School Bus Travel Changes

Important changes to bus travel for children in Greater Manchester

Fare changes

From Sunday 3 April 2011 changes are being made to the concessionary fares scheme in Greater Manchester.

From that date, the standard flat 80p bus fare that children currently pay will change to half the adult fare.

For normal service bus fares or school bus services not subsidised by GMPTE children should ask their bus driver how much their fare will be, or find out from the bus company that runs that service.

A reminder from GMPTE regarding the igo pass - click here

For Yellow School Buses and dedicated school services provided by GMPTE, a new simple fare structure is being introduced. This will be based on the approximate distance each stop is from the school and three fare bands will apply: £1, £1.20, £1.40 for single journeys.

No matter what distance children travel to get to school on this type of service, they will pay no more than £1.40 for a single journey.

The bands have been adjusted appropriately to take account of the fact that some services have a longer, winding route in order to pick up children. The bands will apply service by service, and drivers will know which bus stops on their route mark the transition between bands. Bus drivers may not have this information at present but will do so before the changes come into effect. Children should ask their driver about fares or they can find out on our website www.gmpte.com/passes.

New ID arrangements

From Monday 16 May 2011 children aged 11 - 16 will have to show drivers an igo pass to confirm they are eligible to pay concessionary child fares on buses in Greater Manchester. Children of any age will need an igo pass to buy a Junior Bus Saver season ticket. To help you and your staff understand these changes, we've created an education resource webpage www.gmpte.com/igo/resource

Children and parents must remember that without the igo pass, drivers will be likely to charge a higher fare after 15 May.

Children travelling in areas immediately outside Greater Manchester

From Sunday 3 April, the child concessionary fare will no longer apply to any journeys outside the Greater Manchester boundary. This includes Poynton, Glossop, Whitworth, Bacup, Edenfield, Stubbins, Edgworth and Belmont.

Children travelling across the boundary of Greater Manchester will continue to be eligible for the concessionary fare for the portion of their journey that is within Greater Manchester. For the element of the journey outside Greater Manchester, children will pay the full child fare. They will only need one ticket for the journey and drivers will be able to tell passengers how much they will pay for the whole journey.

We'd like to ensure that none of these changes cause disruption or problems and we are currently publicising the changes with posters and leaflets on the public transport network, as well as advertising in local papers.

Yours faithfully

Susan Wildman

Director of Communications and Customer Services

GMPTE