Around 140 new buses will be added to the publicly-controlled Bee Network before it takes over all services in Greater Manchester in the new year.

This will be in addition to the purchase of 72 Stagecoach buses and 94 electric buses, which are more than a year old, after the regional authority recently approved a plan to invest £71 million to expand the fleet.

Public control over buses in the region, Bee Network launch in September 2023.

The remaining half of the services, including services in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and parts of Manchester and Salford, will join the network on 5 January.

Meanwhile, the new buses will be stored at six Department of Defense facilities.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said: “We are making every effort to ensure we are back up and running on January 5.”

He said it was a “complex and major undertaking”, adding: “There will no doubt be some bumps along the way, but it is vital that we prepare our fleet of modern yellow buses to hit the streets.”

The network was facing teething problems when it first launched in 2023, and also Service started in the northern parts of the region In March.

Mr Burnham recently confirmed that single fares in the region will increase. It will be limited to £2 in 2025Despite increases in other parts of England.

Bee Network has previously said they can only keep their fees low if “more people use them”.

Buses returned to local control in 2023, following the deregulation and privatization of bus companies in 1985, in a bid to improve services and reduce fares.

Due to public demand, the network will soon be added a new service The hourly route 615 between Wigan and Middlebrook retail park was restored last weekend, four years after it was scrapped.

More night buses We have also been operating in parts of the region since September as part of a pilot program to improve worker safety and the local economy.

Passengers will also be able to enter and exit both buses and trams with their cards and smart devices from March, paying a maximum of £9.50 per day.

Nearly 200 apprentices were hired by bus operators and builders in the region.

Greater Manchester transport commissioner Vernon Everitt said: “The third and final phase of bus franchising in January marks a major milestone in the delivery of the Bee Network.”

He said all eight commuter rail lines will join the Bee Network by 2028.