Guide to Manchester
Getting around
We’ve put together some advice to help you find your way around.
Manchester has good bus and tram networks, but (due to the location of the venue) it’s likely that most of the journeys you’re likely to make will be best undertaken by bus, or on foot. There’s also a hire bike scheme, and taxis are obviously an option too!
By bus
Key things to know:
- You can buy a ticket on the bus with cash, a contactless card, or ApplePay/GooglePay (see the TfGM page on contactless payments for full details)
- A single journey costs £2 – you get a paper ticket that’s valid on multiple buses for up to an hour
- A 1-day pass costs £5
- The venue is on Oxford Road (to the south of the city centre) and is close to several bus stops
The easiest way to plan a bus journey (and find the right stop) is to install Manchester’s Bee Network app (you don’t need to create an account).
You can also use general purpose apps like Google Maps or Citymapper, or the web based journey planner, but the Bee app is best for:
- listing the bus services that are suitable for your journey
- finding the right bus stop
- live updates showing where your next bus is (see the bus tracking video on the app’s page)
Transport for Greater Manchester have a page that documents accessibility on the buses.
Note that there are a couple of free buses that are useful for travelling around the city centre (though they don’t come close to the venue).
By tram
The trams don’t come close to the venue, but if you want to visit somewhere slightly further afield the tram is a great option.
You can purchase a paper ticket from a machine on the platform, or pay by contactless when getting on/off a tram. See the TfGM page on contactless payments for details of how contactless fees are calculated (and what happens if you forget to tap out at the end of your journey!).
As with the bus, the Bee Network app is a good way to plan a journey on the trams, though Google Maps also works well.
TfGM have a page that documents accessibility on the trams.
By hire bike
Manchester’s hire bike scheme is sponsored by Starling Bank, and the bikes are operated by Beryl.
Key things to know:
- You need to install the Starling Bank Bikes app in order to hire a bike
- Pedal bikes cost 50p to unlock, then 5p per minute to ride
- E-bikes cost £1 to unlock and 10p per minute to ride
- You can see a map of where the nearest bike stations are (and how many bikes are currently available) in the app
- The app gives you a brief tutorial on how to unlock and lock a bike the first time you run it
The conference venue is just off Oxford Road, which is well served by cycle lanes and is largely traffic free during the day. There are a couple of hire bike stations nearby (they’re visible on the maps in both the Starling and Bee Network apps).