Manchester Victoria to Piccadilly Transfer

[blakey1152]

All,
Travelling back from Blackpool North into London Euston going Via Manchester Piccadilly on Sunday 9th October.

I've split the tickets so have an advance from Manchester Piccadilly into London and I bought an off peak return from Manchester Piccadilly to Blackpool so this is the return part of that journey.
I notice that the itinerary on the return part puts me on a train into Manchester Victoria and states Transfer for the section from Victoria into Piccadilly - my question is this transfer using the network of trams in Manchester (which it what I suspect) or is there some kind of bus transfer laid on for this coming Sunday?

It's not particularly clear!

Blakey

 

[Deerfold]

The tram takes about 11 minutes. The cost is not included in your ticket.

Alternatively you can walk - it should take less than twice as long.

Or you can get the free Metroshuttle 2 from Victoria to Deansgate, cross the road and get fee Metroshuttle 1 to Piccadilly. This is likely to be slower than walking but may be easier if you have luggage.

 

[Bungle965]

There is also a free bus that goes from Victoria to Piccadilly, more infomation about it is available here.
http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Pages/metroshuttle.aspx
You would be wanting the Metroshuttle 1 Route which runs as follows

Monday to Friday every 8 minutes, 7am - 7pm.
Saturday every 8 minutes, 8am - 7pm.
Sunday and public holidays every 10 minutes, 10am - 6pm.

Sam
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The tram takes about 11 minutes. The cost is not included in your ticket.

Alternatively you can walk - it should take less than twice as long.

Or you can get the free Metroshuttle 2 from Victoria to Deansgate, cross the road and get fee Metroshuttle 1 to Piccadilly. This is likely to be slower than walking but may be easier if you have luggage.

With regards to the Metroshuttle surely it would not be easier to get the Metroshuttle 1?
Sam

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Surely it would not be easier to get the Metroshuttle 1?
Sam

How much luggage space is there available on the Metroshuttle buses?

 

[Bungle965]

How much luggage space is there available on the Metroshuttle buses?

Limited,the Metroshuttle 1 however uses longer buses (Optare Versas) compared to Metroshuttle 2 which uses shorter buses (Optare Solos`s).
Sam

 

[Deerfold]

There is also a free bus that goes from Victoria to Piccadilly, more infomation about it is available here.
http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Pages/metroshuttle.aspx
You would be wanting the Metroshuttle 1 Route which runs as follows

Sam
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

With regards to the Metroshuttle surely it would not be easier to get the Metroshuttle 1?
Sam

It is easier to get Metroshuttle 1. The routes seem to have changed since I last caught one - the current routes are:

http://www.tfgm.com/buses/Documents/Metroshuttle-Infosheet.pdf


Unfortunately, when I googled, I got the old maps which agreed with what I remembered.

http://www.tfgm.com/Corporate/Documents/Information/Manchester-Metroshuttle.pdf

So they've gone from having no Metroshuttles that serve both Piccadilly and Victoria to having 2 that do.

 

[WatcherZero]

Metroshuttle routes are changing again at Christmas. The current routes are because of road closures for 2CC tram line construction.

 

[Bungle965]

Metroshuttle routes are changing again at Christmas. The current routes are because of road closures for 2CC tram line construction.

Funnily enough I was just reading and trying to make sense of the changes now!
Sam

 

[onlinespotting]

I've always transferred from Victoria to Piccadilly on the tram, I assumed that's what I had to do, I'm sure it advised me to use the tram on at least one occasion on the itinerary, but that was a while ago .

 

[boyaloud]

You can get off your train from Blackpool at Salford Crescent (before it gets to Victoria) and get a direct train to Piccadilly from there. This is included in your ticket but sometimes there aren't many running on Sunday and/or some are replaced by replacement buses. Check times.

 

[Deerfold]

I've always transferred from Victoria to Piccadilly on the tram, I assumed that's what I had to do, I'm sure it advised me to use the tram on at least one occasion on the itinerary, but that was a while ago .

I'm not sure why you'd have to do it. The cost certainly isn't included but is around £1 for an Adult single.

 

[Paul Kelly]

I've always transferred from Victoria to Piccadilly on the tram, I assumed that's what I had to do, I'm sure it advised me to use the tram on at least one occasion on the itinerary, but that was a while ago .

Yes, it used to. This was changed a couple of years ago after complaints from people who thought the cost of the tram was included in their ticket. Now itineraries just show it as a transfer, i.e. you have to make your own way at your own expense.

I think, for the sake of convenience to passengers, a tram transfer really should be included in the price of relevant tickets. I am guessing the reason it isn't is that the parties involved can't agree on how to share the ticket revenue. Perhaps the issue is that there no easy way of deeming which tickets would and would not be valid for a cross-Manchester transfer by tram. The Blackpool North to Manchester Stations ticket in the OP is a particularly good example of this, as it's not at all obvious whether tram travel would or should be included in that, since normally the ticket validity would expire once you reach Victoria.

 

[Puffing Devil]

I'm not sure why you'd have to do it. The cost certainly isn't included but is around £1 for an Adult single.

£1.20 off-peak. Not a lot for the convenience.

Yes, it used to. This was changed a couple of years ago after complaints from people who thought the cost of the tram was included in their ticket. Now itineraries just show it as a transfer, i.e. you have to make your own way at your own expense.

I think, for the sake of convenience to passengers, a tram transfer really should be included in the price of relevant tickets. I am guessing the reason it isn't is that the parties involved can't agree on how to share the ticket revenue. Perhaps the issue is that there no easy way of deeming which tickets would and would not be valid for a cross-Manchester transfer by tram. The Blackpool North to Manchester Stations ticket in the OP is a particularly good example of this, as it's not at all obvious whether tram travel would or should be included in that, since normally the ticket validity would expire once you reach Victoria.

Perhaps we could have the equivalent of the London Underground marking on through tickets? How the revenue would be shared is indeed a tricky question.

 

[John @ home]

a tram transfer really should be included in the price of relevant tickets.

Agreed, but the situation is a little more complex than "you have to make your own way at your own expense", which applies when either origin or destination or both are outside the Greater Manchester travel area.

For journeys wholly within Greater Manchester, tickets are normally issued "Route METROLINK CTLZ" and include the cost of cross-city transfer by tram. See, for example, this list of MANCHESTER AIRPORT - BOLTON fares.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Perhaps we could have the equivalent of the London Underground marking on through tickets?

The appropriate marking already exists as "Route METROLINK CTLZ"

How the revenue would be shared is indeed a tricky question.

It seems to me that it is a question which has already been solved for journeys wholly within Greater Manchester. What is needed is the political will to instruct the train companies and the tram operator to introduce tram acceptance for tickets which extend beyond the GM boundary. A job for the Mayor of Greater Manchester when elected, perhaps.

 

[greatkingrat]

On a related point, are any rail tickets valid on the Midland Metro now it has been extended to New Street?

 

[kieron]

The appropriate marking already exists as "Route METROLINK CTLZ

The tickets blakey1152 has are Manchester Stations-London (and possibly vice versa) and Manchester Stations-Blackpool North. You don't see that route used for tickets to/from Manchester Stations as you seldom need to cross the city centre to get there.

A return from "Metrolink City Zone" to Blackpool would me more in keeping, but they only offer those for tickets where the outbound part is going into Manchester.

Buying a separate ticket for Metrolink isn't a massive inconvenience, anyway.

 

[John @ home]

The tickets blakey1152 has are Manchester Stations-London (and possibly vice versa) and Manchester Stations-Blackpool North. You don't see that route used for tickets to/from Manchester Stations as you seldom need to cross the city centre to get there.

For journeys wholly within Greater Manchester, tickets are not sold to "Manchester Stations" nor to individual central Manchester stations. Instead, passengers are issued with, for example, a £7.70 ANYTIME DAY RETURN ROCHDALE - MANCHESTER CTLZ Route ANY PERMITTED whether or not they want to make use of Metrolink. My complaint is that these tickets are not available for journeys which extend beyond the Greater Manchester ticketing area. This discourages the use of public transport.

A return from "Metrolink City Zone" to Blackpool would be more in keeping, but they only offer those for tickets where the outbound part is going into Manchester.

I agree that tickets should be made available from, to and via MANCHESTER CTLZ.

Buying a separate ticket for Metrolink isn't a massive inconvenience, anyway.

It's an unnecessary inconvenience which does Greater Manchester no credit.

 

[WatcherZero]

Its a locally funded perk the free city centre travel, nothing to do with national rail companies. If your travelling outside the region then you simply have to transfer at Salford Crescent or Deansgate for example and Ordsall Chord opening in next couple of years will mean its moot anyway as you then have direct travel options between the station group stations.

 

[Deerfold]

Its a locally funded perk the free city centre travel, nothing to do with national rail companies. If your travelling outside the region then you simply have to transfer at Salford Crescent or Deansgate for example and Ordsall Chord opening in next couple of years will mean its moot anyway as you then have direct travel options between the station group stations.

That doesn't explain why, in the 24 years since Metrolink opened, they and the TOCs have not been able to come to an agreement to have through ticketing through the city centre - especially as they have an agreement on through ticketing for some journeys.

 

[blakey1152]

Thank you everyone for all the replies!

It is much appreciated as always. I will make sure to get a single on the tram on the return journey

Blakey
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Just looked at the itinerary on my booking journey and it's no wonder it's confusing as it implies that the transfer is technically included!!!

Return Journey
Blackpool North to Manchester Piccadilly on 9 Oct 2016

Suggested Service:
Departs: Blackpool North at 11:11
Train Operator: Northern Rail
Arrives: Preston (Lancs) at 11:35
Suggested Service:
Departs: Preston (Lancs) at 11:47
Train Operator: Northern Rail
Arrives: Manchester Victoria at 12:23
Departs: Manchester Victoria at 12:28 by Transfer
Arrives: Manchester Piccadilly at 12:50 by Transfer
Ticket Type: Off-Peak Return
Route: Travel is allowed via any permitted route.
Key Terms and Conditions: Valid on off-peak services by the route shown. Return travel any day within 1 month.