Why Greater Manchester’s Refusal to Publish Bee Network Safety Data Matters
In August 2024, Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) publicly committed to publishing Bee Network bus-safety data — information covering collisions, injuries, near misses and other indicators vital to public confidence in the network. However, despite that written commitment, GMCA has now refused to release the data, citing Section 43(2) of the Freedom of Information Act — the clause covering “commercial interests.” This decision means the public cannot currently see how safe the new Bee Network bus system really is. As a bus driver with 19 years’ experience and RMT Branch Secretary for Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Buses, I’ve submitted a formal Internal Review challenging this refusal. You can read the full FOI trail here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/subject_foi_request_bee_network_2#outgoing-1962324 --- Why this matters Transport for London has published detailed bus-safety data since 2014. Those disclosures have never harmed operators commercially —...