Next year will see the introduction of “get me there”, the new smart ticketing system on public transport in Greater Manchester it has been confirmed. The new system will be introduced in stages from 2014 with Metrolink planned to be the first mode of transport to use it in the second half of the year.
Speaking about “get me there”, Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “get me there is one of the most exciting developments in public transport in Greater Manchester in many years. It will revolutionise the way that people pay for their transport needs, and will help to remove many of the barriers that get in the way of people making best use of our buses, trains and trams. With more than 30 independent, commercial bus operators, a tram network and several inter-regional rail operators running public transport services across and into the region, our smart ticketing scheme will be one of the most advanced of its type in the world. But we want it to be as simple as possible for people at the point of use – hence a name that says ‘what it does on the tin’. London may have its Oyster and Liverpool its Walrus, but we like to embrace the challenge of doing things differently here, which is why we have chosen a different kind of name with get me there.”
Although the new system is being compared to London’s Oyster system TfGM are keen to point out that it is actually an advancement of that type of system. Cllr Fender continued: “We knew that people would expect our scheme to be like Oyster, but both life and technology have moved on since its introduction. People will have a variety of ways to use get me there and that’s why our focus is about what the system can do for you, rather than the name of a single card. Yes, there will be a dedicated card – called my get me there – for the scheme, but people with an existing TfGM-issued concessionary photo card, such as an igo or a national concessionary scheme card, will be able to use these cards instead. get me there will also accept contactless bank cards when we roll out the scheme on Metrolink and, in the near future, we expect that people will be able to use their smart phones as well. The technology behind get me there is being built to be as flexible as possible to accommodate any future devices – even the ones we don’t know about yet.”
Passengers will be able to use the scheme by touching any “get me there” enabled device (whether that is the actual “get me there” card or a bank card) on to an electronic validator (as per London’s Oyster card). The validator will then check whether there is enough credit on the device. It is planned that the first validators will be installed on the Metrolink network later this year.
It is hoped that passengers on Metrolink will be able to use the new system from the second half of 2014 and then bus and rail passengers will join in from 2015.
People are being encouraged to register their interest for the system now with a website at http://www.getmethere.com now available or by visiting a TfGM Travelshop. Then when the system is ready to go live they will be contacted with further details.
Oh dear! A video lasting two-and-a-half minutes trying to explain a simple concept. I fear this proposed system may be a victim of councillors’ egos, marketing hyperbole and ICT technicians’ optimism. I hope I am wrong.
What a long winded video to tell you nothing and what about the name “Get Me There”
I suppose it is an oyster card by another name.
And then with what staff have not been laid off, when it does not “get me there” as trains/trams etc are not running on time , who will get even worse abuse. What a stupid name, in my opinion of course.
And you even have to sign up to see any information on the website! And with any luck the Manchester metrolink validators won’t look anywhere near as bad as the Yellow lollypop things that the Pop card in Newcastle uses as validators.