Transport chiefs are to spend £1m installing ‘smart-ticket’ machines on up to 1,000 buses - which will make it easier for passengers who also use trams and trains.

Companies are being asked by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) to bid for a contract to fit the card-based machines in vehicles owned by around 30 small-to-medium sized bus operators.

Up to 1,000 electronic ticket machines could be installed as part of the five-year £1m contract.

TfGM bosses want smaller operators equipped for a ticketing system, which will work across various modes of public tansport.

Passengers will be able to use their over 60s and concessionary passes on any service. There are also plans to eventually accept the new Get Me There card - Greater Manchester’s version of London’s Oyster Card - and operators’ own cards.

Larger operators will also make use of the technology. The aim is that passengers will eventually be able to use one card for every tram, train and bus journey.

Smart ticket systems allowing tram passengers to scan themselves on and off the Metrolink system are being rolled out to more travellers across Greater Manchester.

The Get Me There system is now available to more than half-a-million people after a trial run of 3,500 users began testing it last year.

Passengers can touch in and out using their travel cards on special readers at the start and end of their tram journeys, instead of carrying cash or buying tickets on the go.

TfGM plans to open up the system up to all paying customers on Metrolink in stages this summer before it is eventually rolled out across the region’s buses and trains.

Source: ManchesterEveningNews