Greater Manchester has made progress in its attempt to create an Oyster-style transport system by launching the ‘Get Me There’ smartcard.
Previously only available as a phone app, the physical pass will mean that tram and bus users across the city will be able to travel easier and more effectively by using a single card to register when they get on and off these services.
It is hoped that this will limit the need for people to carry loose change or experience long queues at ticket machines when using public transport.
Bus and tram users will be encouraged to become season ticket holders, as any lost or stolen tickets or travel cards that have more than seven days left to run can be replaced when customers order them online.
The clear winners in the Get Me There scheme are young people as over 100,000 students will have the ability to purchase the 16 – 18 year old Get Me There card, which will reduce the daily bus fare by 50%.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham praised this benefit as he stood with a supersize card in the city centre.
He said: “The expansion of get me there will certainly help make travel easier and, for the first time, enable people across Greater Manchester to hop on and off trams and buses with their smartcard.
“Significantly, the 16 – 18 card will see the cost of a bus day ticket cut in half – reducing the cost of journeys and enabling our young people to more easily access work and leisure opportunities, training, education and skills.
“All this can only be good news and will, I hope, encourage more people than ever before to get on board with public transport, which will help to tackle congestion and air quality issues.”
Despite this improvement in speedy travelling, TfGM and GMTL are still working together to make Greater Manchester’s transport system even more effective than ever before.
The eventual aim is to have contactless account-based ticketing where passengers use bank cards rather than smartcards.
