Contactless payment is coming to Metrolink

Town Centre Metrolink stop

Metrolink commuters will soon be able to pay for their tram journeys with contactless cards and devices.

Using the yellow smart readers, you’ll be able to travel across the network by touching-in and touching-out at the start and end of each journey.

The stops where you touch-in and touch-out will show Metrolink the zone(s) you have travelled through.

From £1.40 for a short journey up to £7 for a one-day anytime travelcard (or £4.80 off-peak) for all zones, you won’t pay any more as long as you remember to touch-in before boarding the tram and touch-out at your destination.

You don’t need to touch-out and touch-in again if you’re just changing trams as part of a single journey between two Metrolink stops.

If you forget to touch-in before your journey, you could be charged the contactless standard fare of £30. If you forget to touch-out, you will be charged the incomplete journey fare of £4.60 – so it’s worth remembering every time.

You must touch-in and touch-out with the same card or device for all your day’s journeys, but you will need to use a different card or device for each person travelling.

Using a ticket machine may be a better option, if paying for a family or group.

All the current ways to pay will still be available and may offer better value if you qualify for a discount or if you buy 7-day, 28-day or annual tickets.