Changes to young people’s bus fares in Greater Manchester

From Sunday 3 April, young people aged five to 16, students, some disabled people and passengers aged over 60 travelling before 9.30am on weekdays, will be effected by changes to the GMPTE pass fares.

Fares on Yellow School Buses, dedicated school services subsidised by GMPTE, Ring & Ride buses and Local Link services are also changing, and the boundary of the local concessionary fare scheme is also being simplified.

The changes form part of cost savings of more than £40m over the next three years, and will see the local concessionary bus fare scheme, currently a flat fare of 80p, change to half the normal adult fare, depending on the journey being made.

Half price versions of many operator day and weekly tickets, including the System One multi-operator products, will be available for people who travel regularly.

Disabled travellers who currently pay 80p before 9.30am on weekdays will instead pay half the adult fare, but will continue to travel free on buses, trams and local trains at all other times.

People with a Concession Plus pass will continue to travel for free at all times.

Passengers aged over 60 travelling on buses, local trains or trams before 9.30am on weekdays will pay full fare, but will continue to benefit from free travel at all other times.

The area covered by the local concessionary travel scheme previously included a number of areas next to but outside of the Greater Manchester boundary: Poynton, Glossop, Stubbins, Edgworth, Belmont, Edenfield, Bacup and Whitworth.

The introduction of the National Concessionary Travel scheme significantly reduced the number of journeys benefiting from the extensions, as people aged over 60 and disabled people benefit from free off-peak travel on any local bus services in England.

The extensions also presented operational difficulties for bus operators and added a level of complexity for passengers, as some portions of cross-boundary journeys were subsidised by GMPTE, while others were not – and differing fares applied as a result.

It has now been agreed to simplify the scheme so that it operates only within the boundary of the 10 Greater Manchester districts. This change will also come into effect from Sunday 3 April.

An interactive online guide provides step-by-step advice and information on how the changes will affect passengers and is available at www.gmpte.com.