The Our Pass App launches with an exclusive cycle hire offer
- Friday, March 3, 2023
- Posted By The Growth Company
At the launch event today at Xaverian College, Rusholme, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, announced an exclusive cycle hire offer for young people who have signed-up to Our Pass.
The first 1,000 Our Pass members, who’ve activated their Our Pass ‘Exclusives account, to sign-up to the new offer will get 50 minutes free cycle hire* in March, April and May with Greater Manchester’s Bee Network cycle hire scheme - which is operated by Beryl Bikes**.
Now in its third year, Our Pass gives Greater Manchester’s 16-18 year olds, and care leavers aged 18-21 access to free bus travel and reduced tram travel - as well as exclusive offers and experiences.
To mark the success of the scheme, and following feedback from young people, the announcement of the new ‘Exclusives’ offer coincides with the launch of a new App - which makes it even easier for young people to access free and discounted culture and leisure opportunities across the city-region.
Our Pass started as a pilot led by the Mayor of Greater Manchester and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority - with support from Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), The Growth Company, Greater Manchester Youth Combined Authority (GMYCA) and Greater Manchester Apprenticeship Company (GMAC).
Launched in 2019, for a one-off application fee of £10, Our Pass offers its members free bus travel on most local bus services across Greater Manchester and half-price off-peak 1 day and weekend travelcards on Metrolink.
In February this year, Greater Manchester Leaders agreed to make the Our Pass scheme permanent, subject to annual reviews. This follows an evaluation of the pilot which highlighted the positive impact it has had on young people, with 91% of young people saying it has increased their levels of personal freedom and 86% saying it has helped them take part in new experiences.
As of January 2022, there are over 48,800 active Our Pass members, largely made up of sixth form college users and apprentices travelling to work.
With an Our Pass Membership, young people can get access to much more than free local bus travel and discounts on the tram.
They can register for an Our Pass ‘Exclusives’ account and get access to offers, events, discounts and experiences - from merchandise, festival tickets, careers tasters, behind-the-scenes tours, free stuff, sports and leisure passes… and loads more.
‘Exclusives’ are designed for young people and are especially relevant during the ongoing cost of living crisis. There are different types of ‘Exclusives’ to reflect the diversity of young people across Greater Manchester, wherever they live. More than £2.5 million worth of discounts and offers have been made available through the scheme since its launch.
A number of new ‘Exclusives’ are now live on the app, including:
The app is free to download from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Young people with an Our Pass travel card will need to activate their ‘Exclusives’ account before using the App.
Using the new Our Pass 'Exclusives' App, they can browse and apply for discounts, offers and experiences across Greater Manchester straight from their phone when they’re out and about. By switching on the notifications in their App (and keeping the App updated), they’ll get an instant heads-up as new ‘Exclusives’ are announced – making sure they never miss out.
For now, young people will still need to use their physical Our Pass membership card to get their free bus and discounted tram travel – that’s until future plans and enhancements to the Bee Network come into play over the next few years to provide touch-in and touch-out with Contactless cards and devices.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Young people need our support more than ever, especially during this ongoing period of increased cost of living crisis. I want to give young people an extra helping hand and I’m pleased we’ve been able to work with Transport for Greater Manchester and Beryl Bikes to bring this generous offer to Our Pass members.
“The new Our Pass Exclusives app, also announced today, will give young people simpler hands-on access this and the many other discounts and opportunities provided by businesses and local authorities in Greater Manchester.
“I’d encourage all schools and colleges in the city-region to encourage young people to sign up to the Our Pass scheme and make sure they have activated this invaluable part of their Our Pass membership and downloaded the app, so they can take advantage when new offers and discounts come on board.”
Active Travel Commissioner, Dame Sarah Storey, said:
“We know that the GM cycle hire scheme is popular with people aged 18 to 35, and this new offer for Our Pass holders provides a great opportunity to see how a slightly younger group of people use the bikes over the next few months - and to hear their feedback.
“Finding out what they think about the bikes, and what changes they would like to see - to enable them to keep on using them in the future, will be crucial in helping shape the future roll-out of the scheme."
Our Pass coincides with a big moment in young people’s lives. As they leave school or care, they face decisions that’ll shape their future. These are never easy decisions to make, and many young people face significant challenges as they make them.
Our Pass tackles these challenges head-on. Membership not only improves accessibility to jobs and learning for young people through free bus travel – essential to those who couldn’t otherwise afford to travel – but through exclusive offers and experiences encourages them to make the most of what Greater Manchester has to offer.
Our Pass has been designed with young people, for young people. Our Pass Ambassador Sam Boffey lives in Wigan and travels to MediaCity for college. Sam said:
“With Our Pass I’ve been to many places, from just nipping into the local town centre, to going to college and even visiting the Imperial War Museum in Manchester. I’m always looking for different places that I can go free of charge. It’s such an amazing thing.
''My favourite ‘Exclusive’ was Footloose The Musical. It was an amazing night and the tickets were only £13, which was a massive saving. We were sat on the second row to the front and it was a really good show! Thanks to Our Pass for the transport there and also for the actual show itself”.
Visit the Our Pass website to find out more about the Our Pass App.
You can browse the latest Our Pass ‘Exclusives’ here.
You can now download the Our Pass 'Exclusives' App from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
* 50 free Cycle Hire minutes monthly to be accessed by Our Pass holders. The offer will be open to all Our Pass holders, but limited to the first 1,000 people who request a code for their free minutes. The minutes will expire at the end of that calendar month. The opportunity to get 50 free minutes opens again at the start of each calendar month.
** Greater Manchester’s self-service Bee Network cycle hire scheme is managed by TfGM and funded by the MCF, on behalf of Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and operated on a day-to-day basis by Beryl Bikes. Find out more information here.
If you’re a business and you’d like to offer-up an ‘Exclusive’ which can be promoted with Our Pass Members on the website and through the App – contact us now.
Do you work with young people in Greater Manchester? Help us spread the word and make sure young people don't miss out on the benefits of Our Pass - download our digital info pack here.