All change on the buses as fares rise

Yellow school bus

School bus passes and young person's concessionary travel passes are among fares set to rise.

The changes will affect passengers in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and other boroughs of Greater Manchester.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) will increase weekly school passes by 50p, rising to £7, which will save the public body £78,000 per year.

Other changes include cutting Manchester's Metroshuttle budget by £300,000 next year, doubling the cost of Igo passes - for 16s and under - and introducing £10 charges for both disabled passengers who lose their concession cards as well as for purchasing a Yellow School Bus pass.

Corporate and financial services director at TfGM Steve Warrener said: "We continuously review the services we pay for to make sure they provide the best service for customers, value for the public purse, and are delivered in the most cost effective way"

TfGM re-iterated that there have been no fare increases on these services in six years but said "due to cost increases" they now need to introduce them.

The cost of Igo passes will be increased from £5 to £10, which TfGM said will help them to recover the cost of administering the scheme.

The city's Local Link - a minibus service to help those who cannot access public transport - will also experience a 10 per cent rise in fares, creating a saving of £20,000 per year. Details about the new Local Link fare structure are due to be made available when changes are introduced later this year.

Regarding school bus passes, Mr Warrener said a £10 charge for a new or replacement pass would come in from the start of the 2017-18 academic year. This is also hoped to cover the costs of administering the pass system, which have increased since the scheme launched in 2002/03.

The decisions follow a public consultation on services which culminated with a TfGM committee meeting on 16 March..

In 2017/18 the Transport Levy given to TfGM by the Combined Authority will be cut by £6.67million. However, the difference will be made up using Metrolink reserves, keeping their funding at the same level.