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Fares across Greater Manchester are set to be simplified and standardised across the whole city-region’s bus network from Sunday 4th September.
Adults tickets will be capped at £2 for a single bus journey, while a £5 1-day AnyBus Adult travelcard will cover unlimited bus travel within the 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester until 3.59am the following morning. Customers can pay for their journey using cash or card by asking the driver for a single ticket to their destination, or a 1-day AnyBus travelcard that is valid on services offered by any bus company. Children aged five to 16 will pay no more than £1 for any single bus journey; the 1-day AnyBus Junior travelcard will cover unlimited bus travel within Greater Manchester for just £2.50 a day. Children under the age of five will continue to travel on buses for free.
The new fares are being introduced 12 months ahead of the launch of the first franchised bus services in Greater Manchester in September 2023, coming to Stockport in 2024, as part of the city-region’s Bee Network vision for a London-style transport system.
To mark the changes, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is asking businesses to encourage their staff to #GetOnBoard and use the bus to get to work. TfGM has prepared a toolkit of graphics for organisations to share internally with colleagues to invite them to take advantage of the new fares for their commute. Resources can also be shared with customers and others who can also opt for the bus for visiting a business’ location.
The suggested images can be downloaded from the TfGM website.
The plan for lower, simpler fares has been brought forward a year by Mayor Andy Burnham and Greater Manchester’s leaders to help ease the current cost-of-living crisis. They are estimated to bring down fares by up to 50% on some journeys, and make bus travel more attractive as a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to travelling by car.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
“The introduction of lower, simpler fares across our bus network signifies the biggest shake-up of our bus system in close to 40 years and comes at a critical time.
“Hundreds of thousands of households across Greater Manchester are deeply worried about money, with fears of even higher bills just around the corner.
“As the most used form of public transport, with around 2.5million trips every week across the city-region, introducing lower fares for bus passengers is the best way we can help the most people with the cost of travel right now.
“Coupled with the extension of Our Pass, which provides free travel for 16 – 18-year-olds, we are taking steps to make an immediate and tangible difference to people’s lives by putting money back into their pockets.
“While this is the right thing to do, we cannot at this point guarantee that this new fare structure will be permanent. It will be reviewed annually. But the more that people use the buses, the more likely it is that we will be able to sustain it.”
Gary Nolan, Chief Executive of OneBus, the Greater Manchester Bus Operators Association, added:
“Buses are relied upon by communities everywhere to get around.
“These new lower fares add to a range of value products already available from local bus companies and System One, and will not only help all those worried about household bills, they will boost bus use and help our operators that are also struggling with significantly higher running costs.
“This is good news for local bus companies and all who use them, and we are pleased to support it.”