Bus tickets

Find the best ticket for your journey

There are plenty of tickets that you can buy to travel on the bus, so make sure you choose the best ticket for you.

You can buy:

Single 'hopper' tickets
Bee Bus tickets – for journeys on all bus services in Greater Manchester and on Bee Network buses that travel across the Greater Manchester boundary. There are also tickets for families and students to use.
Bee AnyBus tickets – for journeys on the 88, 130, 199, 391, 392, 393, 394, 464, 481, 483, X41 or CAT5 non-Bee Network bus services and your journey starts or ends outside Greater Manchester but within the AnyBus boundary line shown on this map.
Multi tickets for bus and tram travel.

Single 'hopper' tickets

The Bee Bus single ‘hopper’ ticket costs £2 for adults and £1 for children.

Use this ticket for a single trip. You can then use the hopper ticket to travel on other Bee Network buses, for no additional cost, within 60 minutes of buying your ticket.

Adults can only buy this ticket on the bus.
If you pay with contactless tap and go, you will be able to travel on another Bee Network bus within an hour of first tapping in, without an extra charge.
If you buy a paper ticket, keep hold of it and scan the QR code on the next bus.

Children can buy this ticket on the bus or on the Bee Network app.
The child ‘hopper’ ticket on the app will also have a QR code that will remain available to scan on the bus up until its expiry time.
If you buy a paper ticket, keep hold of it and scan the QR code on the next bus.

Bee Bus tickets

Bee Bus tickets are valid on all bus services in in Greater Manchester and on Bee Network buses that travel across the Greater Manchester boundary.

A 1-day Bee Bus ticket costs £2.50 for children and £5 for adults.

Customers can pay for their journey using cash or card by asking the driver of a Bee Network bus for a 1-day Bee Bus ticket (child or adult), which is valid until 3.59am the following day.

This ticket is also available on the Bee Network app.

Please note: Children aged 11-16 will need an igo card to buy this ticket. Under 5s travel free.

A 7-day Bee Bus ticket costs £10 for children and £20 for adults.

You can purchase this ticket on the Bee Network app.

You can purchase a 7-day Bee Bus ticket by using your smart card:

On a Bee Network bus (cash only for adults)
At an Information and Ticket Office
At a PayPoint retail outlet

You can also buy online with a smart card.

To buy adult tickets with a smart card, you will need a Bee Card or a get me there card.

To buy child tickets with a smart card, you will need an igo smart card. Other compatible smart cards, including StagecoachSmart will also work, look for the ITSO logo.

Please note: Children aged 11-16 will need an igo card to buy this ticket. Under 5s travel free.

A 28-day Bee Bus ticket costs £40 for children and £80 for adults.

You can purchase this ticket on the Bee Network app.

You can purchase a 28-day Bee Bus ticket, by using your smart card:

On a Bee Network bus (cash only for adults)
At an Information and Ticket Office
At a PayPoint retail outlet

You can also buy online with a smart card.

To buy adult tickets with a smart card, you will need a Bee Card or a get me there card.

To buy child tickets with a smart card, you will need an igo smart card. Other compatible smart cards, including StagecoachSmart will also work, look for the ITSO logo.

Please note: Children aged 11-16 will need an igo card to buy this ticket. Under 5s travel free.

Your 28-day Bee Bus ticket will be loaded to your smart card upon purchase. Please keep a paper copy of your receipt.

A new adult Annual Bee Bus ticket is now available.

Use this ticket for one year's unlimited travel on any bus in Greater Manchester or any Bee Network bus that travels over the Greater Manchester boundary.

The Annual Bee Bus ticket costs £800, offering savings of up to £240.

You can pay up front by purchasing buy your ticket at an Information and Ticket Office, or on the Bee Network app.
You can also buy this ticket with your smart card online.
To spread the cost, you could join a participating Credit Union. Learn more about the Credit Union Annual ticket scheme.

Other Bee Bus tickets

There are other Bee Bus tickets available for families and students to use on Bee Network bus services.

A 1-day Bee Bus family (off-peak) ticket costs £9.

The ticket allows a family one day's unlimited travel on Bee Network buses after 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends and bank holidays.

The family ticket can be used by a group of one to three children accompanied by one or two adults when travelling together.

Children travelling as part of a family group must be aged under 16 and, if aged 11 to 15, will need proof of age ID.
An igo card allows children to qualify for longer, up to 31 August after their 16th birthday.

There is no minimum age for children travelling on a family ticket.

You can purchase a 1-day Bee Bus family ticket:

If you're a student at any college or university, you can buy student Bee Bus tickets.

Student term tickets can be used at anytime on Bee Network buses up to the last service of the day that the ticket expires. The expiry date will differ depending on which term ticket you buy.

You will need proof that you are a current student, any official college or university ID is suitable (not NUS card).

There are different student terms tickets available:

All Terms Bee Bus student ticket - valid between 1 September and 30 June.
Term 1 Bee Bus student ticket - valid between 1 September and 31 December.
Term 2 Bee Bus student ticket - valid between 1 January and 31 March.
Term 3 Bee Bus student ticket - valid between 1 April and 30 June.

You can buy student Bee Bus tickets:

Students (up to the age of 26) and young people (up to the age of 21) can also a buy cheaper 7-day (£18.20) or 28-day (£61.90) Bee AnyBus Ticket.

Bee AnyBus tickets

You only need to buy a Bee AnyBus ticket if you travel on the 88, 130, 199, 391, 392, 393, 394, 464, 481, 483, X41 or CAT5 non-Bee Network bus services and your journey starts or ends outside Greater Manchester but within the AnyBus boundary line shown on this map.

A 1-day Bee AnyBus ticket costs £5.

Customers can pay for their journey using cash or card by asking the driver for a 1-day Bee AnyBus ticket, which is valid until 3.59am the following day.

A 7-day Bee AnyBus ticket costs £18.60 for a young person (aged 16-21) / student (aged 16-26) and £21 for adults.

You can purchase the 7-day Bee AnyBus young person or student ticket on the Bee Network app.

You can purchase a 7-day Bee AnyBus adult, young persons or student ticket by using your smart card:

To buy with a smart card, you need to have a Bee Card or an existing get me there card. Other compatible smart cards, including StagecoachSmart will also work, look for the ITSO logo.

A 28-day Bee AnyBus ticket costs £63.30 for a young person (aged 16-21) / student (aged 16-26) and £87.40 for adults.

You can purchase the 28-day Bee AnyBus young person or student ticket on the Bee Network app.

You can purchase a 28-day Bee AnyBus adult, young person or student ticket by using your smart card:

To buy with a smart card, you need to have a Bee Card or an existing get me there card. Other compatible smart cards, including StagecoachSmart will also work, look for the ITSO logo.

Greater Manchester £2 fares cap

Government has announced that the national bus fares cap will rise to £3 in 2025, but this will not affect the £2/£1 (adult/child) single fares cap that was introduced for Greater Manchester in September 2022.

The Greater Manchester Mayor has committed to keeping the £2/£1 single fare for Greater Manchester through to the end of 2025, subject to a mid-year review.

That includes Bee Network services travelling into or out of Greater Manchester.

However, due to different funding arrangements in neighbouring local authority areas, non-Bee Network operator bus services travelling into or out of Greater Manchester may be subject to the national £3 fares cap for single fares. Some operators may choose to have lower single fares.

More information

You can find lots of additional information online, including:

Find tickets and passes to suit you, apply for a pass or renew an existing pass
Find station, stop, and route information, live departures and timetable information by searching for a bus number (e.g. 192), or bus station (e.g. Stockport bus station)
View more information about buses, trains and trams, such as how to buy tickets, lost property and travelling safely.