1001 Smart Cities
🇬🇧 Manchester

get me there (now Bee Card): Greater Manchester's Late Oyster-Style Smartcard

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 23 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

23 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

In 2015 TfGM said its own Oyster-style smartcard looked destined to be overtaken by contactless. It was: fare caps went to bank cards, and the card lives on as Bee Card.

Outcome📉 Scaled back
Evidence🏛️ Official
what does this mean?The strongest source is the operator's or the city's own reporting — an official report, dataset or press release. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byTransport for Greater Manchester (TfGM); built by Atos (2012–2015), then Vix Technologies and Applied Card Technologies (from 2016)
Scale🗺️ Regional
FundingDeveloped with part of a £32.4m Department for Transport Local Sustainable Transport Fund award to TfGM (2012), which also paid for cycling, walking and traffic schemes; Atos paid TfGM undisclosed compensation when the contract ended in 2015. No programme budget or total spend located.

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,216 documented projects · 🏙️ 8 more in Manchester · 🎫 Smart ticketing guide · 🚲 Mobility projects

get me there was Transport for Greater Manchester's answer to London's Oyster card: one smartcard for Metrolink trams, buses and rail. TfGM hired Atos in September 2012 on a seven-year contract to design, build and operate it. From October 2014 it worked on Metrolink, but only for concessionary pass holders. In August 2015 TfGM ended the contract, saying it had become clear Atos could not deliver the system; the settlement terms are confidential. Vix Technologies and Applied Card Technologies took over in 2016, and only in August 2017 could passengers use a single card for both tram and bus. Even then it held specific tickets bought in advance, could not be topped up with cash and did not work on trains. Renamed Bee Card, it still loads tickets bought through an online account, and since October 2026 it can be carried in Apple Wallet.

Live 📅 since 2014

📊 Impact

The pay-as-you-go fare capping that makes Oyster useful reached Greater Manchester on bank cards, not on the smartcard. TfGM had said in 2013 that contactless bank cards would be accepted on Metrolink later in 2014; they arrived on 15 July 2019, with the daily fare capped at the adult one-day travelcard price, and on buses from March 2025. When it dropped Atos in 2015, TfGM itself said today's smart card already looked destined to be overtaken by contactless payments and mobile apps. By 2024 contactless was the most popular way to pay on Metrolink, with 16.5 million journeys that year, according to TfGM. After the card's full launch in 2017, TfGM's customer director acknowledged there was some way to go, as critics compared it unfavourably with Oyster. No published figure gives the scheme's total cost: the £32.4m government award announced in 2012 funded a package of green travel schemes of which smart ticketing was one, and the Atos settlement is confidential. No source measures the card's own effect on ridership.

🎓 Lesson

A transport authority that commissions a smartcard is buying the technology of the year it signs. Greater Manchester's card took from a 2012 contract to August 2017 to carry tram and bus tickets for fare-paying passengers, and by then its own operator had said bank cards and phones would overtake it. What is left for the card is what a bank card does not do: TfGM's contactless pay-as-you-go charges adult fares only, so child, young-person and concessionary passes, and tickets bought in advance, still sit on an account-linked smartcard.

🚲 MobilitySmart ticketingPublic transport

Sources

↗ Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing launched for Manchester (17 Jun 2013)Reports TfGM's naming of the 'get me there' scheme, to cover Metrolink trams, buses and rail services with roll-out beginning in 2014; quotes the TfGM committee chair comparing it with London's Oyster and Liverpool's Walrus, and says passengers could also use concessionary photo cards, contactless bank cards and, in future, smartphones.
↗ Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing roll-out begins for trams and rail in Manchester (18 Nov 2013)Reports more than 350 smart readers installed across Metrolink as the first step of the ITSO-compliant 'get me there' roll-out, planned for Metrolink in 2014 and heavy rail by 2017, and says contactless 'wave and pay' bank cards would be accepted later in 2014 with a daily cap at the all-zones one-day travelcard fare.
↗ BBC News — Greater Manchester to develop Oyster-style travel card after £32m boost (28 Jun 2012)Reports a £32.4m Department for Transport award to TfGM from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for green travel schemes; a TfGM spokesman said the money would support a programme to develop smart card ticketing across trains, trams and buses, alongside cycling, walking and traffic-management projects.
↗ Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)Reports TfGM ending its contract with Atos by mutual agreement after three years; Atos had been appointed in September 2012 on a seven-year contract to design, build and operate the system, described as Manchester's answer to London's Oyster card. Quotes the joint statement (Atos cannot deliver the system as contracted; terms confidential; substantial compensation to TfGM), says the card was introduced in October 2014 for concessionary pass holders, and quotes TfGM that 'Today's smart card already looks destined to be overtaken by contactless payments and mobile apps on smart phones.'
↗ BBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015)Reports TfGM terminating the Atos contract; says smart ticketing was introduced on Metrolink in October 2014 but only for concessionary pass holders, and was to have reached tram and bus passengers that year; carries a BBC Radio Manchester analysis calling it a blow to the government's hopes of an Oyster card for the north.
Show 8 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Rail Technology Magazine — Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract (11 Mar 2016)Reports that Applied Card Technologies and Vix Technologies were awarded TfGM's smart ticketing services after the Atos contract fell apart, and that Atos paid an undisclosed amount of compensation.
↗ Place North West — TfGM launches integrated smart cards for bus and tram (3 Aug 2017)Reports the launch of the 'get me there' smart card across buses and Metrolink, allowing passengers to use a single card for journeys on any Greater Manchester tram and bus, with new 16–18 and corporate cards; notes the card had been used by concessionary pass holders since 2014; quotes the mayor that it would 'for the first time' let people hop on and off trams and buses with their smart card.
↗ PublicTechnology — ‘Contactless by 2019’: Transport for Greater Manchester promises improvements to much-maligned smart-ticketing system (27 Sep 2017)Reports heavy criticism of the newly launched Get Me There scheme and lists its limits: cards ordered online with five to seven working days' delivery or bought at 16 Travelshops; the app usable only on trams; neither usable on trains; no cash top-up, only specific tickets; no contactless at smart readers. Quotes TfGM's customer director that 'we acknowledge there is some way to go' and TfGM that the system is 'not yet where we want [it] to be', with a longer-term plan including contactless payment and Oyster-style top-up.
↗ Oldham Evening Chronicle — Contactless payments launch on Metrolink (15 Jul 2019)Carries TfGM's launch announcement: from 15 July 2019 Metrolink passengers can touch in and out with contactless bank cards or devices, with the daily fare capped at the relevant adult one-day travelcard price; developed with Visa; described as the first aggregated pay-as-you-go on light rail outside London.
↗ Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Bee Network Committee — Bee Network Fares and Ticketing Products (26 Sep 2024)TfGM report to the Bee Network Committee proposing multi-modal pay-as-you-go contactless ticketing and capped fares across bus and tram from March 2025; says pay-as-you-go means customers will not need to plan and purchase travel in advance, that Metrolink contactless already has daily and weekly capping, and that bus and multi-modal pay-as-you-go would operate initially with adult fares only.
↗ Marketing Stockport — Bee Network hits 50 million contactless tram journeys days before launching on bus network (21 Mar 2025)Republishes TfGM's announcement that contactless 'tap and go' on Metrolink passed 50 million journeys; since its 2019 launch it had become the most popular way to pay, with 16.5 million journeys (around 45,000 a day) the previous year; the scheme was to launch on buses from Sunday 23 March 2025.
↗ Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network) — Smart cardsTfGM's current page: tickets and travelcards bought online through an account are loaded onto a Bee Card '(previously get me there)' by touching in at a tram-stop smart reader; former get me there users keep their accounts and cards; igo (child), Our Pass (16–18), concessionary and cycle-hub cards can be linked to an account.
↗ MacRumors — Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet (7 Oct 2026)Reports that TfGM's Bee Card, added to Apple Wallet in August 2026 only for Our Pass holders, became available in Apple Wallet for all Bee Network ticket types from that week, letting users buy bus and tram tickets and store them on a virtual Bee Card.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2014. 12 of 13 sources carry a publication date, from 28 June 2012 to 7 October 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. BBC News · pressBBC News — Greater Manchester to develop Oyster-style travel card after £32m boost (28 Jun 2012)
  2. Rail Technology Magazine · pressRail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing launched for Manchester (17 Jun 2013)
  3. Rail Technology Magazine · pressRail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing roll-out begins for trams and rail in Manchester (18 Nov 2013)
  4. BBC News · pressBBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015)
  5. Place North West · pressPlace North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
  6. Rail Technology Magazine · pressRail Technology Magazine — Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract (11 Mar 2016)
  7. Place North West · pressPlace North West — TfGM launches integrated smart cards for bus and tram (3 Aug 2017)
  8. PublicTechnology · pressPublicTechnology — ‘Contactless by 2019’: Transport for Greater Manchester promises improvements to much-maligned smart-ticketing system (27 Sep 2017)
Show 4 more dated sourcesShow fewer
  1. Oldham Evening Chronicle · pressOldham Evening Chronicle — Contactless payments launch on Metrolink (15 Jul 2019)
  2. Greater Manchester Combined Authority · regional governmentGreater Manchester Combined Authority, Bee Network Committee — Bee Network Fares and Ticketing Products (26 Sep 2024)
  3. Marketing Stockport · pressMarketing Stockport — Bee Network hits 50 million contactless tram journeys days before launching on bus network (21 Mar 2025)
  4. MacRumors · pressMacRumors — Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet (7 Oct 2026)

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Entered the record
  2. Sources last read

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 23 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence file · public beta 23 addressable claims, 13 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The file is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 23

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-b4bec1d6c5a45980 descriptive
get me there was Transport for Greater Manchester's answer to London's Oyster card
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Place North West describes Get Me There as Manchester's answer to London's Oyster card system.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 2 clm-8ac22727518fe499 descriptive
one smartcard for Metrolink trams, buses and rail
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
At the 2013 naming, the scheme was announced to cover Metrolink trams, buses and rail services.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing launched for Manchester (17 Jun 2013)
Claim 3 clm-b05230143e0a1d25 quantitative
TfGM hired Atos in September 2012 on a seven-year contract to design, build and operate it.
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The article states the appointment date, the contract length and its scope.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 4 clm-cb149509fc00513e quantitative
From October 2014 it worked on Metrolink, but only for concessionary pass holders.
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The BBC report of August 2015 says smart ticketing was introduced on Metrolink the previous October, only for concessionary pass holders; Place North West dates the introduction to October 2014.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015)
  2. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 5 clm-1f27af3ce3dc6104 quantitative
In August 2015 TfGM ended the contract, saying it had become clear Atos could not deliver the system
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Both reports, dated 5 and 10 August 2015, carry TfGM's statement that it had become clear Atos could not deliver the system as contracted, and the termination.
Caveat
The termination was announced as a mutual agreement between TfGM and Atos; neither side published detailed reasons.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015)
  2. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 6 clm-193f74f4a404c9d9 descriptive
the settlement terms are confidential
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The joint statement quoted by Place North West says the commercial terms of the termination remain confidential, while providing substantial compensation to TfGM.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 7 clm-4cd527be4dc02477 quantitative
Vix Technologies and Applied Card Technologies took over in 2016
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The March 2016 report says the two firms were awarded TfGM's smart ticketing services after the Atos contract fell apart.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rail Technology Magazine — Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract (11 Mar 2016)
Claim 8 clm-6d01256d112c62d7 quantitative
only in August 2017 could passengers use a single card for both tram and bus
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The 3 August 2017 report announces the launch across buses and trams and quotes the mayor that it would 'for the first time' let people hop on and off trams and buses with their smart card.
Caveat
Operator-run bus smart cards and a tram ticketing app existed before August 2017; what was new was one card for both modes.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — TfGM launches integrated smart cards for bus and tram (3 Aug 2017)
Claim 9 clm-61f677e8e0fec5ce descriptive
Even then it held specific tickets bought in advance, could not be topped up with cash and did not work on trains.
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
PublicTechnology's September 2017 list of limits says neither card nor app can be topped up with cash but must be loaded with specific tickets, and that neither can be used on train services.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. PublicTechnology — ‘Contactless by 2019’: Transport for Greater Manchester promises improvements to much-maligned smart-ticketing system (27 Sep 2017)
Claim 10 clm-4a2d2f75a2aca7f9 descriptive
Renamed Bee Card, it still loads tickets bought through an online account
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
TfGM's current page says tickets and travelcards bought through an account are loaded onto the Bee Card, previously get me there, by touching in at a smart reader.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network) — Smart cards
Claim 11 clm-e32227089eb6c3a1 quantitative
since October 2026 it can be carried in Apple Wallet
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
MacRumors reports that from that week in October 2026 the Bee Card could be added to Apple Wallet for all Bee Network ticket types, after an August launch limited to Our Pass.
Caveat
A press report; Apple Wallet support requires iOS 27 according to the same report.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. MacRumors — Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet (7 Oct 2026)
Claim 12 clm-a1257460f60c5979 quantitative
TfGM had said in 2013 that contactless bank cards would be accepted on Metrolink later in 2014
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The November 2013 report on the reader roll-out states the plan to accept contactless bank cards later in 2014.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing roll-out begins for trams and rail in Manchester (18 Nov 2013)
Claim 13 clm-85eeafa42afd7366 quantitative
they arrived on 15 July 2019, with the daily fare capped at the adult one-day travelcard price
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
TfGM's launch announcement, carried by the Oldham Evening Chronicle on 15 July 2019, states the launch that day and the daily cap at the adult one-day travelcard price.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Oldham Evening Chronicle — Contactless payments launch on Metrolink (15 Jul 2019)
Claim 14 clm-93cb1b403dc293de quantitative
and on buses from March 2025
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The September 2024 committee report proposes pay-as-you-go across bus and tram in March 2025; TfGM's March 2025 announcement says it launches on buses from Sunday 23 March.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Bee Network Committee — Bee Network Fares and Ticketing Products (26 Sep 2024)
  2. Marketing Stockport — Bee Network hits 50 million contactless tram journeys days before launching on bus network (21 Mar 2025)
Claim 15 clm-a074ebc808d37d9e quantitative
When it dropped Atos in 2015, TfGM itself said today's smart card already looked destined to be overtaken by contactless payments and mobile apps.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Both reports quote the TfGM spokesperson's statement at the termination of the Atos contract.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
  2. BBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015)
Claim 16 clm-67e3f02b837e4c04 quantitative
By 2024 contactless was the most popular way to pay on Metrolink, with 16.5 million journeys that year, according to TfGM.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
TfGM's March 2025 announcement says contactless had become the most popular way to pay since 2019, with 16.5 million journeys in the previous year.
Caveat
Operator figure, reported in a republished announcement.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Marketing Stockport — Bee Network hits 50 million contactless tram journeys days before launching on bus network (21 Mar 2025)
Claim 17 clm-6e1c8c38f3c4aa3e quantitative
After the card's full launch in 2017, TfGM's customer director acknowledged there was some way to go, as critics compared it unfavourably with Oyster.
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
PublicTechnology quotes TfGM's customer director Stephen Rhodes and says TfGM had noted public comments comparing the system unfavourably with its London equivalent.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. PublicTechnology — ‘Contactless by 2019’: Transport for Greater Manchester promises improvements to much-maligned smart-ticketing system (27 Sep 2017)
Claim 18 clm-9e0e138cc77beed5 quantitative
the £32.4m government award announced in 2012 funded a package of green travel schemes of which smart ticketing was one
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The BBC report says the £32.4m award funds green travel schemes, and that a TfGM spokesman said the money would support a programme to develop smart card ticketing, alongside cycling, walking and traffic projects.
Caveat
The award was not a budget for the card alone, and no source states how much of it the card used.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. BBC News — Greater Manchester to develop Oyster-style travel card after £32m boost (28 Jun 2012)
Claim 19 clm-f96ebf65d3984199 descriptive
the Atos settlement is confidential
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The 2015 joint statement says the terms remain confidential; the 2016 report calls Atos's compensation undisclosed.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
  2. Rail Technology Magazine — Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract (11 Mar 2016)
Claim 20 clm-e781131028a99b7d quantitative
Greater Manchester's card took from a 2012 contract to August 2017 to carry tram and bus tickets for fare-paying passengers
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The contract date comes from Place North West's 2015 report; the August 2017 bus-and-tram launch from its 2017 report.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
  2. Place North West — TfGM launches integrated smart cards for bus and tram (3 Aug 2017)
Claim 21 clm-cbb56d4def96fb6d descriptive
by then its own operator had said bank cards and phones would overtake it
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
TfGM's 2015 statement predicted that contactless payments and phone apps would overtake the smart card.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015)
Claim 22 clm-868f06c67adb05ae descriptive
TfGM's contactless pay-as-you-go charges adult fares only
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The 2024 committee report says pay-as-you-go would operate initially with adult fares only, as on Metrolink and in London.
Caveat
The report says 'initially'; it does not rule out child or concessionary fares on contactless later.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Bee Network Committee — Bee Network Fares and Ticketing Products (26 Sep 2024)
Claim 23 clm-7c2ba57b8482626f descriptive
child, young-person and concessionary passes, and tickets bought in advance, still sit on an account-linked smartcard
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
TfGM's smart-card page lists igo (child), Our Pass (16–18) and concessionary cards that can be linked to an account, and describes buying tickets in advance to load onto the card.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network) — Smart cards
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-10-16-baseline effective 2026-10-16 · created 2026-10-16

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:cbffc82aff51a4945018555f4282e7f4fd5c7de4295fac186a39d1f27407d91e
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
23
of 23 claims mapped
13
source dossiers
12
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM); built by Atos (2012–2015), then Vix Technologies and Applied Card Technologies (from 2016)
Actor types
regional-government, private
Funding model
public
Funding description
Developed with part of a £32.4m Department for Transport Local Sustainable Transport Fund award to TfGM (2012), which also paid for cycling, walking and traffic schemes; Atos paid TfGM undisclosed compensation when the contract ended in 2015. No programme budget or total spend located.
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

13 source dossiers

Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing launched for Manchester (17 Jun 2013) railtechnologymagazine.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-9ece4c428011f340
Publisher
Name not classified · railtechnologymagazine.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2013-06-17
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports TfGM's naming of the 'get me there' scheme, to cover Metrolink trams, buses and rail services with roll-out beginning in 2014; quotes the TfGM committee chair comparing it with London's Oyster and Liverpool's Walrus, and says passengers could also use concessionary photo cards, contactless bank cards and, in future, smartphones.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rail Technology Magazine — Smart ticketing roll-out begins for trams and rail in Manchester (18 Nov 2013) railtechnologymagazine.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-e3d04f9c21740d36
Publisher
Name not classified · railtechnologymagazine.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2013-11-18
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports more than 350 smart readers installed across Metrolink as the first step of the ITSO-compliant 'get me there' roll-out, planned for Metrolink in 2014 and heavy rail by 2017, and says contactless 'wave and pay' bank cards would be accepted later in 2014 with a daily cap at the all-zones one-day travelcard fare.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
BBC News — Greater Manchester to develop Oyster-style travel card after £32m boost (28 Jun 2012) bbc.co.uk · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f2f411120b445796
Publisher
Name not classified · bbc.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2012-06-28
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports a £32.4m Department for Transport award to TfGM from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund for green travel schemes; a TfGM spokesman said the money would support a programme to develop smart card ticketing across trains, trams and buses, alongside cycling, walking and traffic-management projects.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Place North West — Get Me There going nowhere fast (10 Aug 2015) placenorthwest.co.uk · 9 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-5b10cf7e7ea7ef32
Publisher
Name not classified · placenorthwest.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2015-08-10
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports TfGM ending its contract with Atos by mutual agreement after three years; Atos had been appointed in September 2012 on a seven-year contract to design, build and operate the system, described as Manchester's answer to London's Oyster card. Quotes the joint statement (Atos cannot deliver the system as contracted; terms confidential; substantial compensation to TfGM), says the card was introduced in October 2014 for concessionary pass holders, and quotes TfGM that 'Today's smart card already looks destined to be overtaken by contactless payments and mobile apps on smart phones.'

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
BBC News — Metrolink: Travel card firm loses contract after delays (5 Aug 2015) bbc.co.uk · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-2e7eb77311fcead6
Publisher
Name not classified · bbc.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2015-08-05
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports TfGM terminating the Atos contract; says smart ticketing was introduced on Metrolink in October 2014 but only for concessionary pass holders, and was to have reached tram and bus passengers that year; carries a BBC Radio Manchester analysis calling it a blow to the government's hopes of an Oyster card for the north.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rail Technology Magazine — Vix and ACT take over Metrolink smart ticketing contract (11 Mar 2016) railtechnologymagazine.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-74e54125d3048e5d
Publisher
Name not classified · railtechnologymagazine.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2016-03-11
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports that Applied Card Technologies and Vix Technologies were awarded TfGM's smart ticketing services after the Atos contract fell apart, and that Atos paid an undisclosed amount of compensation.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Place North West — TfGM launches integrated smart cards for bus and tram (3 Aug 2017) placenorthwest.co.uk · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-f278198dd265f8c9
Publisher
Name not classified · placenorthwest.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2017-08-03
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports the launch of the 'get me there' smart card across buses and Metrolink, allowing passengers to use a single card for journeys on any Greater Manchester tram and bus, with new 16–18 and corporate cards; notes the card had been used by concessionary pass holders since 2014; quotes the mayor that it would 'for the first time' let people hop on and off trams and buses with their smart card.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
PublicTechnology — ‘Contactless by 2019’: Transport for Greater Manchester promises improvements to much-maligned smart-ticketing system (27 Sep 2017) publictechnology.net · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-597c76b42a65ba26
Publisher
Name not classified · publictechnology.net
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2017-09-27
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports heavy criticism of the newly launched Get Me There scheme and lists its limits: cards ordered online with five to seven working days' delivery or bought at 16 Travelshops; the app usable only on trams; neither usable on trains; no cash top-up, only specific tickets; no contactless at smart readers. Quotes TfGM's customer director that 'we acknowledge there is some way to go' and TfGM that the system is 'not yet where we want [it] to be', with a longer-term plan including contactless payment and Oyster-style top-up.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Oldham Evening Chronicle — Contactless payments launch on Metrolink (15 Jul 2019) oldham-chronicle.co.uk · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-cb26a61867e0cee9
Publisher
Name not classified · oldham-chronicle.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2019-07-15
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Carries TfGM's launch announcement: from 15 July 2019 Metrolink passengers can touch in and out with contactless bank cards or devices, with the daily fare capped at the relevant adult one-day travelcard price; developed with Visa; described as the first aggregated pay-as-you-go on light rail outside London.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Bee Network Committee — Bee Network Fares and Ticketing Products (26 Sep 2024) democracy.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-0062dad3a6982d5a
Publisher
Name not classified · democracy.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk
Type / language
pdf · language not classified
Published
2024-09-26
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

TfGM report to the Bee Network Committee proposing multi-modal pay-as-you-go contactless ticketing and capped fares across bus and tram from March 2025; says pay-as-you-go means customers will not need to plan and purchase travel in advance, that Metrolink contactless already has daily and weekly capping, and that bus and multi-modal pay-as-you-go would operate initially with adult fares only.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Marketing Stockport — Bee Network hits 50 million contactless tram journeys days before launching on bus network (21 Mar 2025) marketingstockport.co.uk · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-dafc765f566bc615
Publisher
Name not classified · marketingstockport.co.uk
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-03-21
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Republishes TfGM's announcement that contactless 'tap and go' on Metrolink passed 50 million journeys; since its 2019 launch it had become the most popular way to pay, with 16.5 million journeys (around 45,000 a day) the previous year; the scheme was to launch on buses from Sunday 23 March 2025.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Transport for Greater Manchester (Bee Network) — Smart cards tfgm.com · 2 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6b54db5dc91f2109
Publisher
Name not classified · tfgm.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

TfGM's current page: tickets and travelcards bought online through an account are loaded onto a Bee Card '(previously get me there)' by touching in at a tram-stop smart reader; former get me there users keep their accounts and cards; igo (child), Our Pass (16–18), concessionary and cycle-hub cards can be linked to an account.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
MacRumors — Manchester's Bee Card Now Fully Supported in Apple Wallet (7 Oct 2026) macrumors.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-14968869c68acf44
Publisher
Name not classified · macrumors.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-10-07
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-16
Dossier created
2026-10-16
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Reports that TfGM's Bee Card, added to Apple Wallet in August 2026 only for Our Pass holders, became available in Apple Wallet for all Bee Network ticket types from that week, letting users buy bus and tram tickets and store them on a virtual Bee Card.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this file
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇬🇧 Bee Network: Greater Manchester's Franchised Buses and Tap-and-Go Fares · Manchester The pay-as-you-go capping the card was meant to bring arrived on bank cards, across bus and tram, from March 2025.

Explore the wider context

🔑 Your Smart City Is Owned by Someone Else📖 Bus rapid transit (BRT)📖 E-ticketing📖 Fare capping
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “get me there (now Bee Card): Greater Manchester's Late Oyster-Style Smartcard” — Manchester, United Kingdom. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/greater-manchester-get-me-there-card/ (last verified 2026-10-16). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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