Consider your travel options as the new school year begins.
A new school year is a great opportunity to start afresh and try something new and this year is no different – particularly when it comes to the journey to and from school.
The cost of child’s bus fare in Greater Manchester is no more than £1 for a single journey and £2.50 for a 1-day Any Bus travel card (renamed Bee Any Bus travel card from 24 September 2023).
A weekly Any Bus ticket (renamed Bee Any Bus ticket from 24 September 2023) is available for £10.50, meaning your child can use any bus in Greater Manchester, unlimited times within 7 days. This is great if they need to take more than one bus to and from school, for weekend trips or activities after school. An igo card is needed to purchase this product either at a TfGM Travel shop, at a Pay Point store, or on the bus.
Other ticket options on TfGM funded school buses are:
• TfGM school weekly ticket: £7.60. This ticket is ONLY valid on schooldays on TfGM school buses. It’s available to buy on the bus or at a TfGM Travel shop. The bus driver will load it onto the igo card.
• Carnet ticket: (10 single trips) £10. This ticket is ONLY valid on schooldays on TfGM school buses. It’s available to buy on the bus and in TfGM Travel shops. It can only be loaded onto an igo card and will be valid for 28 days from the date of purchase.
With this in mind, if they don’t already, why not consider talking to your child about catching the bus to school? Find out more at tfgm.com/tickets-and-passes/young-people
There are a couple of things you can do to plan ahead, including ensuring they have their igo card which is proof of age to make sure they pay the child fare - igo cards can also be pre-loaded.
With new cycling and walking routes popping up all the time, your child could also think about walking, cycling or wheeling to school-it safer and easier than ever to do so! This can be a great, healthy way to start your day – particularly for shorter trips.
TfGM run Own the Ride courses with Bike Right! to help students become more confident cyclists. Also, a small number of free bicycles will be available to schools from September. If your school is interested in running one of these courses or are interested in some bicycles, please email active.travel@tfgm.com.
If you do need to drive, please switch off your engine when waiting outside to reduce air pollution and, if possible,try parking further away and walking the last part of the journey.
However, you chose to travel, it’s important to plan ahead and check the latest travel advice. Support and information about this can be found on TfGM’s Schools Hub, including dedicated advice for school.
Say yellow to the Bee Network
The first Bee Network buses will start operating in parts of Greater Manchester from 24 September 2023. There’s nothing you need to do differently for now, but you might start to see our yellow Bee Network buses on routes in Bolton, Wigan and parts of Salford, Bury and Manchester.
Buses in all other areas will remain the same, run by private operators. They will join the Bee Network in two phases through to January 2025.
Through the Bee Network, TfGM will have greater local control of bus services, which will:
• make it easier than ever to get around by bus, tram, train, bike - all linked up with the UK’s biggest cycling and walking network
• make travel easy to use, reliable and sustainable travel for everyone
• make fares lower and simple, including flexible tickets
• make us answer to you, the passenger: with a clear set of customer commitments explaining what you can expect from us and what to do if your experience falls short
As part of tranche one, 31 schools in Bolton, Wigan and parts of Manchester, Salford and Bury will join the Bee Network. There will be limited changes to the schools served or the numbers of buses used on these services. School children can continue to use these services as normal.
The second phase of Bus Franchising will be introduced on 24 March 2024 in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and North Manchester. This will then be followed by the final phase on 5 January 2025 in Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and the remaining parts of Manchester and Salford. More information about Bus Franchising is available on TfGM's dedicated webpage.