The Student Guide for Travelling Around Manchester

Navigating around a busy city like Manchester can seem a little stressful at first. But it’s much easier than you might think. With plenty of student discounts, free ways to travel, and multiple routes to get to where you’re going – you’ll be living like a true Mancunian in no time.

Travelling to campus and around the city 

Bee Network 

If you’re coming to Manchester for the first time, you’ll notice the bright yellow wrapped transport around the city. This is part of the newly formed Bee Network, which provides a more integrated and easy way to travel around Greater Manchester.  

Check out what’s coming with the new network, and how it will benefit you – from free travel and days out, to discounted student tickets: 

Bus passes 

Bus tickets for single journeys in Greater Manchester cost no more than £2. So, it can work out cheaper to get two singles rather than a day ticket for your return journey. You can pay by cash or by card on any bus. 

Student Bee Bus tickets 

As a university student in Greater Manchester, you can buy student term tickets, which you can use on Bee Network buses up to the day the ticket expires.  

You can buy your student bus tickets on the Bee Network app or at an Information and Ticket Office. Just remember, you will need to have your student ID present (Not an 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 

Free Buses 

There are two free bus routes in Manchester, which connect the core five train stations: Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Victoria, Deansgate, and Salford Central. These buses run on a regular schedule, arriving every 10 minutes between 7am-7pm on weekdays – and also have regular services on weekends.  

Manchester’s free buses are hop-on – hop-off and free for everyone, so there’s no need to present student ID or any form of payment. There’s also plenty of free days out in Manchester that sit along these routes, including the Science and Industry Museum and Manchester Cathedral.  

24 Hour Night Buses

From Sunday 1 September, the Bee Network will be introducing 24 hour night bus services to the V1 and 36 bus routes, which connect Manchester with Leigh, and Bolton via Salford. These buses will run hourly, every night, meaning you can safely make it to and from nights out, or night shifts in town.

Prices will stay at the £2 single daytime fair, and there will be a number of additional safety measures in place to ensure that you feel safe whilst travelling. For extra information about Manchester’s night buses, or details for support services whilst travelling at night, head over to the Bee Network website. 

Trams 

The Metrolink is a quick way to travel around the city centre and across Greater Manchester. Each tram stop sits within its own ticket zone. If you are travelling in the city centre this will be zone one and furthest stops from the city are in zone 4.  

You can buy a single ticket, 1-day, 7-day or 28-day travelcard in the app or from a ticket machine on the platform.  If you prefer to pay-as-you-go, you can use a contactless card to tap in at the start of your journey and tap out at the end of your journey. This will calculate your total travel cost. Make sure you tap out though otherwise you will be charged £4.60 for an incomplete journey. 

If you start a journey outside of peak hours, you can also reduce the cost of travel by 30% – peak hours are 7am – 9:30am (any journeys that begin in this period are charged at the peak price). If you travel more than one day a week (Monday to Sunday) you will be charged the most cost-effective price for the week, rather than each individual journey. 

E-Bikes and E-Scooters

Manchester now has electric bikes for hire across the city centre in collaboration with Starling Bank – and E-Scooters across Salford from the city centre in collaboration with Lime.  

Getting started with electric hire is easy, check out your options on the Transport for Greater Manchester website and find out more about e-bikes and e-scooters below: 

E-Bikes 

Starling Bank Bikes are available to hire via the SBB app and can be run on a Pay As You Ride (PAYR) scheme, or through Minute Bundles which reduce the cost to ride. When cycling with PAYR it costs £1 to unlock the E-Bike and 10p per minute to ride – when you buy a minute bundle between £5 and £40 in advance, it costs £1 to unlock and just 5p per minute to ride. 

Pedal bikes are also available for hire which cost just 50p to unlock and 5p per minute to ride on PAYR, or free to unlock and 5p per minute to ride with a minute bundle. You can use both the E-bikes and pedal bikes across Manchester and Salford – and you can check the map within the app for specific stations across the city. 

E-Scooters 

Lime scooters are available to hire via the Lime app and run on a similar scheme to Starling’s bikes. It costs £1 to unlock the scooter and 17p per minute after that, but you can also buy minute deals from 60 minutes to 240 minutes for £5.99 - £21.99.  

Lime also offers 50% off for Access riders – which includes students. You can apply to become an Access rider via the Lime website, and check on the Salford.gov site for locations with E-Scooter drop off points. 

Travelling in Greater Manchester and Beyond 

Trains and Coaches 

Manchester has 5 train stations across the city centre. Whether it’s the direct train from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, Deansgate to Liverpool Lime Street, or just Salford Crescent to Bolton – there is so much opportunity for travel within Manchester and beyond. 

In the city centre, there is also the Manchester National Express which offers reduced cost travel by coach across the UK.  

Check out the different ways you can save money as student when travelling by rail or coach: 

Railcard 

A railcard is a digital pass which grants you 1/3 off eligible journeys by train. On average, regular users of the rail network will save £167 a year with a railcard – and when it’s 1-year for £30 or 3-years for £70 (possibly covering your full time at uni) – it’s a no brainer! 

It is worth checking how much you would save on local journeys, or if your journey to university is viable for the discount, before purchasing a railcard. 

Coachcard

A coachcard works much like a railcard, offering 1/3 off eligible journeys by coach. However, the total cost for the coachcard is much more affordable and has additional benefits: £15 for 1-year or £35 for 3-years, £15 day returns anywhere in the UK (on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays), and 15% off travel to events and festivals. 

Both the railcard and coachcard are suitable for anyone aged 18-26 – with additional railcard options after you turn 26; so there’s no need to present student ID, and you can continue to use your cards after you graduate, until they expire. 

Ride Share Services – Black Cabs and Uber 

Grabbing a taxi or ordering an Uber can be one of the most convenient ways of getting home safely. With new features such as location sharing in the uber app, driver’s badges in taxis to verify their identity, and even the option to share your location with the university in our Safe Zone app – you can feel safe when using ride share services, especially when travelling alone. 

However, you must always be aware of your surroundings and don’t get into any unmarked vehicles or accept rides from strangers. 

Uber 

Uber is a one of the most trusted ride sharing apps and operates across Greater Manchester. Pairing you with an insured and verified driver, the app gives you the number plate, make and model of the vehicle, and a picture of the driver. The app also now has additional safety features such as PIN verification, so you know that you are riding in the right car – as well as the option to “share your ride” with a friend who can track your journey. 

To save money with Uber, you can sign up to Uber One which has plenty of benefits including 5% off eligible Uber trips, discounted take-out or grocery deliveries, and even Disney+ free for 1 year (when you buy an annual subscription). Uber One is £5.99 a month, or £59.99 annually. 

Taxis 

Manchester City Council are responsible for licensing hackney carriage (black cabs) and private hire vehicles and their drivers in the city. Both types of taxi driver are required by law to always wear their driver’s badge, so you can trust the driver that is taking you home has been verified by the city. 

Many taxis have the option to accept cash or contactless payment, but its best to check with your driver before boarding. Ask your driver how much the trip is likely to cost before you ride and ensure that your phone is charged if you want to pay by Apple or Android pay. Remember to let your friends or flatmates know when you are travelling home, and always try to travel in pairs or more.