Transport for Greater Manchester Reviews 

Absolutely shocking stole £60 out of my bank.
Zero customer service sent from pillar to post and now just being totally ignored.
Told me I had been fined but can’t tell me why.
Can’t speak to a manager as they can’t transfer calls.
What a way to run a business.
If I stole out of my customers accounts I would be in prison.

I wish there was 0 review option.
This is the shittiest transport service ever existed in entire world, always late, always terminated at any stop.
Waste of time & resources they don't even care if you are being late from work or whatsoever.

I've lived around Manchester all my life. I'm building a business here. I'm proud of my city. And TfGM are a huge embarrassment to us all. Today's experience: train up from London late (thanks Avanti West Coast) so missed Northern to Eccles. No problem: go to the undercroft to get tram. Trams not running due to maintenance (how many times have those rails been re-laid since they were put down?) No signs or online information on where to pick up the tram. So I walk the lines as far as St Peter's Square. No Eccles services appear. Dot matrix signs offer information via tfgm.com - but the only news is Andy Burnham boasting about the wonders of TfGM. Ask staff: Eccles service running from Deansgate. I walk to Deansgate. First staff says I need to get the tram from Market Street. Fortunately I know this is impossible. Second staff says trams running only from Cornbrook. I give up and wait for the next hourly train. The only thing TfGM are good for is making Northern look less awful than they really are. This was my experience as a Manc. How bad would this feel to a foreign tourist? So here are my takeaways about TfGM. You're complacent. You think you're awesome but you're awful. You don't hire and train and motivate staff who (with exceptions, god bless'em) consequently don't give a fig for their customers. You make dreadful technical decisions and need to constantly re-engineer the infrastructure. You're unreliable. You can't be bothered even to use your expensive IT systems for even the most basic live communications to your customers. I would love to fire your entire management team. And Andy Burnham, please don't believe your own publicity. You've got work to do at TfGM. Dream about an underground, sure, but today you need to fix the basics of what you've already got.

Long story guys but basically I tapped in TWICE then got checked by inspector before getting on the tram where he said I got declined I tapped again to check if it's not a fluke and it didn't work SO I run back to the tapping in machine do the thing and inspectors device declined me for the THIRD time LOL I then start to panic and another inspector comes by and let me tap in on his checking device which WORKED and I was allowed onto the tram and at the end of the destination I tapped OUT and got a RED screen....-
due to stress I immediately called the customer service who then tells me they can't see anything and call tomorrow which I did- I got then told they can see me trying to tap in but I never got charged, don't worry you won't get fined this time but call your bank figure out why my card over google wallet through phone didn't work and just use another card in the meantime. SO I figure OK no biggie, they never allowed me to pay manually they can see that I clearly tried to pay but today I got THREE ---3 FINES each £60 and upon called customer service again I was advised by a chap that it looks like I had no ticket (blaming me) and told me to fillout appeal form online. I did just now and it says I will get a reply in 14 days. That means good bye £180?. DONT USE TAP IN and OUT SERVICE. It will FU** U. Use the app instead

Update: 19th of June. They are about to refund 2 fines but they refuse to check cameras as it would invalidade their claim and still kept me fined for £60 even though I did honestly try to pay, I did all the things asked of me.

Metrolink: I used my phone, as always, to tap in at Altrincham and got the usual green OK when I did this. (I would never get on a tram without seeing and hearing the OK). When I arrived at St Peter's Square an inspector at the top of the platform ramp scanned my phone and reminded me to tap out at the reader. When I tried to tap out with the same phone at St Peter's Square, the reader screen showed a 'Not valid for travel' message. I went to get the inspector who walked with me to several other readers on the platform to try and tap out. All of them displayed the same 'not valid for travel' message. I showed him my recent activity on my bank app which showed an entry on 25th April saying TfGM Altrincham - TfGM St Peter's Square. I was told by the inspector not to worry as this shows that it has registered. That entry is still visible on my transaction activity log.

When I returned to St Peter's Square for my home journey I tried to tap in on several readers again to be met with the same 'not valid for travel' message. I spoke with a member of Metrolink staff on the platform who advised me to use my physical bank card for the return journey.

I said that I thought it had to be the same device though and he told me that as long as the card on the phone was the same as the physical card it would all match up. So, I tapped in with my physical bank card, walked to the Altrincham platform and double checked with another member of staff who told me that it did have to be the same device. She said all that would happen is I'd be charged £4.60 for the morning journey and £4.60 for the afternoon journey rather than the usual £7.10 for the whole day. At this point and after all the stress of trying to pay, I was happy with this.

My bank statement on Sunday 27th April is now showing two charges, one at £4.60 and one at £60. I've been using Metrolink since it's launch and have never had this happen in all those years. I called the customer service phone number and was just directed to the appeals process without being given the opportunity to fully explain what the circumstances were, at the same time as telling me that his advice was to just use my physical card in future. That, on top of seeing this charge and after having spoken to three separate members of the platform team on the day has made this whole experience really stressful and upsetting as I consider my self an honest and compliant passenger.

As far as the denied appeal, there was no acknowledgement of what I'd tried to do to ensure I'd paid or the incorrect advice I'd received in person and on the phone. I know I saw and heard the green OK. In fact the appeal reply was nothing more than a copy and paste job. What a horrible experience at every point, they couldn't care less.

I'm assuming, because why wouldn't I, that any reply on Trustpilot will also be a copy and paste job.

Walk in your customers shoes, and don't assume that everyone is out to dodge paying fares, because they're not.

Think about how you would feel as a customer in any business, if you genuinely believed you had followed the right steps to pay for their goods and services only to be met with a "we're right and you're wrong" response.

And for goodness sake, improve the consistency of your training for inspectors and platform staff.

If you don't have a smartphone, as is the case with many older travellers, you can no longer download the nice easy to use pdf timetables, instead you get told to travel to the nearest travelcentre to get a paper copy, which wastes paper and the passenger's time, how daft is that? It's even worse if you are planning to travel on a Sunday as the travelcentres are usually closed anyway. Who is running the Bee Network, a bunch of spotty teenagers? If you don't want our custom just say so and stop ignoring us and treating is as if we don't matter. What a joke, talk about if it aint broke don't fix it, well it wasn't and they have!

I did the very easy tap on and tap off and the lovely Bee network automatically charged my credit card £60!!!! No communication or discussion just took the money, I have to go through a lengthy appeal to get the money back that was taken without my permission or knowledge even though I had paid! I shall not be using tap on and tap off in Manchester again as I simply can’t afford to have money taken from me incorrectly especially when I paid!! The disgusting attitude of customer service is just wait for the appeal to go through and just sit there out of pocket!…. I have to appeal for money that they have taken without my knowledge or permission and that I don’t owe them! When you tap on and off you give them full access to your card and they can take what they like. Buy a ticket don’t risk it

Generally absolutely ridiculous line, buses are never ever on time, very common to wait for the 135 for 40 to 50 mins when 2 or 3 arrive at the same time! Genuinely on a regular basis occurrence!!
But worse than anything is the drivers’ attitude! They may ignore your waiving (& not stop) and they would never re open the door for you even if traffic or the traffic lights are not allowing them to move by one centimetre!… regardless of the fact that you are desperately running to catch it!… they’ll sip their juice and stare at you.
They truly are very, very ignorant and rude… the 135 is probably the most terrible bus line I have ever experienced throughout europe or elsewhere really.

I took the bus today and purchased a ticket using my bank card. I received no ticket and no payment receipt! So if the driver made a mistake and charged me the wrong ticket how do i know that?
The driver said tap it again ( my bank card!) on the next bus!!! How appalling is that?
Has the Bee network asked for my consent to track me via my bank card? Is there any difference from wearing a convict's bracelet? People, there's no need for the police to track you down, Bee network has put a tracking bracelet on us tracking us through out our route via our bank cards. They will say the usual: do you have anything to hide??? Well, I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE WITH ANY OF YOU!!! You are appalling, disgusting. They should you shut you down.

buses dont arrive, at all

Wife and friend both fined £60 each after using tram for the first time. They knew to "Tap in" on the platform and thought they had done so when an inspector on the platform offered them a card reader, my wife queried this but her and her friend were just told to "Hurry up and get on the tram" queried again with the inspector onboard who just got them to tap a second time!
Website makes it clear there is no right of appeal on this basis and even if you try to submit one the appeal form mandates a reference number that has not been provided, they just take the money automatically from your account. Understandably my wife feels like she has been entrapped and has no recourse.
This issue is not unique to my wife, a quick trawl online shows that it is a major issue, granted there may be some that are just disgruntled at being caught out but the drive to reduce fair dodging whilst effective has no regard to the collateral damage. My wife is absolutely not a fare dodger and was misdirected. So beware if using the tram, I don't wish to tar all inspectors with the same brush but the inspectors my wife encountered were not there to help her, only to catch her out.

How much did it cost to paint all those buses? The website is as rubbish as ever. It simply doesn't work. Clearly, nobody who uses the bus works in the IT department.
I'm grateful that the buses are more affordable. There are half as many running and Sunday travel is painful. Stand at the bus stop at Piccadilly train station and count the NOT IN SERVICE buses, bumbling by empty, at rush hour, until you're so cold you've forgotten how many 192 buses are bagatelled out from Piccadilly every 30 seconds. Try and decipher the timetable at the bus stop, try the tfgm website again, only to remember that it has never worked and never will, then THROW YOURSELF UNDER THE 192 THAT'S APPROACHING.

All their services in Bury are dire. The 98 service takes this to another level. Irregular service. They deny services failing to run and often terminate buses at Prestwich leaving commuters who need to get to Radcliffe or Whitefield stranded. Different name same bad service as the operators before it. Queens Road depot is the problem. Bury was much better served when there was a depot at Bury. The Queens Road staff do not care! Worst customer service.

The service has become utter garbage since bee took over from stagecoach.

Mid November I applied for a travel concession with the Bee Network due to tendon surgery in my foot. Today 9 weeks later, after multilple delaying tactics by the Bee Network, the application was denied on grounds that I cannot prove that I cannot walk 100m without difficulty. Having provided a letter from my surgeon detailing that until March I cannot place any weight on my repaired foot, it is after all in a plaster cast, I must use crutches in the meantime. I can appeal, but clearly the medical assesment team at Bee Network are incompetent & continuing to communicate with them is a misuse of my time.

Minimum of 1 star! I would give zero if I could.
I was travelling to the eye hospital on Oxford Rd. I took the tram from Manchester Victoria to St.Peter's Square. I have poor vision at the moment but thought I could make this journey as I have so many times. I used my bank card to touch in as I wasn't up to working the machine. An 'inspector' scanned my card after giving me attitude. 2 days later I'm charged £64.90 for my £1.40 fare. Straight out of my bank account.
Thank you for this lesson, TfGM. I hope no-one ever feels such a failure as I did. I won't again cos I won't use my bank card on public transport in Manchester. I'll give my money to the taxi drivers instead. Cheers.

They are unprofessional, unresponsive and unrespectful!
Since they replaced with another transport company gave services to the lane between Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester and Altrincham, their buses arrive late to the bus stops and LIVE arrival times keep postponing a couple of times without any explanation, leading people to stay at cold weather. When we talked with drivers they behave rude and unresponsibily. They do not respect their consumers, at least in this lane (263 between Altrincham and Piccadilly gardens)

Withholding CCTV of my elderly mother falling on the bus because the driver abruptly set off before she could sit down, other passengers saw it and told her to complain. At first we were told that we couldn't have the footage, then we were supposed to contact the police for it, then they sent us in circles and kept forgetting about us, then after a couple of months we were told it was deleted before they could provide the footage under the freedom of information act because of 'staff shortages'. Absolute liars! The ICO said this is unacceptable and told me to put in a complaint. We all know why we didn't receive this footage. Get a car everyone! To hell with the bee network.

It's Super League Grand Final night, Wigan have just defeated Hull KR to claim a historic quadruple. I'm over the moon ...then I arrive at the Trafford Centre to use a Bee Network bus to get home, and it's all downhill from there.

Firstly, why put a single decker on the Trafford Centre to Wigan route on a night when you KNOW it is going to be expecting far more people to use it due to a major final taking place at Old Trafford involving Wigan Warriors?! Double deckers leaving empty on other routes whilst people (including myself) are left stranded because surprise surprise, a single decker was too small. Just awful service, lacking any form of common sense.

Secondly, the drivers attitude that night was appalling. People needed to get on that bus to catch connecting buses at Wigan Bus Station and the drivers attitude was to shrug his shoulders and basically say "tough luck..." when a little bit of sympathy would have at least eased the stress and annoyance people were feeling! Instead all he did was pour fuel onto the fire.

In the end, myself and my friends had to get a bus to Leigh Bus Station and then a bus from Leigh to Wigan Bus Station, before having to ask my friends dad for a lift home from there as the Arriva bus we needed from Wigan Bus Station to get home had long since been missed. The whole thing added well over an hour and a half onto our day. It really isn't acceptable, when a double decker on an expected busy route would have avoided any issue to begin with.

Absolutely horrible! Spend now hours with bank and with them and keep getting charged tram tickets at random dates and times when I don’t use service at all! I am asleep sudden £4.60 charge! Keeps blocking money off my account. BE AWARE! CHECK YOUR ACCOUNTS! YOU MAY HAVE MULTIPLE WRONGFUL CHARGES!