We find out how bad Greater Manchester’s public transport system really is

A new dawn is on the horizon for Greater Manchester’s buses.

After years of confusing, expensive fares and unreliable services, Andy Burnham has promised a major overhaul of public transport in the region. Following an historic legal ruling, the mayor announced plans for a ‘London-style transport revolution’, including a new charging system which would cap adult fares for a single journey at £2 and children at £1.

A £1.2bn five-year programme of investment could also see a fleet of electric buses with a uniform livery, new bus lanes and corridors, boosted connectivity and frequency between towns and cities. It would spell the end of a set-up branded by leaders as ‘fragmented and incoherent’; a network in which more than 830 services are run by 30 operators – using 150 ticket types.

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But how dysfunctional really are our buses? In an attempt to find out, M.E.N. reporter Tom George is spending the morning commuting from one part of Greater Manchester to another. Starting out in Walmersley – a suburb north of Bury – at 7.15am, we’re hoping to reach Swinton, in Salford, by 9am. In doing so, we’ll need to catch three buses with a predicted journey time of 90 minutes.

We chose these two areas as the 13-mile journey would take just 20 minutes in a car, according to Google Maps.

Follow our live blog below to see how Tom gets on…