Festival to mark 200 years of Greater Manchester buses this weekend

Manchester's Museum of Transport is set to celebrate 200 years of British buses with a weekend event named 'Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow'. The event aims to highlight Greater Manchester's rich transport history.

Interestingly, the first bus service in Britain was not in London but in Salford, back in 1824. John Greenwood, a toll keeper, initiated a regular horse bus service between Pendleton and Manchester.

Fast forward two centuries, and the region is once again at the forefront of public transport innovation with Bee Network bringing Greater Manchester's buses under public control. To commemorate this milestone, the museum, located on Boyle Street, Cheetham, just north of Manchester city centre, will host a two-day festival this weekend (Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 of November).

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The event will feature free vintage bus rides, displays, and other interactive activities. Bee Network will also be present, showcasing current and future initiatives for Greater Manchester's public transport.

They will highlight efforts to make travel safer and more convenient, including active travel options. Visitors will also have the opportunity to test their skills on a Metrolink driving simulator, offering a glimpse into what it takes to operate the country's largest light rail system.

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Dennis Talbot, Museum Chairman, expressed his excitement about the forthcoming transport celebration: "People have used buses for travel in Greater Manchester for 200 years, and the ‘Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ event will be a fun way to celebrate that history. Our free vintage bus rides are always popular and on Saturday we’ll run them right into the evening, so you can imagine yourself on a bus home from the shops or the seaside many years ago. And we’re really excited that our friends from Bee Network will be there to show not just how buses were, but how they’ve changed and how bus travel is getting so much better."

The nostalgic journey paired with a glimpse into the future of transit will unfold at the Museum of Transport Greater Manchester on Boyle Street in Manchester next weekend. The event runs November 9 and 10, welcoming visitors from 10am to 7.30pm on Saturday and 10am to 4.3 pm on Sunday.

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