The price of an Altrincham to Manchester city centre Metrolink season ticket is to go up by £6 a month from January.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has today published details of the new fares via an online ticket selector, with fares rising by an average of 5.93%.
The price of an adult peak day return between Altrincham and Piccadilly Gardens will go up from £6.50 to £6.60. An off-peak return will stay unchanged at £4.60. A seven-day season ticket will rise from £27 to £28.40.
The increase follows a four-year fare freeze in recognition of the work that was taking place to expand the network into the UK’s largest tram system.
Stephen Rhodes, Customer Director for Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), said: “We recognise that there’s never a good time to increase fares but we hope that our customers understand the reason why they now have to increase following the four-year freeze.
“The money we get from fares goes back into the network to cover operating costs and the costs of borrowings taken to expand the system, which is now the largest in the country, with seven lines running to 93 stops across the city region.
“Metrolink receives no public financial subsidy and so having held fares for four years we now need to return them to the required level so that we can continue to operate on a financially sustainable basis into the future.”
Metrolink’s ‘Phase 3’ expansion programme saw new lines introduced across Greater Manchester and included extensions to MediaCityUK, East Didsbury, Rochdale via Oldham, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Airport.
Culminating with the completion of Second City Crossing earlier this year, the £1.5bn programme has seen the network grow beyond recognition. Now comprising a fleet of 120 trams, 93 stops across seven lines and more than 60 miles of track, Metrolink now sees more than 40 million passenger journeys a year.
