manchester free travel pass

Transport for Greater Manchester - Travel pass for older people

If you qualify for a state pension, you could be eligible for free travel across the country as part of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

Who can get one?

To get a travel pass for older people you must:

• live in Greater Manchester, (if you live outside Greater Manchester, apply for a pass in your own area but you cannot add tram and train travel within Greater Manchester to passes issued by other areas); and
• qualify for a state pension. It doesn't matter if you are taking your pension or still working.

The age you qualify for a state pension isn't the same for everyone. You may need to be up to 66 to qualify depending on when you were born. If you're not sure, check your state pension age .  The pass is free, and lasts for five years.

Within Greater Manchester:

Travel for free on all buses within Greater Manchester between 9.30am and midnight, Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays

You can also choose to pay £10 to add tram and train to your pass, for a year’s unlimited off-peak travel on Metrolink and trains within Greater Manchester. You can then travel on Metrolink trams and in trains after 9.30am on Monday to Friday, and all day on weekends and public holidays .  If you travel outside of these times you must pay the full adult fare.

Throughout England:

Travel for free on all local buses between 9.30am and 11pm Monday to Friday, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.  If you travel outside of these times you must pay the full adult fare.

Who to contact

Where to go, get directions to m60 1hx using google maps, who is it for.

• For older people
• Becoming older

Availability

Get an application form from any TfGM Travelshop

Send details by text

This will send details of 'Transport for Greater Manchester - Travel pass for older people', to your mobile phone using our SMS service. You will not be charged for this message.

Last Updated

Last updated: 02/04/2024

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Family Friendly

Restaurants, buy the visit manchester pass.

Discover Manchester with the Visit Manchester Pass - Entry into 13 of Manchester's top attractions plus over 30 discounts and offers.

Metrolink tram in St Peter's Square

How to get around manchester.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) is the official public transport body for the city. Its Bee Network website has a wealth of information and a number of journey planning tools to take the stress out of travelling. It includes:

• Bus services across Greater Manchester helping you get out and about.
• The Metrolink network, which is one of the most successful light railway systems in the UK. With frequent services there’s no need to worry about a timetable, just head to your nearest stop and the next tram won’t be far away. Metrolink can transport you to popular venues and attractions across the region and, if you’re planning on sightseeing, Travelcards offer unlimited travel across the network. Please be sure to purchase a ticket from the on-stop ticket machines before boarding or tap in and out at the contactless terminals.
• In addition to the inter-city links, the rail network connects you to the neighbouring towns and districts of Greater Manchester including Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Wigan.

Within the city centre,  free bus  (formerly Metroshuttle) provides a free ‘hop on, hop off’ service linking all of the main rail stations, shopping districts and business areas. There are  services which operate on circular routes.

Manchester is a bike-friendly city with many marked cycle lanes and dedicated routes throughout the city centre and beyond.

Visit the Transport for Greater Manchester  cycling website  for everything you need to know about cycling in Greater Manchester, from maps and route planning to local events and news. 

You can also hire bikes from various locations across the city.

Manchester is easily explored on foot, with a city centre that you can navigate within 30 minutes.  City Hosts  are dotted around the centre to guide you with directions, public transport information and details on events taking place.

Download  one of our maps  to help guide you around the region.

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Our Pass - Travel Pass for 16-18 year olds

  Our Pass gives 16-18 year olds  free bus travel*  across Greater Manchester

Our Pass opportunities Our Pass is not just a bus travel card – cardholders will have access to lots of opportunities, experiences and benefits.

How to apply You must be a Greater Manchester resident and be aged at least 16 and under 18. Your pass is valid until 31 August after your 18th birthday. Apply online at  ourpass.co.uk  you will need proof of your age and address, a photo and a credit/debit card to pay the £10 administration fee.

Who to contact

Last updated.

Last updated: 07/02/2024

Send details by text

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• Our Pass FAQ's

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The Visit Manchester Pass

Get 20% off ALL passes. Use Code: MCR20

Discover Manchester With The Official Sightseeing Pass For Manchester

Unlock the full potential of your Manchester adventure with the Visit Manchester Pass. This essential digital ticket provides access to the city’s iconic attractions, including Manchester City Football Club, Coronation Street – The Tour, RHS Bridgewater and the National Football Museum. You’ll also get access to exclusive discounts at hotels, restaurants, shops and experiences.

The Visit Manchester Pass is your ticket to making the most of Manchester while keeping your budget in check. Buy your Visit Manchester Pass and experience Manchester like never before.

What is Included?

We’ve created the Visit Manchester Pass to make your visit to our city as convenient, exclusive and cost-effective as possible. Take a look through the huge array of specially curated experiences, discounts and offers to suit all interests.

View All Attractions »

How does it work.

The Visit Manchester Pass is designed to help you make the most of your trip, so you can visit the city’s top attractions and redeem exclusive experiences and offers hassle-free from your mobile phone.

The Visit Manchester Pass is available as a one, two or three day visitor pass for both for adults and children. With your digital Visit Manchester Pass, you can visit all attractions, restaurants and places of interest included in the visitor pass – just by showing it on your mobile phone.

To gain access into attractions, simply show your Visit Manchester Pass on your mobile phone at the ticket counter for them to scan your QR code and provide you with entry, your discount and/or their exclusive experience.

Some of the attractions will allow you to walk in on the day, but some need to be booked in advance. Make sure you check the pass booking app before travelling to see which attractions require pre-booking and for instructions on how to book.

Your Visit Manchester Pass is activated when you first use it and is then valid for consecutive days (not 24-hour periods) for either one, two or three days depending on which pass you have purchased. Ensure that you plan your day accordingly to get the most out of your pass! The Visit Manchester Pass is not a fast track pass and passes can only be used once at each attraction.

How much can you save?

The Visit Manchester Pass offers great value and huge potential savings over standard entry prices. Check out this 2-day example itinerary!

Attractions

Normal Prices

Coronation Street Experience

Normally £33.00

National Football Museum

Normally £14.00

Sightseeing Manchester

Normally £12.00

The Spirit of Manchester Distillery

Normally £25.00

Manchester City Stadium Tour

Normally £28.00

SEA LIFE Manchester

RHS Garden Bridgewater

Normally £19.85

Saving per Person

Choose Your Pass

Save 20% on ALL passes with code MCR20

What's Included?

What Is Included?

How Does It Work?

Terms & Conditions

Privacy Policy

Privacy Overview

• Tickets and passes

Add tram and train to your older person's travel pass

If you have a TfGM-issued older person's travel pass , to benefit from unlimited off-peak travel on trams and trains in Greater Manchester you need to pay an annual £10 fee.

This does not affect your entitlement to free, off-peak bus travel across England and, if you only use buses, you can choose not to pay to add tram and train.

The £10 charge does not apply to concessionary passes for disabled people.

How to add tram and train to your pass

You’ll be covered for a full year from the date you pay. After this you should renew when you next need to travel by tram or train.

You can pay online , by taking your concessionary travel pass into an Information and Ticket Office or in your local PayPoint store - look for the 'P' logo.

To buy online, you will need to link your concessionary pass to a Bee Card account .

Once you have paid online, please allow 24 hours for the transaction to complete. After this you will need to touch-in with your concessionary pass at a Metrolink smart reader within 14 days, at any tram stop , and your pass will be updated to show you have paid to add tram and train.

If you need your pass for travelling by train and won’t be able to visit a Metrolink stop first, we suggest you buy from a PayPoint or an Information and Ticket Office.

To pay, take your concessionary pass into:

• your local PayPoint store - look for the 'P' logo

• an Information and Ticket Office and ask to pay to 'add tram and train'
• in store, ask to pay to 'add tram and train'(select a date within the next 7 days)
• hand the retailer your concessionary pass along with £10 payment
• they will complete the transaction and hand back your pass with 'add tram and train' loaded onto it, along with your receipt
• now you are ready to travel off-peak on trams and trains in Greater Manchester

When your concessionary pass expires

If you’ve paid to add tram and train for a year and your concessionary pass expires, or you lose it, and are sent a new one before the end of that year, your tram and train add on will be transferred automatically and ready to use.

If you return your concessionary pass or no longer use it, the £10 charge to add tram and train is not refundable.

How to use your concessionary pass

On trams ( metrolink ).

Touch-in at the start and touch-out at the end of every journey you make, using the yellow smart readers on tram stops.

The smart readers on tram stops now accept contactless cards and devices for travel. Please move your concessionary pass away from your payment cards, when you use a smart reader. For example, if you keep your pass in a wallet or purse, remove it before you touch-in and touch-out. This will make sure you’re not charged on a contactless card you didn’t intend to use.

On trains ( within Greater Manchester )

Have your smart card available for the train guard to check and use it to tap on the reader as you go through a ticket gate at a rail station.

Inspections during a journey

During a ticket check, the official will simply scan your concessionary pass to confirm that it is valid for the journey you’re making and can see if you’ve paid to add tram and train or added another valid ticket.

If you don't have a valid pass or ticket, you risk a penalty or standard fare .

If you lose your concessionary pass

If you lose your pass there is a £10 charge for replacing a lost, stolen or damaged card.

If you’ve paid to add tram and train for a year, and replace your concessionary pass within 12 months, the remainder of the product will be transferred automatically to your replacement card.

How to check the expiry date

• in person at a PayPoint store  or TfGM Travelshop – take in your pass and the agent can check your account for you
• by phone on 0161 244 1000 – have your pass to hand, as the agent will need the unique card number to check your account for you
• if you paid online at getmethere.com – log in to your account , where you can check all your details

Disabled concessionary pass holders

If you have a disabled concessionary pass, you do not need to pay £10 to add tram and train.

Disabled concessionary pass holders continue to get free, off-peak travel on local bus services and on trams and trains in Greater Manchester; and can buy half-price tram (Metrolink) tickets at other times.

Disabled Plus concessionary pass holders continue to get free travel at any time on local buses, trams and trains in Greater Manchester

If you have any queries

• visit a TfGM Travelshop
• complete an online contact form
• call us on 0161 244 1000 (7am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 8pm at weekends and public holidays).

Guide for staff in PayPoint stores

How to add tram and train to a tfgm pension-age concessionary pass.

You can take payment and add tram and train to a concessionary pass, in the same way as you add other travel tickets to smart cards.

Step 1: Place the concessionary pass on the card reader Step 2: The display will show ‘add tram and train’ as one of the options – select this Step 3: Select the customer’s preferred start date (they can select a date within the next 7 days) Step 4: The display will show that £10 is due - leave the card on the reader while you take payment Step 5: Once the transaction is complete, press OK Step 6: The pass will be updated, and a receipt will be issued for the customer

The receipt shows the date that the £10 payment expires, and it also shows the expiry date of the concessionary pass itself.

Note: The concessionary pass may expire before the annual charge does but any remaining time can be transferred to the customer’s new pass. They will just need to touch-in at a Metrolink smart reader, on any tram stop, and the new pass will be updated.

You can now also buy or collect on a Bee Network bus.

A customer may ask you to check their concessionary pass for the expiry date of their £10 payment.

Step 1: Place the concessionary pass on the card reader Step 2: Select the ‘enquiry’ option at the bottom right of the screen Step 3. On the next screen, press ‘next’ and you get the option to print a receipt Step 4: Print the receipt, which will show the expiry date of the £10 to add tram and train

PayPoint Website or by email at [email protected]

Travel included with Co-op Live tickets

Co-op Live ticket holders can travel on the tram and new city centre shuttle buses.

Say yellow to the Bee Network

Buses in Oldham, Rochdale and parts of Bury, Salford and north Manchester joined the Bee Network on 24 March.

New sponsor: Starling Bank Bikes

We’re delighted to welcome Starling Bank on board as the new sponsors of our bike hire scheme.

Manchester City Matchday Buses

We've teamed up with Manchester City to launch a large-scale bus trial helping fans from across Greater Manchester and nearby areas to travel to and from the Etihad Stadium on a matchday.

Rate your journey

We want to hear your views to help us deliver a better Bee Network for Greater Manchester.

Commission offers 35,500 DiscoverEU free travel passes to young people

Starting this summer, thousands of young people will once again travel around Europe by train for free thanks to the latest call of the DiscoverEU programme. Today at 12:00 CET during the  European Youth Week  buzzing with  activities , the Commission launched the latest DiscoverEU application round. It will end on Tuesday 30 April at 12:00 CET.

In total, 35,500 travel passes are available. To get one, young people born between 1 July 2005 and 30 June 2006 can do a quiz with five questions about the EU and one additional question on the  European Youth Portal . Successful applicants will get a free rail pass to travel in Europe for up to 30 days between 1 July 2024 and 30 September 2025.

The call is open to applicants from the European Union and countries associated to the  Erasmus+ programme  including Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye. Ticket holders can plan their own routes or be inspired by existing ones. For example, they can discover a  route  launched last year, which focuses on cities and places making the European Union ‘beautiful, sustainable and inclusive' in line with the principles of the  New European Bauhaus .

Participants can also benefit from the  DiscoverEU Culture Route  an initiative of the 2022 European Year of Youth that combines various cultural destinations including architecture, music, fine art, theatre, fashion and design. Participants can visit the  European Capitals of Culture  which are on the  UNESCO World Heritage List ,   European Heritage Label  sites, or  Access City Award  label locations, which are cities that have gone above and beyond to become more accessible to everyone.

DiscoverEU is much more than just a ticket. Participants will also receive a  discount card  with over 40,000 discount possibilities on public transport, culture, accommodation, food, sports and other services in eligible countries. Additionally,  Erasmus+ National Agencies  organise pre-departure information meetings, and national agencies across all Erasmus+ countries prepare  DiscoverEU Meet-ups , learning programmes lasting from one to three days.

Social inclusion is a top priority of the Erasmus+ programme, so participants with disabilities or health issues receive support on their journeys. Since October 2022, the Erasmus+ National Agencies have implemented the  DiscoverEU Inclusion Action , allowing organisations working with young people with fewer opportunities to apply for a grant. This action provides extra support to participants, such as extra funding and the possibility to travel with accompanying persons. More than 250 projects have been awarded by the Erasmus+ National Agencies since the first call in October 2022, and two calls of the Inclusion Action are taking place in this year.

While DiscoverEU encourages sustainable travel by rail,  special arrangements  are available for young people from outermost regions, Overseas Counties and Territories, remote areas and islands.

The Commission launched  DiscoverEU  in June 2018 following a preparatory action from the European Parliament. It is integrated into the  Erasmus+ programme 2021-2027 .

Since 2018, more than 1 million candidates have applied for 284,000 available travel passes. According to the latest post-travel survey, 72% of candidates declared it to be the first time travelling out of their country of residence by train. For many, it was also the first time they travelled without parents or accompanying adults, and the majority indicated an increased sense of independence. Over two-thirds said that they would not have been able to finance their travel pass without DiscoverEU.

The DiscoverEU experience has given young people a better understanding of other cultures as well as European history and improved their foreign language skills. Participants are invited to become DiscoverEU Ambassadors to champion the initiative. The  # DiscoverEU Official group  has more than 96,000 members where young travellers can contact each other to share experiences and tips.

To apply, eligible candidates need to complete a multiple-choice quiz on general knowledge about the European Union and other EU initiatives targeting young people. The Commission will rank applicants on the basis of their responses. The Commission will offer travel passes to applicants following their ranking up to the limit of available tickets.

For More Information

European Youth Portal

DiscoverEU is a fantastic opportunity for young people who want to explore Europe, discover places and meet new people. I am happy to launch this spring application round during the exciting European Youth Week. I wish the best of luck to all applicants!

Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth

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Schools, education and childcare Travel assistance for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Free school travel passes.

Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) can get a free school travel pass to get to and from school on a bus, train or tram in Greater Manchester.

Pupils without an EHCP may also qualify.

See who qualifies and how to apply

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