DIAMOND BUS CELEBRATES 10 YEARS IN GREATER MANCHESTER
21 March 2025
Diamond Bus North West is celebrating ten years of service to the Greater Manchester community, with a special stakeholder reception and publication of a commemorative booklet.
In March 2015, Rotala acquired Green Triangle Buses, a small bus operator based in Atherton with around 45 vehicles and 100 staff. Primarily operating services in the west of the conurbation, Atherton became the base for growth in future years. By 2019, Diamond was the second largest bus operator in Greater Manchester following acquisitions of both Go Goodwins bus operation in 2017 and First’s Bolton depot in 2019.
Significant investment was made across the board, including in staff training and development, fleet, and service enhancements. In 2023, Diamond proudly operated the first franchised bus service under the Bee Network and now holds eleven small franchises and a further seven school bus franchises. Working in partnership with TfGM, Diamond has continued to grow and develop the market. In October 2024 TfGM and Diamond doubled the frequency of service 132 Wigan – Trafford Centre to every 30 minutes, bringing about a double-digit patronage increase on this service which has been continuously operated by Diamond for the past ten years.
The anniversary was marked by a stakeholder reception in Manchester on 20th March, with guests including staff, local authority representatives and councillors, suppliers and customers. A commemorative booklet, looking back on ten years of achievement was published and is available to download here. Bob Dunn, Executive Director for Rotala and colleagues reflect on the period and look forward to the future in a special video.
Tony Williamson, who has worked as a driver for Diamond and it’s predecessor companies since 2015, was present at the event and commented “I initially joined Diamond in Atherton over ten years ago. Back then we were a small company, but the investment and transformation we have seen in recent years has been phenomenal. Along with the launch the Bee Network, being a bus driver really is a job to be proud of again.”
Bob Dunn, Executive Director at parent company Rotala, commented “This is a great milestone at which to look back and reflect and celebrate our progress within Greater Manchester over the last decade. In that time, we have helped millions of people travel around the area, accessing employment, shopping or visiting friends. The key to our success has been the dedication and hard work of our staff. As we look to the future, I’m optimistic that the next ten years in Greater Manchester will be even more successful than the first.”