Top tips and travel updates this Christmas

Updated: 5 November 2026

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Plan your journeys to make the most of your time in the city this Christmas.

Here’s our top tips of how to spend less time in traffic and more time doing the things you love this Christmas….

Choose your method: The Bee Network is reliable and affordable with tap and go fares and integrated travel … find the best option for your journey with the Bee Network app’s journey planner. Take the bus, tram or train to Greater Manchester’s Christmas markets, shops, events and attractions – with late-running and 24-hour services. For shorter trips, walk or cycle if you can.
Choose your route: If your journey takes you through a busy town or city centre, plan ahead and try a different route, connection or nearby stop or station. If you are driving into the region, you can also use Park and Ride to beat the traffic and complete your journey into the city centre by bus or tram. Explore your options on our website and app.
Choose your time: If your plans are flexible, and you want to avoid the crowds, travel at a quieter time if you can. We’ll provide details of busy periods around known travel hotspots and major events on our website. Before a night out, check your last bus, tram or train - especially over bank holidays, when timetables may change.
Choose public transport: Our roads will be busier than usual as people flock to our towns and city centres. If you can, consider leaving the car at home and using public transport, carshare with a friend or family member, or use Park and Ride to avoid traffic pinch points. One tram full of people could replace around 200 cars on the road and a double decker bus around 75.

Here’s how you can get in and around the city centre this Christmas….

By bus: We’ve more buses than ever running in Greater Manchester – from 24-hour night buses to every borough from Thursday to Sunday, high-frequency routes with buses every 12 minutes, and many more routes running until 3am. At just £2 for adults and £1 for children, it’s often the cheapest way to get around.
By tram: There’ll be more double trams running across the network, with enhanced services for major events and trams running until 1am on Friday and Saturday.
By train: The train is often the best way to get into Manchester, with hundreds of thousands of journeys made every day into Piccadilly, Victoria and Oxford Road. Rail operators are adding extra capacity across key routes, with station information and journey planning also now available in the Bee Network app.
Park & Ride: Park and Ride locations will be open 24 hours, 7 days a week from Thursday 12th November so you can switch from car to Bee Network and beat the traffic on the busiest part of the route. Overnight parking restrictions are being lifted at TfGM’s 20 Park and Ride sites, meaning people can go out, leave the car and collect it the next day without a charge. Another 21 free Park and Ride sites are open at rail stations across Greater Manchester.
Walk or cycle: Bee Network cycle hire stations are located close to trams, trains and buses across Manchester, Trafford and Salford. If you are able to, complete all or part of your journey on foot or by bike.

See below for week by week travel advice and how events and planned disruptions could impact your journey.

Information will be updated regularly.

Events take place at the Co-op Live Arena from Thursday to Sunday. The Ashton line will be busy between Piccadilly and Etihad Campus from 6pm to 8pm so consider travelling outside of these times for a quieter journey.
With two Gladiator shows on both Saturday and Sunday, there will be a crossover of fans leaving the area around the AO Arena whilst others arrive. This period will be busiest between 3pm and 5pm with the car parks around the AO Arena, Arndale and Harvey Nichols likely to see increased usage.

Saturday 21 November will be a particularly busy day in the city centre with Manchester City playing Fulham, Fontaines D.C. performing a sold out show at the AO Arena and Hits Radio Live at the Co-op Arena. Going into the city centre to do some Christmas shopping? Why not go on Sunday instead when roads, the city centre and public transport will be quieter.

Saturday 28 November will be a particularly busy day in the city centre due to a number of events, including Black Friday shoppers and the start of the Christmas party season.
The busiest times will be on Saturday from 1 to 2pm when fans travel to Old Trafford, and 4pm to 9pm when fans travel via the city centre to and from the football and other events. Avoid these times for a quieter journey.

Saturday will be busy with Christmas Markets, parties and shoppers, as we lead up to the big day.
The Manchester City Centre Christmas Parade in the city centre (on Sunday 6 December) will require road closures in the city centre. As a result, there's likely to be increased congestion and an increase of journey times on the roads. We encouage using public transport to attend the parade.
On Sunday 6 December, no trains will operate between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, due to engineering works. Rail replacement buses will operate, as well as trams and Bee Network buses, but increased journey times are likely.

Saturday will be very busy with Christmas Markets, parties and shoppers, as we lead up to the big day.

On the Saturday and Sunday, three Disney on Ice events will take place each day. We typically see high levels of congestion at the car parks around the Arena as people come and go from the events. If you're travelling to watch Disney on Ice or visiting the city centre, please consider travelling by tram for the whole or part of your journey.
We'll also see an uplift in congestion around retail parks, food shops and on the motorway network as people get do their final bits of shopping in preparation for Christmas.

Public transport services will be reduced over the week. Please check back closer to the time for full details of the services operating across the festive period.
On Sunday 27 December, Manchester United play Nottingham Forest at 4.30pm at Old Trafford. We also expect to see a large number of visitors to the Trafford Centre, on the 26 and 27 December, with increased traffic and journey times around junctions 9 and 10 of the M60 and in the Old Trafford area.

Public transport services will be reduced over the week. Please check back closer to the time for full details of the services operating across the festive period.