Bus passengers in Stockport and Greater Manchester who are disabled or who qualify for state pension can now get free round-the-clock travel.

As of Sunday 1 March, free bus-pass holders will be able to travel at any Bee Network bus at any time.

Previously, holders had to pay a concessionary fare if they got a bus in a weekday outside the hours between 9.30am and 11pm. This fare came to be dubbed the 'Twirly', as passengers were told 'sorry, yer twirly' - i.e 'too early'.

With the time restriction now lifted, passengers will be able to attend things like early appointments at no extra cost.

Passholders also said that removing the time restrictions will reduce stress and loneliness, and open up more opportunities for socialising, working and volunteering.

The rule change, thought to cost £2-5m, comes after two trials in August and November and affects around 400,000 passengers. One of them is Dr Joy Watson, a disabled people's campaigner from Eccles with dementia, who called the move 'amazing'.

She said: "It'll definitely bring freedom, because I won't need to get stressed with my dementia. If I'm late to a meeting or something, my dementia causes me to get very stressed and then I'll be no good at the meeting. It's a win-win situation."

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: "Permanent freedom from the 9.30am rule means that older and disabled people can get out and about without any restriction – to hospital appointments, to work or to care for their grandkids.

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"We're really proud to be doing this and we can do it because we put our buses back under public control.

"The people are in charge again and that's why we're making this change – to benefit the people of Greater Manchester.

"The message from here to the rest of the country is: in Greater Manchester, there's no more Twirlies!"

Nakib Narat, co-chair of the Greater Manchester Older People's Equality Panel, said: "It's a lifechanging move and it's not just a win for older and disabled people – it's a massive boost for the Greater Manchester economy and a genuine lifeline during the cost-of-living crisis.

"We're not just passengers. We're active contributors to the economy.

"By allowing people to travel when they actually need to, we're putting an end to that notorious 9.30am bus crash and the frustration of being one of the 'Twirlies'."

Rick Burgess, co-chair of the Greater Manchester Disabled People's Panel and Campaign Lead at the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, said: "To have this happen is fantastic. We get to be out at any time of day doing anything we want – and now we can be.

"It's great that we've got our buses back under public control, it means that we can do things like this. It's a guide for the rest of the country – we are leading.

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"We are moving towards transport justice, to equality in how our public transport works so the whole public is included. That's what we want."

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