Greater Manchester to get Oyster-style bus cards in 2015

Greater Manchester will be the first region outside of London to to get Oyster-style smart ticketing on bus services

The new payment format, to be introduced in 2015, will also be rolled out in Tyne and Wear, Merseyside, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire as well as Nottingham, Leicester and Bristol..

In the West Midlands, nearly 30 operators are already part of the Swift smart multi-operating ticketing scheme.

The bus initiative involves the Stagecoach, First, Arriva, Go Ahead and National Express companies.

In a joint statement, the chief executives of the companies said: “Millions of people in our biggest city regions will benefit from this transformational initiative to provide London-style smart ticketing.

“Bus operators share the aspirations of our city regions to become growing economic powerhouses and we know high quality public transport is an important part of making that happen.”