All delegates at the Conservative party conference in Manchester will get free tram, train and bus travel throughout the region.
They will be allowed to travel for free on public transport for the duration of next week’s conference – despite most being based in hotels close to the Manchester Central venue.
The deal has been struck between transport bosses at ‘System One’ – the company which runs Greater Manchester’s travel card system – and Conservative party bosses.
Critics have slammed the offer as ‘outrageous’ because System One is partly owned by taxpayer funded Transport for Greater Manchester.
Transport bosses said Labour delegates were offered free travel when they held their conference in the city last year.
And they said the cost will be ‘low’ and paid for out of their marketing budget.
But Steve North, from the Salford branch of the Unison trade union, said: “I’m staggered that when the Tories have cut services in Greater Manchester we are welcoming them like this. And we’re paying for it. The argument it costs nothing is rubbish – why not give free travel to the students, pensioners and disabled people, and low-paid workers, none of whom use the tram because they can’t afford to?”
Peter Cranie from the Green Party slammed the offer as ‘outrageous’ and said the money should be spent on free travel for nurses or teachers instead.
Richard Soper, chair of Greater Manchester Travelcards Ltd, said: “System One has supported the annual political conferences of both Labour and the Conservatives when they have been held in the city for several years.
“We see it as an opportunity to get people who may not normally use public transport at home to try it while they are in our city. It also helps to reduce car traffic during the busy conference period, with positive effects for the city centre environment, and normal local traffic.
"The decision to support local events such as this is taken by the board of the company, most of whose members are directors of the local bus companies and is a regular part of our business, for example, in promoting public transport, we also work with greener journeys to provide thousands of free day travelcards to local community schemes, and to projects aimed at persuading car commuters across Greater Manchester to travel by public transport.”
A spokesman for TfGM said: “This is a major revenue generating event for Manchester – the Manchester Evening News reported the conference as giving a £24.6m boost to the local economy.
"We are happy to support the conference by showcasing our transport network to people who would not normally use it. System One has a track record of promotional free travel offers for different political party conferences and other events. The costs involved are administrative and are paid for by the private transport operators.”
Manchester Evening News
