Young People unveil new 'Our Pass' name and design

Young people have decided on a design and name for the city region’s opportunity pass, ahead of the scheme’s launch this summer. The glossy purple card will be called ‘Our Pass’.

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is committed to opening up opportunities in the city region to young people, giving all of our young citizens’ hope for their future at the end of school. This includes providing free bus travel to 16 to 18-year-olds from this September.

The Youth Combined Authority (YCA) was tasked, at the beginning of the Mayor’s term, with scoping the development of an opportunity pass across Greater Manchester. Now young people have made the pass their own.

A diverse range of youngsters from groups across Greater Manchester – including the YCA, parent organisations and various youth groups - have worked with experts from Greater Manchester’s creative and design industry to develop the new ‘Our Pass’ brand over the last few months.

Hania Sulaiman, Chair of Greater Manchester’s Youth Combined Authority, said:

“We’re really excited about Our Pass in the YCA, especially as high prices on public transport have been a concern for young people across Greater Manchester for years. I’m hoping this will show that collaborating with young people when creating services to meet our needs leads to better outcomes.”

Our Pass Lead Rose Marley added:

“We want Our Pass to help young people feel anything is possible, excited, believe that you can go anywhere and nothing is off limits. Young people have made the pass their own, by playing a central role in its design and deciding on the new name ready for its big launch this summer.”

Our Pass, as well as free bus travel, will also provide direct access to a range of opportunities for young people available in the city region. Over an initial pilot of two years these opportunities will include anything from tickets for sports, music, and culture and leisure attractions; to careers events and taster days.

• A survey has been launched today asking young people what opportunities they want from the pass. The survey will run until June 23, 2019. Visit gmconsult.org
• Applications for Our Pass will go live on July 1, 2019. Young people, aged 16 to 18-years-old will be able to start using the card from the start of September.
• Young people whose permanent address is in Greater Manchester can apply for the opportunity pass. Greater Manchester includes: Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. If you’re not sure if you live in one of these areas, you can check here: https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council

Article Published: 07/05/2019 15:10 PM