Greater Manchester Credit Unions to Help Residents with Travel Costs

Wednesday 27 March 2024

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham has pledged that if re-elected in May’s Mayoral Election, credit unions across Greater Manchester will provide support to help residents cover costs of an annual Bee Network (travel) pass to get the discount by paying for one through weekly interest-free. Burnham has stated the scheme will help residents save hundreds of pounds on annual travel costs.

The Greater Manchester Mayor is a strong supporter of the credit union sector as recently exemplified in his speech at ABCUL’s Annual Conference. Speaking on the pledged scheme at the Annual Conference, Burnham said, “We will make sure it works for credit unions,” and “We will bring more people to your doors and help people get the benefits of a credit union. That will mean people’s weekly travel will be much cheaper than it might have been.”

The scheme will make the Sound Pound Credit Union Consortium an official partner to deliver the interest-free loan which will allow those on low incomes to purchase annual travel passes. The Consortium is made up of credit unions who combined, service members across the whole region. Two of these participating credit unions are South Manchester Credit Union and Salford Credit Union.

“As the Chair of the Consortium I am thrilled that the hard work and collaboration of Greater Manchester Credit Unions is paying off with this partnership.” Said Sheenagh Young, South Manchester Credit Union CEO.

Sheenagh continued: “The Consortium is proud to have such strong support from the Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham. This initiative not only promises to foster the advancement of Greater Manchester credit unions but also marks a significant stride toward enhancing accessibility to affordable transportation for community members who typically struggle with the upfront expense of an annual pass.”