's treatment of an elderly wheelchair user trying to board the number 17. �
Tripadvisor

January 2025, unnamed reviewer, ★
Says buses repeatedly failed to appear or were more than an hour late, causing repeated lateness for work. �
Tripadvisor

December 2024, Janice B, ★
Says the 415 between Oldham and Middleton is frequently 20 to 30 minutes late and was considerably better under Go North West. �
Tripadvisor

March 2026, Sacrum M, ★
Complains about a bus stop in Rochdale allegedly smelling strongly of urine and lacking adequate facilities for elderly passengers and schoolchildren. �
Tripadvisor

June 2026, unnamed reviewer, ★
Says they were fined £60 despite the contactless reader apparently confirming their tap. They complain that their appeal and attempts to contact customer service were unsuccessful. �
Tripadvisor

May 2026, Lee D, ★
Says a tram journey was unexpectedly terminated and Bee Network staff refused to refund the fare, leaving the passenger to find alternative transport. �
Tripadvisor

March 2026, FTMDave, ★★★★★/positive
This is an important counterexample. The reviewer says they had no complaints, found the metro easy to use, liked the clear platform displays and thought the £4.60 four-zone airport journey was reasonable. �
Tripadvisor

July 2026, another reviewer, ★
Complains about a 20-minute car journey taking around 1 hour 45 minutes by bus, questioning why anyone would choose the service. �
Tripadvisor

February 2026, Sandra's review of route 52, ★
Another particularly striking complaint about buses arriving together, with the desired bus allegedly passing without stopping. The reviewer says this had happened before. �
Tripadvisor

The Tripadvisor picture is pretty stark
The headline number is extraordinary: 1.3/5 from 136 reviews. �

Tripadvisor
And the recurring complaints aren't random. They cluster around reliability, buses failing to appear, inaccurate timetables/live tracking, drivers, customer service and ticketing problems.

What you can say is that among people sufficiently unhappy with the Bee Network to leave a Tripadvisor review, dissatisfaction is overwhelming.

And interestingly, even several of the negative reviews concede that the fares are good. That echoes the same on Reddit: the £2 fare seems to be Burnham's strongest card, while reliability is his Achilles heel.

[Sean_Nile]

[Sean_Nile]

You could almost think there is a plan to get rid of private motorists through taxation or removal of drivers license. Welcome to state control over your lives. it is all being done because we have concerns about your safety and welfare.

[Sean_Nile]

SECRET CABINET MEETING AT No.10 NORTH.

Agenda: Operation Get Everyone on the Bus

The End of Private Transport
Long-term strategy for reducing and eventually eliminating private car use.

Taxing Car Ownership
New vehicle taxes, road-use charges, parking levies and emissions-based taxation.

Making Driving Unaffordable
Review of additional charges designed to encourage motorists to abandon their cars.

Driving Licence Restrictions
Proposals for stricter licence renewals, compulsory assessments and possible licence removal.

Climate Change as the Justification
Expanding environmental regulations and emissions requirements.

Public Safety as the Justification
Using road safety, congestion and pedestrian protection to introduce further restrictions.

The Expansion of Bus Lanes
Converting existing road space from cars to buses and other forms of public transport.

The Shrinking of Parking
Removing parking spaces and increasing parking charges.

Traffic Restrictions
Additional bus gates, road closures, traffic-calming measures and restricted-access zones.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition
Expanding camera enforcement to identify and penalise motorists.

Making Public Transport the Only Practical Option
Ensuring buses, trams and trains become the default means of travelling around Greater Manchester.

Managing Public Resistance
Strategies for persuading motorists that every new restriction is actually a choice.

The "For the Climate" Communication Strategy
Standard wording for announcing new taxes, restrictions and regulations.

The "For Public Safety" Communication Strategy
Standard wording for explaining why another road has disappeared.

Final Objective
A Greater Manchester in which owning a private car remains technically legal but increasingly difficult, expensive and unnecessary.

Any Other Business
Discuss whether Cabinet members should themselves be exempt from the measures.