Skip to main content

Smarter bus travel comes to Greater Manchester

Millions of bus passengers in Greater Manchester will benefit from cheaper fares with the introduction of new smart multi-operator bus travel. The scheme is one of the largest in the UK outside London and is the result of collaboration between more than 30 bus operators through industry body Greater Manchester Travelcards (GMTL), the organisation behind the System One brand, in partnership with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Passengers can now purchase multi-operator travel, which is store
November 19, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Millions of bus passengers in Greater Manchester will benefit from cheaper fares with the introduction of new smart multi-operator bus travel.

The scheme is one of the largest in the UK outside London and is the result of collaboration between more than 30 bus operators through industry body Greater Manchester Travelcards (GMTL), the organisation behind the System One brand, in partnership with 817 Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM).  

Passengers can now purchase multi-operator travel, which is stored on a smart card and can be used on buses across Greater Manchester. TfGM say fares will be cut by an average of 10 per cent for the new electronic products compared to the equivalent existing printed products.

The new product range, branded get me there, is an extension of the equivalent existing printed System One multi-operator products. Customers will be able to load the new products onto  widely available smart cards issued by bus operators, including StagecoachSmart or by TfGM, including igo passes for young people, other concessionary passes, and a get me there smart card.  Passengers then touch in at smart readers when they board the bus to validate their travel.  

The scheme has involved joint working between private and public sector organisations and represents a combined multi-million pound investment by Greater Manchester’s major bus operators and TfGM, in partnership with GMTL, to support the regional economy by making it cheaper and easier for people to travel by bus.  

The announcement follows a pledge made last year by the country’s major bus companies, which include 476 Arriva, 6635 First and 805 Stagecoach, to deliver multi-operator smart ticketing to millions of bus customers across England during 2015. It also delivers on a commitment by TfGM to introduce the next stages of its get me there smart ticketing scheme for Greater Manchester before the end of the year.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “Smart ticketing will transform everyday journeys in this great city, making travelling across transport modes easier and saving people money. We’re committed to rolling out smart ticketing across the country through our Smart Cities Partnership, and it’s great that Greater Manchester is leading the way.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Thales to upgrade four London Underground lines
    August 4, 2015
    French transportation group Thales has been awarded a £750 million (US$1,160 million) contract by Transport for London (TfL) to upgrade four London Underground (LU) lines. Under the contract, Thales will modernise the signalling and train control system on the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. Known as the Sub-Surface Lines (SSL), the four lines form a complex network of interlinked routes with numerous junctions which comprise 40 per cent of the LU network and carry up to thre
  • Changing perceptions and going green with ITS
    May 26, 2022
    Entrants to the ITS (UK) Essay Award were asked to write about innovative application of ITS solutions to achieve decarbonisation goals. First-year apprentice Leora Wilson, who studies at Leeds College of Building as part of her apprenticeship with Mott MacDonald, won the competition with this entry…
  • Cable cars come of age in trans-continental expansion
    April 30, 2015
    David Crawford explores a high-level option of public transport. Sharing its origin with that of ski lifts at winter sports resorts in the European Alps, urban aerial cable transport is attracting growing interest as a low-footprint, low-energy alternative to conventional public transport that can swoop over ground-level traffic congestion.
  • Hamburg’s on-demand alternative to commuting by car
    December 5, 2017
    As Hamburg is confirmed as the host for the 2021 ITS World Congress, David Crawford looks at the city’s moves towards enabling MaaS-type operations. Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, is pinning its civic reputation on having its promised all-electric, on-demand, shuttle bus ridesharing service up and running by 2018. Partners in the three-year project are regional metro and bus service provider Hamburger Hochbahn and Volkswagen Group’s Berlinbased mobility innovation subsidiary Moia, which was set