Editing Greater Manchester (section)

==Transport==
{{main|Transport for Greater Manchester}}
{{See also|Transport in Manchester|Manchester Airport|Manchester Metrolink|List of railway stations in Greater Manchester|Cycling in Greater Manchester}}
[[File:M60 at Cutler Hill, Failsworth.jpg|thumb|right|The [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60 motorway]], seen here at [[Failsworth]], is an [[ring road|orbital motorway]] in Greater Manchester.]]
[[File:Metrolink Tram, Radcliffe Viaduct.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Manchester Metrolink|Metrolink]] tram in [[Radcliffe, Greater Manchester|Radcliffe]], part of Greater Manchester's light rail network]]
[[File:First Greater Manchester.jpg|thumb|right|[[First Greater Manchester]] operate bus services in northern-Greater Manchester.]]

Public transport services in Greater Manchester are co-ordinated by [[Transport for Greater Manchester]] (TfGM), a public body with powers between those of a [[passenger transport executive]] and [[Transport for London]],<ref name=allchange>{{cite web |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/local-news/all-change-greater-manchester-passenger-transport-857643 |work=[[Manchester Evening News]] |date=1 April 2011 |access-date=15 November 2021 |title=All Change: Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive becomes Transport for Greater Manchester – With a New Logo of Course |first=Dean |last=Kirby |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110404132722/http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/transport/s/1416977_all-change-greater-manchester-passenger-transport-executive-becomes-transport-for-greater-manchester--with-a-new-logo-of-course |archive-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> established as SELNEC PTE in 1969 in accordance with the [[Transport Act 1968]].{{sfn|Frangopulo|1977|p=187}} The original SELNEC Passenger Transport Executive was renamed as the [[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive]] (GMPTE) when taken over by the [[Greater Manchester County Council]] on 1 April 1974 to co-ordinate public transport modes within the new county.{{sfn|Frangopulo|1977|p=187}} The council had overall responsibility for strategic planning and all policy decisions covering public transport (such as bus and rail services) and highways. GMPTE's purpose was to secure the provision of a completely integrated and efficient system of passenger transport for Greater Manchester on behalf of the county council.{{sfn|Frangopulo|1977|p=187}} In 1977, it was noted as the largest authority for public transport in the United Kingdom after [[London Transport (brand)|London Transport]].{{sfn|Frangopulo|1977|p=187}} GMPTE was renamed as Transport for Greater Manchester in April 2011 when it became a functional body of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and obtained powers additional to those of a regular passenger transport executive from central government.<ref name=allchange/>

Greater Manchester lies at the heart of the [[North West England|North West]] transport network. Much of the infrastructure converges at [[Manchester city centre]] with the [[Manchester Inner Ring Road]], an amalgamation of several major roads, circulating the city centre. The county is the only place in the UK to have a fully [[Beltway|orbital motorway]],{{sfn|Hyde|O'Rourke|Portland|2004|p=141}} the [[M60 motorway (Great Britain)|M60]], which passes through all of the boroughs except Bolton and Wigan. Greater Manchester has a higher percentage of the motorway network than any other county in the country,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldham.ac.uk/study/local |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061009195121/http://www.oldham.ac.uk/study/local |archive-date=9 October 2006 |quote=The Metropolitan County of Greater Manchester has the most extensive motorway network in the United Kingdom |title=Local information: About Oldham |publisher=oldham.ac.uk |author=[[The Oldham College]] |access-date=6 March 2008}}</ref> and according to the ''[[Guinness Book of World Records]]'', it has the most traffic lanes side by side (17), spread across several parallel carriageways ([[M61 motorway|M61]] at [[Linnyshaw]] in [[Walkden]], close to the M60 interchange).<ref>{{cite news |title=The number's up for Britain's roads |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2002/10/04/emfnum05.xml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014044538/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fmotoring%2F2002%2F10%2F04%2Femfnum05.xml |archive-date=14 October 2007 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=October 2002 |quote=The west side of Manchester is notoriously busy and holds the record for the widest section of motorway&nbsp;– an impressive 17&nbsp;lanes where the M61 and M60 meet. |access-date=2 March 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Matthews|1992|p=121}} Greater Manchester's {{cvt|85|mi|km|0}} of motorway network saw 5.8&nbsp;billion vehicle kilometres in 2002&nbsp;– about 6% of the UK's total, or 89,000&nbsp;vehicles a day.{{sfn|Hyde|O'Rourke|Portland|2004|p=141}} The [[A580 road|A580 "East Lancs" road]] is a [[primary status|primary]] [[Great Britain road numbering scheme|A road]] that connects [[Manchester]] and [[Salford]] with [[Liverpool]]. It was the UK's first purpose-built intercity highway and was officially opened by [[George V]] on 18 July 1934.<ref name="lancshistoric">{{cite web |url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080222110242/http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/historichighways/eastlancs/index.asp |archive-date=22 February 2008 |title=Early Highways Liverpool-East Lancashire Road A580 |work=Historic Highways |publisher=lancashire.gov.uk |author=[[Lancashire County Council]] |access-date=19 January 2008}}</ref> Throughout 2008, there were proposals for [[congestion charging in Greater Manchester]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1007/1007736_ccharge_details_revealed.html |title=C-charge details revealed |first=Alan |last=Salter |work=Manchester Evening News |date=5 May 2007 |access-date=25 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080708232606/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1007/1007736_ccharge_details_revealed.html |archive-date=8 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/jul/27/communities.environment |title=Manchester makes move towards congestion charge |work=The Guardian |date=27 July 2007 |access-date=31 March 2010 |archive-date=31 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130831180005/http://www.theguardian.com/society/2007/jul/27/communities.environment |url-status=live}}</ref> Unlike the [[London congestion charge|London scheme]], two cordons would have been used, one covering the main urban core of the [[Greater Manchester Urban Area]] and another covering Manchester city centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/content/articles/2007/01/24/240106_road_pricing_feature.shtml |title=Traffic Congestion charging: FAQs |publisher=BBC Manchester |access-date=26 November 2007 |archive-date=18 February 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218120414/https://www.bbc.co.uk/Manchester/content/articles/2007/01/24/240106_road_pricing_feature.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Manchester Metrolink|Metrolink]] is Greater Manchester's [[light rail]] system, which began operating in 1992. Principally used for suburban [[commuting]], {{As of|2020|12|lc=y}} the {{cvt|57|mi|km|adj=on}} long network consists of eight lines which radiate from Manchester city centre and terminate at [[Altrincham Interchange|Altrincham]], [[Ashton-under-Lyne tram stop|Ashton-under-Lyne]], [[Bury Interchange|Bury]], [[East Didsbury tram stop|East Didsbury]], [[Eccles Interchange|Eccles]], [[MediaCityUK tram stop|MediaCityUK]], [[Manchester Airport railway station|Manchester Airport]], [[Rochdale Town Centre tram stop|Rochdale]] and [[Trafford Centre tram stop|Trafford Centre]].<ref name=NextRochdale>{{cite web |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/new-metrolink-line-wythenshawe-manchester-7927130 |publisher=manchestereveningnew.co.uk |access-date=18 December 2014 |first=Paul |last=Britton |title=New Metrolink line to Wythenshawe and Manchester Airport to open on November 3 – a year ahead of schedule |date=13 October 2014 |archive-date=18 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141018021056/http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/new-metrolink-line-wythenshawe-manchester-7927130 |url-status=live}}</ref> The system is owned by TfGM and operated and maintained under contract by a [[Keolis]] / [[Amey plc|Amey]] consortium.<ref name=saldel>{{cite web |url=http://www.salford.gov.uk/d/salford-idp-light-rail.pdf |publisher=salford.gov.uk |author=Salford City Council |title=Salford Infrastructure Delivery Plan |date=February 2012 |access-date=22 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520202448/http://www.salford.gov.uk/d/salford-idp-light-rail.pdf |archive-date=20 May 2013}}</ref><ref name=rgi20110802>{{cite news |url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/ratp-buys-manchester-metrolink-operator.html |title=RATP buys Manchester Metrolink operator |date=2 August 2011 |work=[[Railway Gazette International]] |location=London |access-date=7 March 2013 |archive-date=17 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917004400/http://www.railwaygazette.com/nc/news/single-view/view/ratp-buys-manchester-metrolink-operator.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Greater Manchester has a [[heavy rail]] network of 142&nbsp;route miles (229&nbsp;km) with 98 stations, forming a central hub to the North West rail network.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?category_id=102785 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215230029/http://www.gmpte.com/content.cfm?category_id=102785 |archive-date=15 December 2006 |title=GMPTE&nbsp;– Trains |author=[[Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive]] |publisher=gmpte.com |access-date=2 March 2014}}</ref> Train services are provided by private operators and run on the national rail network which is owned and managed by [[Network Rail]]. There is an extensive bus network which radiates from Manchester city centre. The largest providers are [[Diamond Bus North West]], [[First Greater Manchester]], [[Go North West]] and [[Stagecoach Manchester]]. An extensive canal network also remains from the Industrial Revolution.

[[Manchester Airport]], which is the third busiest in the United Kingdom, serves the county and wider region with flights to more worldwide destinations than any other airport in the UK.<ref name="State of the City"/> {{As of|2024|since=y}} it serves 199 routes, making the airport thirteenth globally for total destinations served.<ref>{{cite web |title=Frankfurt with almost 300 destinations and Paris CDG with over 100 airlines lead global analysis of airport operations in S17 |url=http://www.anna.aero/2017/02/15/frankfurt-paris-cdg-lead-s17-airport-analysis/ |work=anna aero |date=15 February 2017 |access-date=12 March 2017}}</ref> The airport handled 28.07 million passengers in 2023.<ref name="stats">{{cite web |url=https://www.caa.co.uk/Data-and-analysis/UK-aviation-market/Airports/Datasets/ |title=Aircraft and passenger traffic data for UK airports |date= 2020 |website=UK Civil Aviation Authority |access-date=9 February 2020}}</ref>

The three modes of public surface transport in the area are heavily used. 19.7&nbsp;million rail journeys were made in the then GMPTE-supported area in the 2005/2006 financial year&nbsp;– an increase of 9.4% over 2004/2005; there were 19.9&nbsp;million journeys on Metrolink; and the bus system carried 219.4&nbsp;million passengers.<ref name="State of the City">{{cite web |url=http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/State_of_the_City_appendix.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104175101/http://www.manchester.gov.uk/downloads/State_of_the_City_appendix.pdf |archive-date=4 January 2008 |title=State of the City Report 2006/2007 |publisher=manchester.gov.uk |date=September 2007 |access-date=2 March 2014}}</ref>{{update inline|date=September 2024}}

The [[Bee Network]] is an integrated transport network for Greater Manchester, composed of bus, tram, cycling and walking routes. Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is expected to have the complete network operational by 2024, with commuter rail services expected to be joining the network in 2030. Initially revealed in 2018, the project aims to create a London-style transport system, to encourage more people to take public transport instead of cars. The design of the network is inspired around the Greater Manchester symbol, the worker bee, with bus and tram liveries coloured yellow and black to represent this.

Greater Manchester is set to invest{{when|date=February 2024}} a further £40.7m in its walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure as it progresses with its delivery of the largest active travel network in the country. Thirteen schemes have been allocated £23.7m in total, including a new active travel corridor along Chapel Street in Salford and a cycling and walking 'helix ramp' as part of [[Stockport Interchange]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stockport.gov.uk/news/greater-manchester-to-invest-a-further-gbp40-7m-in-active-travel |title=Greater Manchester to invest a further £40.7m in walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure}}</ref>