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Date set for Manchester’s move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system

Times are changing.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 7th October 2024

The date for Manchester’s switch to a London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport system has officially been set.

With just three months to go until all buses in Greater Manchester are back under local control, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has now set the date for the introduction of capped contactless payments on the Bee Network in a bid to “support multi-modal travel”, and it’s already being described as a “huge step forward”.

TfGM believes contactless pay-as-you-go systems on buses and trams will make travel easier overall, as it’ll guarantee passengers pay the right fare for their journey.  

But how exactly will it work?

Well, similar to how customers currently travel on the Metrolink, passengers will be able to use their bank card or smart payment device to touch in on all Bee Network bus services, and rest assured knowing that they will only be charged the lowest fare up to the daily cap of £5, or the new weekly cap of £20.

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Under the new system, people travelling by Bee Network bus will simply ‘touch on’ as they board the service.

Not only that, but passengers will also be able to travel across both Metrolink and Bee Network bus services at the same time, and only be charged a single multi-modal fare, instead of having to plan or buy tickets in advance – which is similar to travelling in London.

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Passengers who use both Bee Network bus and Metrolink can use pay as you go for unlimited all-day travel across Greater Manchester, which is expected to cost a maximum of £9.50, or £7.80 if you start your journey after 9:30am or at weekends.

Journeys will be cheaper if travelling across fewer Metrolink zones.

Manchester is set to move to London-style ‘touch in, touch out’ public transport payment system / Credit: TfGM

For the time being, TfGM has confirmed that pay as you go travel will operate with adult fares only, but this may be rolled-out to others in the future.

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“Pay as you go will be launching across Bee Network buses to build on the system that has been in place on the Metrolink since 2019,” explained Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

“This is a massive step forward in terms of delivering a London-style transport network for the people of Greater Manchester, putting our region on par with not only the capital, but also major cities across the world that offer seamless integrated travel by public transport.”

Mr Burnham also said it’ll be “affordable and easier to pay for”, and will ultimately “take the worry out of choosing the right ticket”.

Read more:

Manchester’s switch to ‘touch in, touch out’ payment across the Bee Network will arrive on 23 March 2025.

Featured Image – TfGM

News

FIFA confirm new changes to international breaks – and many fans are divided

Danny Jones Danny Jones FIFA confirm new international breaks schedule explained

Global sporting body FIFA have announced new changes to the annual football calendar and the ever-divisive international breaks, specifically.

It’s fair to say that not everyone is in agreement over the update to what many fans and even players already find a frustrating format.

Put simply, FIFA have revealed that they will be merging the traditional September and October breaks into one extended period of international football from 2026 onwards.

Once again, although the decision has been met with plenty of support, it has also faced just as much, if not potentially even more, resistance.

As detailed by multiple outlets following full confirmation on Monday, 13 September, footy fans are now looking at a combined 16 days of watching national teams in World Cup qualifiers and other fixtures.

While other clubs further down the footballing pyramid will still be able to watch their team, supporters of Premier League sides and several other divisions will see domestic action cease for roughly three weeks when taking into account rest days between international and club fixtures

Besides incorporating more teams into this year’s World Cup (now a 48-team affair) and the still relatively recent advent of the Nations League – which UEFA introduced in the hopes of creating more interest in the much-maligned international breaks – this is one of the biggest changes in some time.

At present, there are typically four breaks: September, October, November and March/April – not including major tournaments themselves.

One criticism of this format has been the stop-start consequence it has on club football, and indeed, struggling to create any real momentum and/or excitement, as well as the impact on form it sometimes has on players both away on national team duty and when they get back to their clubs.

Another big concern these breaks have always been met with is the added risk of fatigue and injury.

Despite being athletes who regularly train to remain at the peak of their physical fitness, the increasingly congested fixture calendar – particularly for those playing in England, with multiple cup competitions, the prospect of European football AND no break over Christmas – continues to push bodies to the limit.

Once again, these new changes to international breaks won’t come into effect until next year, but there are plenty of pros and cons that professionals and supporters alike will continue to debate until the new schedule is implemented.

Where do you land on all of this?

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Featured Images — MCaviglia (via Wikimedia Commons)/US State Department/rawpixel.com

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Family pay tribute to ‘loyal’ son who was killed in a stabbing in Moss Side

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

The family of a 15-year-old boy who lost his life in a stabbing in Moss Side this week have paid a touching tribute to him.

The boy has also formally been named as Mohanad Abdullaahi Goobe.

Mohanad was described as having an ‘uncanny ability’ to make you laugh in his family’s emotional tribute, as shared with the public.

The family’s statement reads: “Mohanad was the baby of the family, he was quick to laugh, easy to love, with a ready smile. Our son had an uncanny ability to make you laugh, making it sometimes difficult to be serious with him. He had many friends, he was loyal and often played the class clown, simply to see them laugh.

“Mohanad’s life has been cut tragically short, it is difficult to comprehend that seeing your son head off for school in the morning, would be the last time that we would see that handsome face.

“Mohanad deserves to be remembered for the young man who was loved by his family, and loved big in return, not as the boy whose life was taken with no thought or reason.

“We will not allow his name to be known as yet another statistic in the rise of knife crime.”

Tributes come after officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were called out to reports of a ‘disturbance’ involving a number of people on Monton Street in Moss Side at just after 4:30pm on Monday (15 September), and when they arrived on the scene, they found a 15-year-old boy with serious stab wounds.

After being treated both at the scene and later in hospital, the boy was sadly pronounced dead a short time later.

A murder investigation was subsequently launched, and another teenager, also a 15-year-old boy, was then arrested on suspicion of murder yesterday (16 September).

Read more:

Anyone with any information, or who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, is urged to contact GMP on 101 or online, quoting log 2327 of 15/09/25.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Featured Image – GMP

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