Buzz around Bury on a Busy Bee Bus!

Reporter: Ask Bury
Date online: 09 July 2007

Bury town centre was a hive of activity today as transport bosses launched the borough's first door-to-door community transport service - the Busy Bee Bus.

Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA) and Bury Council are funding local operator 'Bolton Community Transport' to run the new service in the Bury area for a two-year trial.

Any local community group can now book to use the new fully accessible 14-seater Busy Bee bus for trips out to sports, leisure, cultural and faith activities within Bury and across the North West.
Chair of GMPTA, Councillor Roger Jones said: "This is great news for Bury and it also means that every borough in Greater Manchester now has some form of community transport.

"Services like this can provide a lifeline for people to get out to local activities and they are proving a really popular complement to conventional bus, tram and train services. This two-year trial will help us to see how much demand there is for a community transport service in Bury and we hope it is popular with residents."

Bury spokesperson for GMPTA, Councillor Andrew Garner, urged local people to try out the service: "I'm glad that Bury now has its first door-to-door transport available to community groups. Services like this are very popular in other areas of Greater Manchester so it's great that one is now available for Bury residents too.

"I encourage community groups and individuals to give the Busy Bee Bus a go. If the trial is successful it could lead to the development of a permanent community transport service for Bury."
Diane Sandiford, General Manager for Bolton Community Transport, added: "We have provided community transport services in Bolton for more than 20 years and we're very pleased to be extending our services for the benefit of communities in Bury."

To register to use the service, groups need to contact Bolton Community Transport on 01204 393777 (Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm) or email bctfs@btconnect.com lt;mailto:bctfs@btconnect.com>. Prices start as low as £50 per return trip for a 14-seater minibus.