Metro season ticket to rise

Alan Salter

January 22, 2008

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METROLINK season ticket prices are going up - just two months after officials praised them as a cheaper option to day tickets.

In November, single and return fares went up by an average 5.7 per cent, more than the rate of inflation.

Tram bosses urged passengers to buy season tickets as the cheaper alternative. But now the season tickets are also going up in price.

Weekly tickets will rise by up to 60p and quarterly tickets by a maximum of £7 from February 1. There will be no increases to four-weekly, annual or child tickets.

A quarterly ticket for travel between Bury or Altrincham and Manchester will rise from £225 a month to £232.50. A weekly ticket on the same route goes up from £21.20 to £21.80.

Michael Renshaw, of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, said: "We need to increase some Metrolink tickets to keep up with the costs of running the service.

"We've tried to make sure the rises are as low as possible and many tickets won't go up at all."

In November, when the higher price for ordinary tickets was brought in, Mr Renshaw said: "We're encouraging people to buy season tickets to save money on the cost of travel."

GMPTE owns the network and takes the revenue from services which are operated under a management contract by Stagecoach.

Mr Renshaw said: "It's still much cheaper for passengers who regularly travel on Metrolink to buy a season ticket instead of single or return tickets each weekday.

"Many passengers will save hundreds of pounds a year on the cost of travel."

"The new weekend family ticket costs £5 for a one-day pass and £7 for a two-day pass.

The ticket can be used by up to two adults accompanied by up to three children.

Officials said a weekly ticket would still save £3.20 on a week's ordinary return tickets and a quarterly ticket would save £93.

What do you think? Have your say.

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Showing comments 1 to 13 and replies | View All

dessie, manchester (22/01/2008 at 12:50)

cheaper and more reliable option than the car?? your havin a laugh!!!

jomov, Manchester (22/01/2008 at 13:01)

From what I've heard - since Stagecoach took over the standard level of service provided has dropped as well.

I have noted this from experience...I am still having nightmares after my last attempt to catch a tram from the city centre to Altrincham....it's about time the company communicated any delays or interruption to services via speaker from every tram stop!

The Bobelesque (22/01/2008 at 13:08)

Oh ye of little faith! Once we get that enormous bung for accepting (sic) the congestion charge, the metro will be grrrrrrrrreat!

If you believe that, you'll believe that crime is falling under labout too.

Miss M, Manchester (22/01/2008 at 13:35)

The cost of Living rises weekely yet my wage every month is always the same!
This country is a joke!

stacy (22/01/2008 at 13:48)

Goverment wonders why more people are NOT using public transport. Well here is another great example-ever increasing cost's with no improvements to services.

Speaking of congestion charging! Do you think price's of tickets on public transport will go down once the congestion charging is introduced? Because the motorist will be footing the bill for improvements to services.

Who said that Labour are a party for the working class?
What a joke.

Snare Drum (Manchester Against Road Tolls), Ashton-under-Lyne (22/01/2008 at 14:44)

Train prices, just announced, the most expensive in Europe. Tram prices up again, and they want to bring in congestion charges!! Someone is having a laugh and guess who is expected to pay. Where does it actually say, that the more we are charged, the greener it is? The idea is to price everyone off public transport, then bring in the Con charge. That way Leese and Jones line their back pockets and the rest of us pay through the nose for a not very green solution. And while they rob the motorist and commuters alike, they are making £10.8bn from other public services. Greed greed and more greed of a typical Nu Labour government.

irvtheswerv (22/01/2008 at 16:25)

At £5 a day between Bury and Manchester, it's more expensive than the same distance on the tube. This is an absolute disgrace. We are being ripped off by councils that only want our money, so they can give it away to the idle unemployed.

Blue Ape With A Drum (22/01/2008 at 16:53)

Our transport system is fragmented,inadequate and underfunded.We seem to be in the same situation as we were pre-nationalisation.Those gutless Thatcherites in new-labour,seem to be wedded to their Maggie-lite dogma.There is only one realistic voting choice left it seems,the bogus free market...or the bogus free market (I am no supporter of total free trade,but this system of public money,propping up private industry is the worst of all worlds).Tories,so called liberals,and ex-socialists are all agreed that the wants of the tiny and grubby ultra-rich minority,have to come before the needs of the nation,as public money falls into the trough of the have-mores.
If we seriously want to encourage people on to public transport,then we have to make it significantly cheaper than driving,not more expensive.

rammylad, ramsbottom (22/01/2008 at 18:10)

I sat down last week and looked at Fuel prices, parking prices, train prices, tram prices and food. With the exception of Food all had risen at a rate much higher than inflation. So much so I am paying £1,900 a year more to do the same this year compared to last year. Yet the government have us believe inflation is 2.4%. No chance, inflation is approximately 10% yet when you review price rises the private sector keep well within inflation, it is the council and goverment associated services that deliver above inflation rises. I'll be voting them out, of that they can be sure. David Chaytor MP - Pack your bags now.

jomov, Manchester (22/01/2008 at 18:37)

If you work in London you get a considerably higher salary to take into account the cost of travel, bring this to Manchester if congestion charge arrives here...or even the cost of travel rises to ridiculous amounts...as it seems to be.

PW, Manchester (22/01/2008 at 18:48)

jomov, it's cheaper to stay away and choose somewhere else. Business is poised to become highly-competitive, and they will not want to raise prices so as to try to fill the bottomless pit of Government and local authorities. Governments and local authorities may have people who have studied business, but they have little practical experience. I dread seeing the situation in Manchester 2012, if we allow all this to go through.

jomov, Manchester (22/01/2008 at 19:22)

Regardless of all that, the point is Metrolink isn't offering a service to match what is being charged. If only to add a few carriages so that people can get on after only the first stop!

come-on-city (23/01/2008 at 17:54)

The Metrolink sucks!

I think that just about covers it.

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