Transport in Greater Manchester is overseen and co-ordinated by TfGM Information: 0871 200 22 33 (http://www.tfgm.com/). TfGM sells a number of tickets which are valid for multiple operators, such as the any bus day ticket or System One. If you are planning to do a lot of travelling in one day, these might be your cheapest option. Metromax day tickets are good value if using the Metrolink tram network. There are tickets for single people and family tickets. The best value are valid after 9:30 a.m.
On Foot In The City Centre
Manchester city centre's many attractions are easily reached on foot, and walking provides the perfect opportunity to take in the architecture of the city. Manchester walking directions can be planned online with the walkit.com (http://www.walkit.com/man...) walking route planner.
By train
Local rail services run regularly and to most places in the surrounding area and beyond. Most trains will pass through Piccadilly or Victoria, but it will do to call National Rail Enquiries 08457 48 49 50 (http://ojp.nationalrail.c...) to find out which one before setting off. If you plan to take several off peak journeys within Greater Manchester, you could consider a "Rail Ranger" ticket, which, as of March 2011, costs £4.40 per day for adults and £2.20 for children under 16 accompanied children under 5 are free. An "Evening Ranger" is also available for just £2.20. This is a large area and means you could travel as far north as Bolton and Rochdale, as far south as the airport and Stockport, as far west as Wigan and as far east as The Peak District. They also include free travel on the metrolink within the central zone. These can be bought at ticket offices or on the train.
TfGM (http://www.tfgm.com/pdfma...) has a "London tube-style" map of the Greater Manchester rail network, including Metrolink.
It is worth remembering that train services from Piccadilly serve the airport all night.
By bus
Metroshuttle (http://www.gmpte.com/cont...) is a FREE bus service run jointly by the local council, National Car Parks Manchester and Allied London Spinningfields. They are operated by First Manchester. It runs three routes which between them cover most of the major areas in the city centre. These bus routes can be caught straight from all city centre railway stations Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Deansgate, Salford Central and Victoria as well as many of the larger car parks. Areas on the fringes of the city centre such as Spinningfields, Petersfield, Oxford Road Corridor, Millennium Quarter are now easier to access from other parts of the city. Just note, that due to a high-level of pedestrian priority around areas such as Deansgate, traffic in the city centre is often slow at peak times. These buses are now also operated by green hybrid buses in a bid to cut pollution and emissions in the city centre. Each line is colour branded with 1 Orange, 2 Green and 3 Purple.
Most of the buses in North Manchester are operated by First (http://www.firstgroup.com...) whilst Stagecoach operate in South Manchester (http://www.stagecoachbus....) and serve most places that you are likely to want to go in the conurbation. The main bus station for the south is Piccadilly Gardensm and a new state-of-the-art £24 million interchange has been built at Shudehill for the north. However buses for Wigan, Leigh, Lowton and Bolton can be found at Piccadilly Gardens as well as for Altrincham and Droylsden at Shudehill. The North/South rule generally applies other than those exceptions.
The South Manchester corridor that begins with Oxford Road and Wilmslow Road is the most-served bus route in Europe. Buses connect the centre with the universities and Rusholme, as often as every one minute. The general rule on this street is to get on any bus that is not operated by Stagecoach and your fare is likely to be under £1. Some buses have a student fare, which they will charge you if you look like a student, regardless of whether you ask for it or not. Be warned, though, during peak hours it can take as long as 30 min to make the relatively short three mile journey from Piccadilly Gardens to Rusholme. The 42 operated by various companies is usually the most frequent service, operating through the night from Piccadilly, Oxford Road, Wilmslow Road, Rusholme and beyond.
It is well worth noting that the number 43 bus not only runs all day to the airport but also throughout the night at regular intervals. Train services from Piccadilly also serve the airport all night.
Busses to the Trafford Centre include the Stagecoach-operated Route 250 (http://www.gmpte.com/uplo...), from Piccadilly Gardens to the Trafford Centre and the First-operated Routes 100 and 110 , from Shudehill, via Blackfriars the stop is just off Deansgate and Eccles, to The Trafford Centre. The quickest, most direct option is the Stagecoach X50 bus route.They run every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and take only 25 minutes. There are other bus services from Central Manchester to The Trafford Centre and additional services from other towns and suburbs in the conurbation. In the evening, or on Sundays and public holidays, your better bet for the Trafford Centre, from the city centre, is the tram and buslink to and from Stretford, as buses are much less frequent at these times.
Bus Tickets are usually purchased directly from the driver. First and Stagecoach both offer day-savers for unlimited travel on their company's buses, which cannot be used on other busses. A FirstDay is currently £4.50. If transfer between different bus companies is required, ask the driver for an "any bus day-saver", emphasising the "any". These '"System One"' tickets can be used on any bus and details of current prices are available at (http://www.systemonetrave...)