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Bus fares across Greater Manchester to be capped at £2 per journey from next year
Andy Burnham has promised an end to the era of passengers paying £4 or more for a single journey
Bus fares for services across Greater Manchester will be capped at £2 from next year, Andy Burnham has announced today.
With the promise of bringing an end to the era of paying £4 or more for a single journey, the mayor took to Twitter this morning to reveal that adult fares will be capped at £2 and child fares at £1.
He wrote: “From next year, as we take control of our buses, we will: cap adult fares at £2. Cap child fares at £1.
“The era of people paying £4 or more for a single journey is coming to an end. Look out for more details later.”
The £2 ticket will serve as a ‘hopper’ fare, meaning the same ticket can be used for any change of bus within an hour of the ticket being bought, regardless of how many times the passenger changes buses within that hour.
Passengers in some parts of the region should be on the road to cheaper fares by Autumn 2023, with Bolton, Wigan and parts of Salford and West Manchester the first to receive the franchised services.
Bury, Rochdale, Oldham and areas of North Manchester will follow in Spring 2024, with Stockport, Trafford, Tameside, south Manchester and other parts of Salford to be up and running by the end of 2024.
The mayor added that Greater Manchester was ‘developing a blueprint’ for other city-regions to follow when it comes to connecting villages, towns and cities.
This comes as part of Burnham’s plans for a ‘London-style’ public transport system for Greater Manchester, which will include an integrated system of buses, trams and trains that will all run in synch.
Under the new proposed system, there will be 830 services run by thirty operators with 150 different ticket types across the region, ten minute service routes, 2,000 more accessible bus stops and an increased number of evening and Sunday services.
Also on the way could be simpler and cheaper fares, ticketing and a ‘tap in’ system with contactless payment.
This is all an opportunity to provide affordable alternatives to driving on the roads, which is at the heart of reducing air pollution.
Burnham has long been calling for a change in the region’s bus system, with him last year pushing for the ‘London-style’ bus fares to be adopted across not only Manchester but the North of England, saying they would be a ‘game changer’.