Burnham urges school leavers to sign-up for 'Our Pass'
Date published: 01 July 2021
Now in its third year, Our Pass is aimed at Greater Manchester’s GCSE leavers, and care leavers aged 18-21
Andy Burnham has sent a message to all Greater Manchester school leavers that Our Pass ‘is there for you’ and urged them to take advantage of its benefits as applications open today (Thursday).
Our Pass is a UK first.
Now in its third year, it is aimed at Greater Manchester’s GCSE leavers, and care leavers aged 18-21.
Designed by and made for young people, members gain access to two distinct offers at this important time in their life: free bus travel and reduced tram travel as well as exclusive offers and experiences.
Our Pass can be used in all of Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs and that includes being able to pick-up an exclusive JD Lanyard from your local library.
Those who are eligible to apply must live in Greater Manchester and have been born between September 1, 2003 and August 31, 2005.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Mr Burnham said: “We’ve been living through tough times, but at least we have a glimmer of hope now.
"And, as we open up again, Our Pass will be there for you.
"Our Pass is here to unlock the city-region, a pass to all 10 boroughs.
“Back in 2017, we said that Greater Manchester would use the freedoms we have under devolution to make young people our priority for investment.
"We have stuck to that and recommitted to prioritising support for our young people.
“We know that our young people have sacrificed a lot over the last year.
"Many young lives have been severely disrupted.
"We now need to make an extra effort to help them get back on track.
"I want to say to all those Year 11s, thinking about what’s next, that Our Pass will be there for you when you start on that new journey in September.”
Over the next few months Our Pass will be announcing exclusives for members to look forward to as we come out of lockdown.
Since Our Pass first went live in September 2019, homegrown brands like Park Life, the Halle, Vimto, Manchester City and Manchester United have been offering their support with a series of offers and competitions.
At Parklife 2019, ten lucky Our Pass winners, together with a guest, won tickets.
Now the weekend festival is set to return, at Heaton Park, on the revised date of September 11-12 - with an exciting new exclusive Our Pass competition to be announced in the next few weeks.
In the meantime, current Our Pass members are already benefitting from a range of exclusives including free or discounted activity sessions enabling them to take part in fitness training, obstacle courses and go-karting; as well as meal vouchers and competitions.
Our Pass Ambassador Emma Greenwood, aged 17, said: "Our Pass has enabled me to access so many opportunities and explore Greater Manchester in a way I would never have been able to before.
"It has given me the accessibility to freedom and independence that all 16-18 year olds need."
Finlay McGrath, now aged 19, said: "Our Pass really changed the way I went around Greater Manchester. Predominantly using the Metrolink for years I was able to use buses more and to go into different areas.
"Being an Ambassador for Our Pass also enabled me to visit some awesome venues to do workshops and photoshoots.
"I’m buzzing that the younger generation are able to have such an amazing program for them to explore our amazing city region.”
Details on how to access exclusives can be found by visiting: ourpass.co.uk
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