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Oldham passengers can now tap a bank card, phone or watch on any Bee Network bus or tram and ride without buying a ticket first. The move ends the need to queue at machines or carry exact change, and fares are calculated automatically at the end of the day.

The same readers will accept the Bee card when trams through Oldham are brought under the network later this year, so regular commuters will not need to juggle two tickets. Transport bosses say the back-office system caps daily and weekly spending at the same level as the old paper products.

While the payment kit is being switched on, engineers will close sections of the Metrolink for short spells overnight and at weekends. Exact dates have not been released, but the Bee Network website lists which Oldham and Rochdale line stops will be replaced by buses during each block.

A consultation on the next phase of the network, including priority lanes and service frequencies, is open until March. Officials want views on how buses should run between Oldham Mumps, Chadderton and Middleton once the routes pass to public control this autumn.

The transport authority is also recruiting trainee tram and bus drivers from the borough, with starting pay just above £32,000 and no previous PCV licence needed. Applications close in two weeks, and training takes place at the Oldham depot.