NOW IT’S TIME FOR PLAN BEE

Firm beats city to brand

CITY chiefs had to change the name of a £500million cycling network because an app firm bagged the Beeline brand first.

Bosses in Manchester picked the name because the bee icon is linked to the city’s industrial past.

It became a symbol of unity following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.

Last year Olympic cyclist Chris Boardman announced the roll-out of Beelines, at 75 miles the largest cycle network in the UK.

But the catchy name will now have to be scrapped after a legal challenge.

Relish Technologies’ navigational tools for bikes, as well as a routefinding app, are already branded Beeline.

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham refused to fund a buyout of rights to the name. Now bosses have picked Bee Network instead. And it has been reported that Transport for Greater Manchester has also registered Bee Ways, ByBee and Follow The Bee with the Intellectual Property Office. Boardman said: “Beelines is a wonderful catchy term and, because of that, it is in wide use in transport.

“This means we weren’t legally able to use the term as fully as we’d like.”