The GMPTE Traincard

It’s taken just short of a week from idea to blog but it’s just under a year since I started using the GMPTE Traincard. Living in Glossop and working in the centre of Manchester, in October 2009, I joined a mass of fellow regular commuters who use weekly, monthly and annual traincards.

At first, I thought my card entitled me to travel between Glossop and Manchester Piccadilly twice a day. Shortly after that, someone mentioned that it could be used any number of times per day. (At this point, you might be thinking, “Why didn’t you read the leaflet?” Well, I don’t recall getting any information; I handed over a passport photo, gave the chap my name and address, and he gave me the card. And considering the money I was saving -- the monthly cost of daily return tickets would be prohibitive! -- it seemed reasonable to assume that this monthly ticket was a discounted version of my essential daily journey.)

It wasn’t until several weeks later that someone told me the card could be used anywhere within the zone. “The Central Zone” includes the Metrolink stops in the city centre as well. “Great!” I thought. “I can get down to Deansgate or Victoria now.”

Everything clicked into place soon after when I was informed (and I’m sorry I can’t remember who told me each of these gems) that the card could be used anywhere within the GMPTE Area. What did that cover? Clearly, it includes a little bit of Derbyshire. Presumably it must cover all of those bits of Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire that were cobbled together to form “Greater Manchester” on April Fool’s Day, 1974.

I decided to look into it.