Millions of journeys have already been made with contactless ‘tap and go’ payments on Bee Network buses and trams in and around the city, says Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). Since its launch on 24 March, more than 450,000 customers have used ‘tap and go’ on buses since, with around 10,000 new users trying it every day; the busiest day for tap and go journeys so far was 3 April which saw 99,000 journeys made in just a single day, says TfGM.
Contactless payments were already available on Metrolink trams, with more than 16.5million journeys made using it last year – a 20% increase on the previous year, and with almost two-thirds made using contactless devices, such as phones and watches, rather than bank cards. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “When we launched contactless tap and go a month ago, I called on people to get on board and back the Bee Network, and the millions of journeys made so far show that they have. Greater Manchester has delivered a London-style transport network with buses back under local control and integrated into the wider network. The introduction of contactless ‘tap and go’ takes it on another step to delivering a truly modern, integrated payment system that makes travelling easier, more affordable and more convenient than ever before.”
Users now see a maximum daily cap of £9.50 (or £7.80 if starting after 0930hrs) and weekly cap of £41 for unlimited bus and tram travel anywhere in Greater Manchester.
Customer and Growth Director at TfGM Fran Wilkinson added: “The introduction of tap and go was a significant undertaking for TfGM and it’s fantastic to see so many people using the new system and benefiting from the benefits it delivers. We are committed to ensuring public transport is easy to use, accessible and provides great value for money and will continue to look at new ways to improve the customer offer for everyone.”
