LIVE: On board the 17-mile Greater Manchester bus journey - that will take two and a half hours

It's one month to go before Greater Manchester begins to bring buses under public control for the first time in forty years. The first franchised bus services will be rolled out in Bolton and Wigan and parts of Bury, Salford and Manchester from September 24.

All buses in the city-region will be brought under the Bee Network - the new London-style public transport system - by 2025.

Once the roll out is complete, passengers will be able to pay for journeys by tapping in and tapping out on trams, buses and eventually local commuter trains with a daily cap on costs - just like in the capital.

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Today, mayor Andy Burnham will be marking the countdown to the launch of the Bee Network at a bus depot in Wigan. Local Democracy Reporter Joseph Timan is heading there by bus from Prestwich in what would usually be a 30 minute drive.

The journey - which is only around 17 miles by car - will involve taking three buses and he should be there in 2.5 hours.

Follow our updates below to see how Joseph gets on in his journey...

Quite busy on the 95 bus this morning as it pulls into Pendleton. I'm now off and walking to another stop to catch the V1 to Leigh #LDReporter pic.twitter.com/Btrbc6GXly

I'm at the Broad Street / Pendleton Church stop now, and waiting for the V1. I'll let you in on a little secret... I missed my stop on the 95 because I was too busy tweeting! I had to walk a little longer, but there was a wait for the V1 anyway so I'm still on track! #LDReportrt pic.twitter.com/00UJDyV1nO

I'm on the 95 now. I bought a day ticket for £5 as I'm getting on three buses operated by three different companies and this works on any bus, all