Public transport in Manchester - travel pass?

[Gorgeouscombes]

Please can anyone help me navigate public transport ticketing in Manchester. I’m struggling to find the info I need online (the websites seem to not be functioning properly?).

I’m going to be visiting Manchester next week with 2 DCs and I am trying to find out how I get a travel pass for bus/ train/ tram? Surely there is such a thing ? ( like transport for London?) I’m staying out side the centre (zone 3 on the tram) but will be travelling about a bit.

What is the best way? Buying single tickets seems like it will add up quickly if we do several trips in a day. Am I right in thinking that I will also need to pay for DCs? (Between 5 and 10?) as where I live they are free?

many thanks to anyone who can help me navigate the system!

For the tram, you just tap in with a debit or credit card at the station where you get on, and tap out where you get off- there are card readers on the platforms. They work it out so you get charged the lowest fare for the journeys you do in the day. Just don’t forget to tap out, because they charge you a standard fee which is annoying.

Thanks @LoobyDop can you do this in the buses too? How do I get a combined ticket?

Tapping in and out only works for adult tickets. If you have children (age 5-16) with you you will need to buy a family ticket from a ticket machine on the platform. You select which zones you will be travelling through and it’s then valid for you and the DCs for the whole day. I think these tickets might only be available off peak (after 9.30) though. If it’s at the weekend you can get a ticket that lasts for the whole weekend.

It's a bit of a dogs dinner for mixed bus/tram. You can buy wayfarer tickets which cover both, but they are £16 for adults and £8 for children. Bus tickets are £2 for an adult single and £1.00 for a child single. I expect that the cheapest way will be to buy a family tram ticket for the zones that you need and then pay for any bus journeys on top. If you need to make lots of bus journeys there are also day tickets for the buses but they tend to be expensive too!

Agree with the above - Get a day family ticket on the tram for the zones you need. I did a return on Friday for 1 adult, 1 child and it was better value that per person return fares.

We don't currently have a mixed transport ticket but will come soon when Andy Burnham takes over the buses. In the meantime, its £2 per adult, £1 per child for a single bus journey.

So in short, try to use the tram as much as possible. There is also a free bus service that goes around the centre of the city. I can't say I've used it, as I tend to walk/use the tram if I wanted to get from one end to the other. It's quite a compact city.