GREATER Manchester public transport users can now enjoy using a single smart card for all journeys across the region, on any Greater Manchester tram and bus.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has been working with Greater Manchester Travelcards Ltd (GMTL) to make it easier for passengers to move around freely, introducing new 16-18 and corporate smart cards for business employees.

With Transport for Greater Manchester's (TfGM) get me there smart card system, users can purchase tickets online without needing to carry cash or queue at ticket machines.

The new smart cards for 16-18 year olds will allow almost 100,000 young people to enjoy half price 1-day tickets from September.

Season ticket holders will also be able to replace lost or stolen tickets and travelcards that have more than 7 days left to run by ordering new cards online. TfGM and GMTL are also working together with the aim to provide contactless account-based ticketing in the future, where passengers use their bank card to touch in and touch out instead of a smart card.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “The expansion of get me there will certainly help make travel easier and, for the first time, enable people across Greater Manchester to hop on and off trams and buses with their smartcard.

“Significantly, the 16 – 18 card will see the cost of a bus day ticket cut in half – reducing the cost of journeys and enabling our young people to more easily access work and leisure opportunities, training, education and skills.

“All this can only be good news and will, I hope, encourage more people than ever before to get on board with public transport, which will help to tackle congestion and air quality issues.”

Trevor Roberts, chairman of GMTL – which operates under the brand name System One – said: “We are pleased to work with our partners TfGM to deliver more products onto the smart platform. We have been working hard to get growth and encourage our current customers to make the switch and that is being delivered with more and more buying via get me there and other compatible smart cards.”

For information about the scheme visit www.getmethere.com, for information on public transport across Greater Manchester visit www.tfgm.com, call 0161 244 1000 (7am-8pm, Monday to Friday, and 8am-8pm at weekends and bank holidays) or follow @OfficialTfGM on Twitter.

Chairman of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee (TfGMC), Councillor Andrew Fender, said: “I’m delighted that today we’re launching a smart ticket that allows truly flexible, multi-modal travel on Greater Manchester’s trams and buses for the first time.

“We are on a journey with get me there and smart ticketing. We know the travelling public wants a world-class, integrated, pan-Northern smart ticketing system, and this latest development brings us a step closer towards realising this ambition.”