Pensioners to be charged for travel

As from the 1st February 2020 pensioners in the Greater Manchester area will have to pay an annual fee of £10 for tram and train travel. (Currently free)

Bus travel will still be free of charge.

There goes my £10 Christmas bonus!

From 1 February 2020, you’ll need to pay £10 a year to add tram and train to your pass


If you have a TfGM-issued pension-age concessionary pass or a Women’s Concessionary Travel pass, to continue to benefit from unlimited off-peak travel on trams and trains in Greater Manchester after 1 February 2020, you will need to pay an annual £10 fee.


There is no change 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.


How to add tram and train to your pass


The new scheme starts 1 February, but you’ll be able to pay early from 5 January 2020, to make sure you’re ready. If you pay early, you will be covered for one year from 1 February 2020. After 1 February, you’ll be covered for a full year from the date you pay:

No complaints about paying £10 for tram and train. I used both of these frequently.

Will a new card be issued proving payment has been made? What happens if someone is unaware of the charge?

I will also pay it, after 2 trips to bowton, its paid for itsself but, its the thin end of the wedge next year it will rise I think bloody torys,,

Could be one of Andy Burnhams ideas.

The plan is set to be approved at a council meeting on Friday.

The smell of Burham permeates strongly.

Burnham gave FREE bus passes to 16-18 yr olds and he wants to re regulate the bus companies at what cost to the ratepayers on his preceptAlready talk of putting at least £15 onto his precept just to cover the bus passes

A man of the people alright!

this is just the 1st step . your bus passes will be next.

bloody tory that burnham fellow.

Just read an E-mail My Wife will not have to pay the £10 fee because she has a disability conn pass.Would not bother her anyway she has never used the trams and has used the train once each way to Manchester to get her pass in the last 5years

bus passes will get privatised & you will have to pay for your pass just like the blue badge .it,s comming faster that a speeding bullet .

I want to know how it will be checked during train travel. Up to now the inspector merely glances at the pass proffered, so if no new card is issued how will it be proven that the new supplement has been paid?

I live a mile and a half from Wigan, Whupsy lives in Liverpool, this is how the price as increased since 1986 for a single journey to Wigan.

1986 - 25p

1989 - 35p

1996 - 55p

1997 - 65p

2003 - £1.50

2005 - £2.00

2010 - £3.50

2016 - £3.00

I have not caught a bus since 2016 and when Stagecoach took over the service, they put the fare down to £3.00 and I have not a cloo what the fare is now, but from that you can see why folk are not catching buses anymore, they are using taxis instead.

Don't forget, not ALL pensioners are poor like me, Some who worked for the police, NHS, Fire service and big companies get a company pension as well as state pension, These lucky pensioners won't miss a tenner a year but us who are knocking on the door of the food banks will have to use the bike more,

Tommy 2 strokes, NO ONE buys a single ticket, the bus company offers deals like a ' day saver' you buy a £4.20 ticket and ride all day in Greater Manchester, there are also weekly and yearly savers, so buses can work out cheaper than taxis , Taxis work out cheaper if you're sharing the cost with 4 mates though.

Tomplum I buy a single ticket both ways when I go for a pintA day saver would cost me £4-50 but 2xsingle at night costs 2x £2Stagecoach charge £2 single after 7-00 pm no matter how many stops you use on that route, if you are changing buses or using them more than once in a day then it pays you to get a day saver

Thank you Peter, I stand corrected,

It used to be cheaper when there were four of you, then that went to three of you and then two of you, in 2010 Pemberton Taxis were charging £3.70 to the GPO at the top of Wallgate, as opposed to £3.50 on the bus, and as regards saver tickets, it depends on what you are doing, not everyone does the return leg on the bus, for example they get loaded up with shopping in Wigan and get a taxi home, after going to Wigan on the bus, a lot of people do that, but going back to the years I have mentioned, those were years that I spent time during those years using buses.

I have said this before, which is that in 1986 when the old taxi rank was in place on King Street West, which was when the taxis reversed up to the top of it, which was next to Wallgate Station, which was actually the bottom of the rank, and they did that so that they could turn right and go up past the old Princes Cinema, and then they could go up or down Wallgate, and technically the taxi drivers were using that rank in an illegal way, but that taxi rank went when the bus station opened in 1987 and the fare from that rank, which included a trip past the Princes was £1.50 and the bus fare was 25p and by 2010 the rank fare was about a fiver from Wallgate and the bus fare was £3.50 and as I said Pem Taxis were doing it for £3.70 and since 2011 the rank taxi rate as increased by 20p a journey.

And when the mega increases in bus fares came in, Labour were in power

So put that in your pipe Whupsy and smook it

I enjoy my bus pass on rainy days when I don't use my bike, and I don't care where the bus is going
bus riding

TTS now £3-50 single to Wigan

Thank you Peter

So when the Tories got back into power in 2010 that is when the massive increases in bus fares stopped

Tomplum,
Do they not have Keys Please where your son lives? With that you go out in the car and if you have one over the odds they come to collect you and drive you home in your own car. They have a pilot vehicle at the back to collect the driver from your home. More expensive than a cab but cheaper than one both ways. Car in the garage the morning after.

I've never heard him speak of it, I,ll ask him next time I facetime him,

Does whups realise Burnham is a 'socialist' (who sells NHS Hospitals) Mayor. THe charge is HIS decision?

Everything has to be decided in Parliament. From there it's in the hands of the Cabinet Office.
Burnham is in charge of administering what the Cabinet Office tell him to administer.

Burnham proposed the fee. He was granted 'new powers' by the Government(self regulation)
last year.

Franchising

He does a monthly Q&A on radio Manchester with Mike Sweeney. Since it began he bangs the bus drum every session.

I 'ate you, Butler

Tonker,
Are you telling us that Parliament discuss such trivia as bus fares for every town and city in the UK? Then it goes down to someone in the cabinet office. A lot of trouble for 20p a week in this case.

yes i do firefox & commented on it several times on other blogs.

Travel

Strangely, never a mention of the socialist selling MHS to private industry. CVMake comment on that, and remind all of your tax bill per month.

you forget that blair came from a tory background & burnham was his buddy.

I don't forget at all. Labour when it suits. You, not them, they were never labour.

Broady asked me, "Are you telling us that Parliament discuss such trivia as bus fares for every town and city in the UK"?

Yes.
Everything they discuss concerns every town and city in the UK, because the UK Parliament and the UK Government covers the whole of the UK. Even Greater Manchester. Which includes Wigan. And, after they've discussed them, they include them in a Transport Act as a minimum statutory concession.
Then they write it down on a piece of paper and give it to the Government, who then send it to all their departments as a guidance.

Local Authorities may, if they wish, offer more to the base concession, but not less.

burnhim the filthy tory,the money will be used for something even more stupid.

Personally I don't have a pensioner's travel pass as I have disabled person pass, and you can't hold two at the same time. Plus I understand the £10 tram, train addition doesn't apply to disabled passes. But I do agree with my wife when she says it's a slippery slope for the future. She won't pay the additional £10 as she rarely uses the train, or trams. Isn't it supposed to help to pay for free travel for 16-18 year olds? Being selfish, I'm not looking forward to even more noisy foulmouthed youngsters spoiling journeys. Because I always respected my fellow travellers at that age. I was a good lad I was!

Why can the 16-18 olds not pay £10 for their Free bus pass

310 is still a good deal ifyou can travel to Machester or Liverpool. Down here in PLymouth we get no free train travel and pay normal prices. Only bus travel is free.

Kathpressy announced, "Down here in Plymouth we get no free train travel and pay normal prices".

However, Plymouth is in the UK so you have the
Senior Railcard like everywhere else in the UK has.

Kath

The £10 fee is only for travel in the Greater Manchester area.

Liverpool is outside the GM area.

Th'act sez :-

Concessionary travel permits

Section 1(4) of the Act provides that local authorities in England which are Transport Concession Authorities must issue a travel permit (bus pass) free of charge to those people eligible for the statutory concession whose sole or principal residence is in the
authority's area.

the 16/18 year old free travel is all about the labour conspiracy to get the 16/18 old's to vote for them if they can ever get into power.bribe them young,left wing teachers instilling left wing propaganda into tiny minds.the thinking, get em young and they will always vote labour.

tonker I include Senior Railcard in Normal pricing. They cost money too and although you get a discount it's not much use for a one off day trip. I get free bus travel and that's all. I'd happily pay £10 for free rail travel fr the year

BB Most 16/18 year olds don't know the name of our queen, let alone the political persuasion of those who granted them the bus passes.

Oh they do, their teachers/tutors/.social media are hammering into them. No political bias though!

So what are you saying? That teachers and tutors are brainwashing pupils and students. Absolute nonsense.

As for social media. Who knows which way the wind blows with them 🙄

they might not know the queen's name jath ,but they will know about jeremy.
free bus passes ,free tuition fees,etc,etc.that they will know about.

I won't hold my breath for the results of the next general election. Labour have a loooong way to go.

If Labour make the wrong choice for leader and don’t get the party structure to reflect a centre left position then the 2024 election will probably be out of reach.
In such an event at the end of the 2024 government it will be 55 years since anybody other than Tony Blair won an election for the Labour party.

If you take thatcher out of the equation then the tories have not fared much better regarding individual election winners Major & Heath? Can't class Cameron as one as he had to share with Nick Clegg

There have been 31 elections since the first Labour manifesto, Labour have won a working majority five times.
They have had 33 years in office, 13 of them due to Tony Blair.

I thought they'd only had 23 years in office?

thatcher had almost 12 years in office.
So there is not much difference between Labour and the tories as it stands, Gaffer?

How much would a taxy cost me from Ashton in makerfield to TLC in Wigan ?

About £37.35

Nephro phone up and ask

Lib Lab pact

the difference ballcock is this ,tony blair inherited a good sound economy and thirteen years later left it in tatters.the tories picking up the pieces has did mrs thatcher in 1979 after jim callaghan,although to be fair to callaghan, not has bad as gordon brown attempts at prosperity.

You are talking nonsense as per usual!
If the economy was that good which Blair "inherited" he wouldn't have got voted in, in the first place!
As for the tories they have had almost 10 years to mop up the economy and they are still failing.

If it was not for Breakit ( and they still cant sort a simple thing like that out ) they would be struggling even more than they are now to gain the publics trust.

S n B.

salmo nad ballcock you dont have get carried away when your flushed.facts and figures dont seem to impress you,your not whups's son are you.never let the truth get in the way of your propaganda.

I paid my £10 this morning at Wigan bus station so that's me sorted for tram and train for 12 months.

The leaflet states that if you pay your £10 on line you will need to touch in with your pass at a Metrolink smart reader within 14 days.

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

I also paid mine as well today, its easy, just hand over your tenner and 5 seconds later, you're done,

Worth every penny but is this the thin edge of the wedge.How long before they start charging for the bus pass.

Did mine online & received in post

nj....do you now have to find the nearest Metrolink smart reader to swipe. What exactly did you receive in the post?

Anne I've just received the travel Get me there card but no mention of going to Metrolink

I'm now confused. I looked at tfgm and thought I would do it on line through Get Me there as an easy option. However looking at Get me there web site it mentions if the tram/train supplement has been paid the card needs to be activated by touching/scan at a metrolink tram stop within fourteen days. Think that is how it reads, that is why I asked what you had received.

Anne I've just rang & spoken to a man who says I have to go to Eccles to validate the card before 1st February,I'd no idea about this & I can't get to Eccles

Apparently some PayPoint shops will be able to add the supplement to the ordinary bus pass from 20th January.

Thanks Anne I'll look into it

Remember, that the £10 charge does not apply to concessionary passes for disabled people.

you will be paying for your bus pass quicker than you know . this is just the tip of the iceberg . but that,s what you wanted when you voted them in.

You are right again whups .

This is just the tip of the iceberg .

Just wait until Doris really gets stuck into workers rights ,sick pay ,statuary paid holidays etc etc .

Then listen to the crying from the very people who voted Tory .

I believe this is part of Andy Burnham's idea for Greater Manchester Transport joined up thinking. The £10s are to go towards paying for free travel for 16-18 year olds. All well and good, but has like as what has already been said
on here, things like this are usually the start of a slippery slope.

was it boris or burnham who introduced this payment whupsy.
just in case you get the wrong answer once again it 's the scouser burnham exiled in manchester.former labour stalwart.

You are right again Baker Boy.

i dont give a s..t who introduced it . i know this bus pass is coming faster than a speeding bullet & will be privatised just like the blue badge . you have been warned.

Well IF that is the case you have to pay it. If you aren’t bothered who introduced it why the comment about voting them in?

It was brought in by council leaders in Manchester. Andy Burnham didn't like the idea and called it a stealth tax but went along with it to for pensioners to come into parity with the 16/18 year old bus passes and to raise money for the new bus system.
A bit double talk from Burnham but nothing new there.

why do you bother broady . you dont live here & your posts are invalid.it,s us who tough it out who have to suffer it so keep your big nose out of our problems as there not welcome.

Don't know why you bother Whups you only spout crap on every post you do. What are you actually doing about all the problems you say that are impacting on your life?

Besides crying on here?

He’s not working and that’s for sure. Moaning and griping all day long. It isn’t compulsory to use buses. All the things he moans about haven’t even happened except in his own mind. Can’t accept that his party were trounced a few weeks ago. His ideas went out with the dinosaur.

I think why he has all this time on his hands he should get up a 'Battle Bus' and take it to Downing Street and put them right.

What does me with bus passes is that depending where you live you can have one from 60 yrs age in one area and in another it could be your pensionable age at 66.

your exactly the same & you back people who are racists just because they have a pop at me . you shud be ashamed of yourself for doing that & i,m right when i say your not here anymore & dont have to put up with what we have to .do us all a favour & go and crawl into a corner of your log cabin & go to sleep.

What exactly are you putting up with? All I see are your inane posts and you trying to stop freedom of speech of someone who chooses to live in another country.

your a typical example of what i,m putting up with.he doesnt live here anymore & yet puts comments on that doesnt affect him , yet we have to. so he shud keep his nose out of our business because after all that,s why he left isnt it ? .

Whups, I am a member in here and have been for many years. I will comment on anything I want to. If you don’t like it then lump it. Three questions for you. If you answer yes to any I will put you on ignore.

Are you paying for prescriptions at present?
Do you pay for your bus pass?
Do you pay for medical/ hospital treatments?

These are the things you prattle on about day after day.

Just read your earlier comment about log cabin. What an ignorant moron you are. Go and check if your latest giro has arrived.

yes we do because the torys changed the law & cant get creams or dental products which you have to buy over the counter.upto gordon brown changing the law on bus passes in england i did have to pay a fee every time i went out of my boundry .and giro what a laugh & it shows just how far your out of touch because they hav,nt paid a giro in over 10yrs. go & crawl under a stone & get your racist friends to back you up . and i dont give a s..t if i,m on ignore where your concerned moron.

Racist friends. I have no time to debate with a moron like you. I will put you on ignore myself but before I do may I ask you to seek help. Your attitude to the world and people that don't share your " unusual" views is pathetic. Happy Easter.

not a happy anything from me . your attitude to anything is broady 1st & to hell with anyone else .the only moron is you who looks for friends who take a pop at me & back them up . there,s umpteen of your back ups on here with some of the biggest racists on this site . like iv,e said go & crawl back under your stone & hide.

Why don'yt you put yur detractors on ignore, whoops?

Then only Grimshaw will reply and you can get that warm feeling in your belly.

Why dont you crawl back under the stone twonk.

grim and whups should be a stage double act only no one would think their funny.
broady has a right to free speech, who do you think you two are black shirts.two nasties or similar sounding.

your a gud un talking about "free speech " when all you want is to suppress imigrants & send them back . talk about people living in glass houses.

10 out of ten there whups for showing just how ignorant you are, you read peoples posts wrong then blame them for putting you right. Stop whinging and crying about all and sundry and post something with credibility and stop commenting about how the USA is run you don't live there and they don't affect you it's not your business.

i dont care how the usa is run but let me ask you woodsy when did you last go to the usa ? .it affects me when our PM ( trumps puppet)is trying to make this country like a little america that is my business & everyone else in our country.

I don't know who Walshy is.

Ok everyone I've got the correct information regarding the train pass....if you go to the ticket office at the bus station with your bus pass you don't need to swipe your card at Metrolink,applying online you need to swipe.So I've just paid another £10 & going to apply for a refund for first £10

Thanks Nana. Will do mine Next Week.

nanajacqui

I'm a bit confused, which is not unusual for me, but I was told if you pay on line you then have 14 days when you need to swipe your pass at any tram stop to verify you've paid, and then use your pass on journeys as others do. But I know if you hold a disabled pass, you didn't need to pay the £10 charge. Well so I was told? But I'm checking this.

whups you are telling porkies again ,when did i want to send immigrants back.
my only reference i can remember posting is that the million and a quarter or so britain's who are claiming dole should be given jobs first before looking to immigration to fill the posts.

Dave go to the bus station & they'll confirm everything you need to know

nanjacqui, will do, let's hope the rest of Andy Burnham's brilliant joined up transport innovations are tad easier to get to grips with.

Reading from the TFGM leaflet it states.....

The £10 charge DOES NOT apply to concessionary passes for disabled people.

Just a reminder that the deadline for paying is this Saturday 1st February 2020.

I don't think there is a "deadline" as such. Payment can be made at any date and that is the date the twelve months will run from. The only ting to remember is if the supplement has not been added then full fare will be charged if travel is taken after 1st Feb. I did mine yesterday at a PayPoint shop on Winstanley shopping precinct. That is on train/tram.

Did mine on the bus station.
Certainly worth the £10.00 to me. I use trains and trams a lot.

We had a ride out to Morrisons at Eccles and validated our bus passes at the tramstop 20 yards away.

Gimme, Gimme, Gimme Dat Ting !

E-mail from Greater Manchester Passenger Transport - stay at home and don't travel to renew your pass at a travelshop.
If your pass expires in February or March you can still use it until the 31st March 2021.
After this you can renew when you intend to start travelling again. £10 for 12 months from your new start date.
You can also renew 7 days before you intend to start travelling again.

Burnham's prejudice against old people . Looked after his children with free travel.

Platty
You will have the opportunity to vote Burnham out in the May 2021 election for Greater Manchester Mayor.
Unless he gets another 12 months extension due to Covid 19.

I think pensioners should be no different. They have more money than many other passengers who are getting the bus, or train, to work and have to pay the extortionate fares.

When I'm 66, the last thing on my mind will be a bus-pass!

it,s ok for those who have transport but wot about them who has none . that bus pass is a lifeline to them .

if you have worked all your life and payed into the system .i dont claim anything is free you have paid for it in stoppages.roughly a third of your wages.

We paid our train and tram £10 last year but due to Covid 19 have never used them preferring to stay local as requested by Boris.

How many others did the same?

I haven't got a bus or a train pass, because of David Cameron & George Osborne

we did