Transport for Greater Manchester


Transport for Greater Manchester is the public body responsible for co-ordinating transport services throughout Greater Manchester in North West England. The organisation traces its origins to the Transport Act 1968, when the SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was established to co-ordinate public transport in and around Manchester. Between 1974 and 2011, it was known as the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive, until a reform of local government in Greater Manchester granted it more powers and prompted a corporate rebranding. The strategies and policies of Transport for Greater Manchester are set by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and its Greater Manchester Transport Committee.
Transport for Greater Manchester is responsible for investments in improving transport services and facilities. It is the executive arm of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority which funds and makes policies for TfGM. The authority is made up of 33 councillors appointed from the ten Greater Manchester districts.

Services

Manchester Metrolink

The Manchester Metrolink light rail system launched in 1992. Entirely subsidised by TfGM without a government grant and operated by KeolisAmey. It carries over 43.7 million passengers a year. With 99 stations it is the largest local transport network in the United Kingdom after the London Underground. Further expansion to Stockport is envisaged.
Rail services are operated by Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Northern, TransPennine Express and Transport for Wales. TfGM subsidise fares on certain local services and fund station refurbishments on an ad hoc basis.

Buses

TfGM inherited the responsibilities of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive established in 1974.
On 1 April 2011, the GMPTE became Transport for Greater Manchester, a new regional transport body for Greater Manchester that forms part of the new Greater Manchester Combined Authority. As a result, GMITA was abolished, replaced by the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee which ultimately reports to the Combined Authority. TfGMC and its subcommittees are made up of a nominated pool of 33 councillors from the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester who manage TfGM and create transport policy in Greater Manchester.
Although it differs in certain structural forms, on the day of its inauguration TfGM became the second most powerful and influential transport organisation in England after Transport for London because it unites previously splintered governance over transport policy in the boroughs under one body. It elects its own Chair and Vice-Chair and assumes the functions previously performed by GMITA as well as the newly devolved transport powers and responsibilities from Government and the 10 Metropolitan Councils which make up the area. The 33 councillors have voting rights on most transport issues despite not being members of the GMCA: major decisions still require approval by the GMCA, but the functions that are referred to the TfGMC include making recommendations in relation to:
TfGM uses a corporate identity designed in-house. The black and white "M" logo is adapted from the GMPTE logo and is used on bus stops across Greater Manchester.