Trams included in Bee Network’s capped tap and go from this month

Passengers on Greater Manchester’s Bee Network will be able to travel seamlessly across bus and tram using contactless “tap and go” from 23 March.

As reported at Interchange, fares will be capped automatically to ensure passengers pay the best value fare up to the daily or weekly cap. For people making journeys on bus and tram, fares start from £6 (£5.40 off peak) a day or £24.80 for a week, depending on the number of zones you travel through.

For bus-only journeys that is £2 for a single hopper journey, £5 for the day or £20 over a week no matter how many buses you take. 

Enabling seamless, affordable and convenient journeys is key to the success of the Bee Network, and the tap and go system means customers can travel when, where and how they want without having to plan or buy in advance – and plans are already being developed to include all local train services by the end of the decade.

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said, “The introduction of tap and go across bus and tram is huge leap forward for the Bee Network. It’s a key step in our plan to ensure we have a world-class public transport system fit for our needs as a growing city-region.

“We’re working hard to deliver a transport network that is greener, cheaper and more reliable than ever before, and this will be the next big milestone since we brought buses back under local control – on time and on budget. 

“We’re keeping fares down and improving reliability. The Bee Network is working for the people and businesses of Greater Manchester, with growing numbers of people travelling, including on our night buses. With later and more frequent services already in place and tap and go extending to buses in a month’s time, you can be sure that the Bee Network is here to help you get where you need to go regardless of how, where or when you are travelling.”

Bus patronage in Greater Manchester rose by 5% compared to 2023 and is almost back to pre-pandemic levels, while last year Metrolink set a record for the number of journeys, with 45.6 million trips in 2024, beating the previous record set in 2019.

In the past five years, Greater Manchester has seen the number of people walking short journeys increase from 52% to 57%. Meanwhile the proportion of short journeys being taken by car is down from 41% to 36%, with trips using Starling Bank bike hire, which reached one million rides last year, also up 16% year on year.

Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said, “Introducing tap and go on buses and integrating that with Metrolink’s existing contactless system will help to make public transport even more convenient and affordable, alongside daily and weekly fare caps for multi-modal travel and other flexible tickets. 

“Increasingly more and more people are using public transport as well as opting to walk instead of driving for short journeys, which is a clear vote of confidence in what we are trying to achieve through the Bee Network. Everyone in our region has a stake in the Bee Network, and the more people we can attract the more we can keep the cost of travel down. 

“These figures also show that we are making positive steps towards Greater Manchester realising its ambitions for half of all journeys to be made using public transport or active travel by 2040, which is equivalent to one million more sustainable journeys every day enabling us to deliver a healthier, greener and more productive city-region.”