Smart cards - frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting the Bee Network smart card portal

Please call our Customer Services helpline on 0161 244 1000, ideally have any error messages handy.

You will need to have the card number and, as part of adding a card to your account, you will be asked to verify the cardholder's surname, date of birth and postcode. You should also check that the card is not linked to any other account, as each card can only be linked to one get me there online account.

Your child should touch-in at a smart reader with their igo card when they are ready to travel, the ticket will be loaded onto their card and their first journey will start. They should only do this when they are ready to travel. If they get a message saying "try again" or "declined" this can usually be resolved by trying again and holding the card to the smart reader a little longer.

Please check that you have funds available and that you have entered your long card number and card expiry date correctly. Please ensure that the address on your account matches the billing address of your card, and you have entered your CVV number (the three digit code from the back of a Visa or Mastercard or the 4 digit code from the front of your Amex card). If you continue to experience problems please call customer services on 0161 244 1000.

You can reset your password by clicking the 'Forgotten your password?' link on the 'Sign in' screen. You will then need to enter your email address and a link will be sent to you with an automatically-generated password. You'll need to use this to sign in but, once you have done so, you can change it to something more memorable under the 'Your details' section. It is important that you do this for security reasons.

Please call Customer Services on 0161 244 1000.

This is almost always caused by touching the card against the reader too quickly, please try again and hold the card against the smart reader for at least a count of three. If this does not resolve the problem, please get in touch with Customer Services on 0161 244 1000.

You can change many of your account details online; however, if you need to change your name, date of birth, gender or your address (if your card requires you to live within Greater Manchester) you will need to contact Customer Services on 0161 244 1000 or visit an Information and Ticket Office.

The status indicates where we are up to in processing your ticket or travelcard. It will change as your ticket or travelcard becomes ready for collection.

Waiting to be sent - means that our central systems are processing your ticket or travelcards ready to send to the smart readers.

On its way - your ticket or travelcard is on its way to the smart readers.
Ready to load at a smart reader - your ticket or travelcard is ready to be collected the next time you touch in to travel on Metrolink - remember that you don't need to make a separate trip to collect your ticket or travelcard, simply touch in when you are ready to start your journey.
Active - your ticket or travelcard has been collected and is now on your smart card ready to use.
Blocked - your card has been reported lost, stolen or damaged and your ticket or travelcard has been blocked for further use; this also applies to an annual product which has been refunded.
Expired - your ticket or travelcard has run out.

Troubleshooting my smart card

You should report your card as lost, stolen or damaged either by logging into your account or by calling customer services on 0161 244 1000.

They will arrange for a replacement card to be sent to your home address.

If you had a 28-day or annual product on your card, with more than 7 days left before it expires, this will be made available for collection on your new card. Please note that you will have to collect this product from a Metrolink smart reader. This applies even if the product is for bus.

Staff at our Information and Ticket Offices can also request a replacement card for you but please note that, in order for your replacement card to be loaded with eligible replacement tickets and travelcards, it must be sent to your home address. A card issued to you in the shop will not have replacement products available to it.

Your Bee card should arrive within 5-7 working days of your application.

If it hasn't arrived within that time please call Customer Services on 0161 244 1000 or visit an Information and Ticket Office.

Usually, if your card is damaged it won't work anywhere. It is possible that you might have the odd problem with a bus ticket machine or smart reader that isn't working properly. On Metrolink, we recommend that you try to touch in on a different smart reader.

There can be a bit of a knack to touching in and out on Metrolink Smart Reader, make sure that you touch your card against the touch plate of the smart reader and not the screen.

The reader takes a split second to register your card and you should be aware that you need to touch the card to the touch plate below the screen and leave it there until the lights on the smart reader go green.

Usually your card is read in less than half a second but, if you have a number of updates, it can take a little longer. If you are still having problems, please visit an Information and Ticket Office or call our Bee Network Contact Centre on 0161 244 1000.

You can see what products are on your smart card online. Staff at our Information and Ticket Offices can print this out for you.

More information about smart cards, tickets and travelcards

Annual travelcards are refundable; please call our team on 0161 244 1000 or visit an Information and Ticket Office for more details.

Other tickets and travelcards aren't refundable, including if your smart card is lost, stolen or damaged, although in some cases we can replace these for you.

If your employer is part of the TfGM Corporate scheme, you will need to obtain a corporate Bee Card application form from your employer.

Once you have this you will need to scan it as part of your application.

You will also need to upload a photo as part of your application process.

When you apply for your season ticket through the Abellio portal, we will automatically issue you with a corporate smartcard.

If you have bought an annual ticket or travelcard you can request a refund by speaking to our team on 0161 244 1000 or by visiting an Information and Ticket Office.

Other tickets are non-refundable.

Travelling on Metrolink with a smart card

You can use your smart card to buy and load a range of tickets and travelcards for use on Metrolink and for combined tram & bus journeys.

You can use your igo card to buy and load a range of tickets and travelcards for use on Metrolink and for combined tram & bus journeys.

You can use Our Pass card to buy and load a range of tickets and travelcards for use on Metrolink.

You can pay an annual charge to add tram and train to your TfGM-issued concessionary pass, for unlimited off-peak travel.

You can also buy and load a range of tickets and travelcards for use on Metrolink, or on tram and bus, for travel at other times.

You can use your disabled concessionary pass to buy and load a range of tickets and travelcards for use on Metrolink at times when you pay for your travel.

You can also buy travelcards for combined tram & bus journeys.

If you change your mind about travelling you can cancel your journey by touching again at the same smart reader, you must wait 3 minutes to cancel a journey and can only cancel up to 45 minutes after you touch in.

If you have successfully cancelled your journey you will see green lights and a message saying "cancelled".

If your entire journey is on Metrolink you should only touch in at the start of your journey and touch out at your final destination.

You should not make any additional touches when changing trams.

You should touch out at the last stop where one ticket is valid, before touching back in again to activate the next ticket, please note that you will need to wait 3 minutes before touching out and back in, this is designed to prevent customers from accidentally being charged twice in future phases.

You should touch when you change to another type of transport, going from bus to tram you don't need to touch out (you never touch out on bus) but do have to touch in on the tram.

Going from tram to bus you should touch out to complete your Metrolink journey and touch in when boarding the bus.

The smart reader has not found a valid ticket for your journey.

Please make sure that your ticket is due to start on the day that you are travelling and that it has not expired.

Please be aware that you cannot touch in during the peak with an off-peak ticket and that you must touch in at either your specified stops or a stop which lies on a direct route between these.

The smart reader has read your card in the previous three minutes.

This may be because you have touched twice by accident, or because you are trying to cancel a journey within three minutes of touching in.

This can also happen occasionally when switching between tram and bus.

Please ensure that the card is on its own.

Other smart cards, phones, contactless bank cards and building entry cards can all interfere with the smart reader.

You can buy paper tickets and travelcards for on the day travel using cash or card at our on-stop ticket machines.

Transport partners

Our current transport partners are:

Greater Manchester Travelcards Limited (GMTL);
Operators of bus services within Greater Manchester that accept get me there cards;
Keolis Amey Metrolink Limited (or the operator of TfGM's Metrolink tram network from time to time) (KAM);
Arriva Rail North Limited (or the operator of the ‘Northern' rail franchise from time to time) (Arriva);
First Transpennine Express Limited (or the operator of the 'TransPennine Express' rail franchise from time to time) (TPE); and Transport for the North (TfN).

Please also note that 'get me there' is a trading name of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), so you may also receive emails from TfGM concerning operational and (if you opt in to receiving marketing emails from get me there and our transport partners) marketing matters connected to get me there.
The exact identities of our transport partners will change over time. Generally, our transport partners will be the entities referred to above, plus operators of bus, rail and tram services in Greater Manchester.

GMTL

GMTL is the company behind the System One brand and range of travel products, and behind the multi-operator/multimodal tickets (Travelcards) which can be loaded onto TfGM smart cards. GMTL is a joint venture company, of which we are part, which is also helping to facilitate multi-operator and multimodal ticketing on public transport in Greater Manchester.

We sell Travelcards as an agent of GMTL. If you choose to provide us with personal data when you obtain your TfGM smart card, and you subsequently buy a Travelcard that is loaded on to your TfGM smart card, we will share your personal data that relates to the Travelcards you buy with GMTL to allow them to administer the sales of Travelcards; and if you opt-in to receiving marketing emails from get me there and our transport partners, we will share your personal data with GMTL for marketing purposes.

Bus Operators

Read the current list of bus operators that accept smart cards.

KAM

KAM is the current operator of TfGM's Metrolink tram network.

Arriva

Arriva is the current franchisee of the 'Northern' rail franchise.

TransPennine Express (TPE)

TPE is the current franchisee of the 'TransPennine Express' rail franchise.

Transport for the North (TfN)

Transport for the North is a strategic transport body, responsible for driving forward investment and growth in transport infrastructure in the North of England.