The multi-modal annual ticket will allow unlimited travel on any bus or tram for an average cost of between £2.75 and £4.10 a day.
Customers can save 15% and spread the cost over the year through a Credit Union, just like the annual Bee Bus ticket.
Planned £12.20 precept increase for better bus services for all residents and businesses reduced to £11 after buses successfully brought under local control.
The new ticket will launch on 23rd March alongside capped contactless payments on Bee Network buses and trams.
Travelling on Greater Manchester’s buses and trams is set to get even cheaper this March with a new annual ticket allowing customers unlimited travel for the equivalent of between £2.75 and £4.10 a day*.
Building on the annual ticket for Bee Network buses, the new ticket will cover both bus and tram journeys. Passengers will also be able to spread the payments monthly or annually – at no extra cost – with the support of a Credit Union loan to unlock further savings.
Customers will save 15% when compared to buying 13 28-day tickets, with the overall price depending on the numbers of Metrolink zones chosen, ranging from one to all four zones**.
Keeping fares low is a key part of the Bee Network and has only been made possible by Greater Manchester becoming the first area to bring buses back under local control in 40 years.
Residents across Greater Manchester have played a key role in the historic delivery of bus franchising, with funding from the Mayoral precept having been used to implement franchising and to now maintain and improve the bus network.
To support the ongoing improvement of better bus services for all residents and businesses across the city-region, the planned precept increase of £12 has been reduced to £11 after franchising was delivered on time and within budget.
As well as the existing Bee Bus annual ticket, the multi-modal annual ticket will also sit alongside the existing Metrolink annual travelcard which provides unlimited travel for tram passengers through their chosen zones, as well as the new £2 ‘hopper’ fare that allows passengers to use multiple buses within one hour and the reduced 7 and 28-day and annual tickets.
It will be available from 23rd March, the same day as the launch of a new integrated contactless payment system allowing passengers to tap in and tap out on Bee Network buses and trams, while also providing clear daily and weekly caps meaning customers will never pay more than the daily or weekly limit regardless of how many journeys they make.
The move will see a maximum daily cap of £9.50 and weekly cap of £41 for unlimited bus and tram travel anywhere in Greater Manchester, with off peak options costing even less***.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“We’re making huge strides towards making public transport cheaper, simpler to understand and more convenient than ever before. We have delivered bus franchising on time and on budget, and with buses across the region now under our control we’re fast approaching our big moment in March when we bring in tap in, tap out payments and capped daily fares across bus and tram.
“Everyone in Greater Manchester has a stake in it – you have helped to fund it. As more people have got on board our buses we have been able to deliver a lower than planned precept, which we will use to continually fund further improvements to the Bee Network.
“We do not take the decision to increase the precept lightly, but we are building a low-cost, high-use system that is already proving to be a game-changer for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester, with lower fares, better buses and better, more reliable services.
“There are real savings to be had from using the Bee Network – that will enable people to quickly recover the cost of the precept increase – and I’d encourage as many people as possible to get on board with us.
“The annual bus and tram ticket will be perfect for frequent travellers who regularly board the Bee Network – cutting the cost by 15 per cent. People will be able to either pay up front or spread the payments through Greater Manchester Credit Unions.”
The new product has been announced alongside several proposals – all aimed at improving the experience for passengers - set to be considered by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority on Friday 31st January, including:
Funding for new digital real-time customer information displays at bus stops and interchanges across Greater Manchester, making it easier for passengers to find the information they need to travel with confidence.
The acquisition by TfGM of the existing estate of almost 3,500 bus shelters in Greater Manchester and will be developing the tender for a contract to transform, modernise and enhance bus shelters for the benefit of our passengers.
Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Vernon Everitt, said:
“These are the latest steps in a continuous programme of work to deliver better and more joined up public transport through the Bee Network for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester. These new fares product and simple ‘tap and go’ payment with daily and weekly fare caps are making public transport more convenient and affordable and are core to our aim of encouraging more people to use our services.
“All fare revenue is retained within the publicly owned transport system and used to deliver services and fund further improvements. The more passengers we can attract, the more we can keep the cost of travel down.
“We are also getting on with further improvements to our Bee Network app and taking control of the bus shelter estate across Greater Manchester to allow us to deliver better facilities for people while they wait for their service.”
Mayoral precept
The £11 increase in the Mayoral precept for a Band D property will fund the final delivery of the bus reform programme and support ongoing improvements in franchised bus services.
Delivery and completion of bus franchising was always intended to be supported with a £12.20 increase in the Mayoral precept, first published in the 2021 business case for the network.
Over the last year, the money raised through the Mayoral precept has helped fund the move to bus franchising, which is now in place across the whole of Greater Manchester following the successful launch in the south of the region earlier this year.
This ambitious programme has been delivered on time and on budget, and is a key part of delivering the Bee Network vision for integrated transport across the region. We’ve also seen the launch of a night bus pilot on services between Wigan, Bolton, Salford and Manchester, additional buses to improve punctuality and reliability and a new bus service between Wigan and Middlebrook retail park in Horwich.
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