TfGM to utilise AI to deliver Bee Network bus journeys in ‘UK first’

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has reportedly become the first franchised transport authority in the UK to utilise artificial intelligence (AI) and data for the purpose of delivering more reliable, frequent and quicker bus journeys.

The achievement follows the establishment of a partnership between TfGM and public transport performance optimisation platform CitySwift, and builds on the Greater Manchester Bus Strategy announced last year.

The plans laid out in the report highlighted Greater Manchester’s vision for a future bus network, aiming to make buses the first choice for more journeys within TfGM’s Bee Network.

Around half of the bus network in Greater Manchester is under local control, with the remaining half joining in from 05 January 2025.

The Bee Network aims to grow the bus use by around to 30% by 2030 from 2022/2023 levels, equating to nearly 50 million additional bus journeys annually.

According to TfGM, growth will be driven by improvements such as a more integrated, user-friendly, and frequent network, and better infrastructure for reliable bus journeys.

To deliver this, TfGM will utilise CitySwift’s performance optimisation platform, which leverages advanced analytics and simulations to give operators and transport authorities insights, recommendations, and predictions on efficient, reliable and in-demand services.

Through the partnership, TfGM will have access to CitySwift’s performance data across the entire Bee Network, helping to identify trends and pain points such as traveller destinations and service performance, allowing the local government body to recognise where improvements should be made to benefit passengers.

Additionally TfGM will leverage CitySwift’s Spotlight solution, an intelligent recommendation engine for bus network enhancements.

Designed for stakeholders, the product provides AI-powered insights into performance and resource parameters such as timeliness, cost, and vehicle numbers through scanning the whole network, executing optimisation variations, and proposing ROI improvements.

Catherine Towey, senior lead for bus franchising at TfGM, said: “Customers are at the heart of the Bee Network and by working with CitySwift we will be able to see more clearly than ever how services are performing.

“We can then use this information prioritise improvements and deliver a better service for passengers.”

The TfGM is the latest in a series of partnerships for CitySwift across the UK, including National Express, Transport North East, Transdev Blazefield and trentbarton.