Metrolink passengers can now make the most of flexible travel across Greater Manchester thanks to a new weekly capping system across the network.
Key points:
- The Bee Flex Weekly launches today (Monday 6) on Metrolink
- People can now make unlimited journeys on Metrolink and never pay more than a seven-day travel pass when they touch-in and out with a contactless bank card or device
- It means that tram passengers using contactless in zone 1 will have their Monday to Sunday charges capped at £10.60. Customers travelling across all zones will be capped at £31
The Bee Flex Weekly is the latest flexible ticketing option launched by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and is available for people to use from today (Monday, 6 September).
Ideal for commuters, it allows people to make unlimited Metrolink journeys across all zones Monday to Sunday and never pay more than a seven-day travel pass for those zones.
The new offer supports the current ‘It’s Time’ campaign, which encourages more people to walk, cycle or get back onboard with public transport – to help cut down congestion, improve air quality and help Greater Manchester to get going again.
By simply touching in and out on every journey using the same contactless card or device, Metrolink will calculate each person’s fare up to the daily cap until the total reaches the weekly cap for the zones they have travelled in.
After that, all other journeys in those zones will be free until the end of the week.
The Bee Flex Weekly is the latest travel offer launched by TfGM to maximise versatility and value for money for passengers and builds on the success of contactless daily capping – the Bee Flex Daily – with almost 5m journeys having been made since its launch in July 2019.
More and more customers are now opting to travel this way, with 75k journeys being made, on average, every week – although a bumper bank holiday weekend saw that figure rise to 88k journeys in the week ending 29 August.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester (pictured), said: “Flexibility is more important than ever when it comes to using public transport.
“We know that how and when people travel may have changed during the pandemic and we’re now at a stage where thousands of people are going back to the workplace, to educational settings or simply getting out and about more.
“Metrolink along with other transport operators have introduced a range of ticketing offers to ensure that everyone can travel flexibly and affordably.
“The Bee Flex Weekly is a really smart offer that guarantees you will never pay more than a seven-day travel pass for your journeys. I encourage as many of you as possible to give it a try and consider leaving the car at home.”
The weekly cap marks another step towards the Bee Network – the Mayor’s vision for an integrated, modern and accessible public transport system.
Other offers already in place to maximise value for money include the Clipper which provides customers with ten 1-day travelcards for the price of nine and Early Bird, which reduces the cost for people travelling before 7am or after 9:30am on weekdays.
Stephen Rhodes, Customer Director at Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), said: “We strive to make our services as versatile and affordable as possible for all of our customers, and the Bee Flex Weekly is great news for people who use Metrolink.
“From today you can enjoy unlimited travel across the network from Monday to Sunday and be reassured that that your fares will never cost more than a weekly pass. Simply remember to touch in and out, with the same card or device, and we’ll do the rest.
“This is another step in improving our customers’ experience of living, working and travelling around Greater Manchester.”
