The Bee Network has hit a major milestone of 50 million contactless tap and go tram journeys, just days before launching on buses.
The record breaking journey started at 7.07am on Wednesday and the person travelled from Navigation Road to Cornbrook. The modern payment system removes the need for passengers to buy tickets, instead enabling them to use a contactless card or device to tap in and out to pay for their tram journey, with fares automatically worked out up to the daily or weekly cap.
Since launching on Metrolink in 2019, it has become the most popular way for people to pay for their travel, with 16.5 million journeys, equating to around 45,000 a day, being made using it last year – a 20% increase on the previous year.
Almost two-thirds (64%) of those journeys are made using contactless devices, such as phones and watches, rather than bank cards.
From Sunday (23rd March), it will launch on buses, enabling seamless travel between bus and tram under a single, simple and affordable fare structure.
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:
“The launch of contactless tap and go on Metrolink in 2019 was the foundation on which we’ve built the Bee Network. It’s simple and convenient and as the figures show, the most popular way for people to pay for their travel – and this major milestone couldn’t be timelier.
“In just a few days we will realise our ambition of a truly integrated London-style transport network that puts us on an equal footing with other global cities like London, New York and Madrid.”
The most contactless tap and go journeys on Metrolink were made on 14 April 2024 – the day of the Manchester Marathon, with November 2024 seeing the most journeys in a single month (1.64 million).
St Peter’s Square (c5.7 million) is the most popular starting point for tap and go journeys, followed by Deansgate-Castlefield (c2.95 million) and Piccadilly Gardens (c2.36 million). Outside the city centre the most popular origins for customers using contactless tap and go are Chorlton (c1.47 million) and Altrincham (1.45 million).
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said:
“There are many benefits to contactless tap and go: it is convenient and easy to use, it removes the need to buy tickets in advance and automatically works out your best value fare over a day or week regardless of how many journeys you make. This has gone from strength to strength on Metrolink, with the number
of people using it almost doubling in two years.
“When we integrate buses into the system on Sunday, we will have a modern payment system that will enable seamless travel between bus and tram under a single, simple and affordable fare structure.”
(Pic: Bee Network/TfGM)
