Lib Dems across Greater Manchester have joined together to challenge Transport for Greater Manchester on to length of time it is taking to install ‘smart ticketing’ on our trams, buses and trains.

Many places already have a smart ticketing system – Greater London has had it’s ‘Oyster card’ on buses and trams for over a decade and now takes ‘contactless’ payment on buses and on the tube.

Recently T4GM announced it was ditching its contractor ATOS after considerable delays in its own ‘Get Me There’ card. Card readers are already in place on Metrolink platforms.

We are calling for TfGM, First and Stagecoach to work together to launch an Oyster-style travel smart card. Almost every bus and every tram stop in Greater Manchester already has the equipment needed to run a smart card. Elsewhere in the country people are taking just a few months to get this type of system up and running. We could do this by Christmas!

Yet in Greater Manchester, where we talk about the Northern Powerhouse, we’ve tried and failed three times since the 1990s. So many other places have got this working now, it’s getting embarrassing.

Here’s the full story in the MEN this week.