Children in Greater Manchester now need a £10 card to get a child's fare on the bus or Metrolink.
Young people have been advised to get an igo travel pass since it was first introduced in the region in 2011 .
However, as of January 2020, child and concessionary dayrider tickets can now only be purchased and loaded onto the smart cards.
Paper tickets for these reduced fares are being scrapped by all operators within Greater Manchester.
Bus operator Stagecoach said any child aged between 11 and 16 who does not hold an igo car will have to pay £2 for each journey or £1.75 on a school bus service. With an igo, 11-16-year-olds would be able to buy a dayrider ticket for £2.50 that would cover all their journeys.
Child and concessionary dayrider tickets can also be bought on the Stagecoach bus app but passengers must carry an igo card.
First also stipulate that 11 to 16-year-olds carry an igo card if they want to access reduced rate tickets.
Their website says: 'You must carry your pass with you on all journeys, and show the bus driver when requesting your ticket on the bus - our drivers won't be able to sell you a reduced rate ticket if you don't have a valid igo pass with you.'
The changes also affect children aged 5-10-years old although Stagecoach said they can still buy a single fare without an igo card.
To qualify for an igo card, children must be resident in Greater Manchester or attend a school in Greater Manchester.
An application form can be downloaded from the TfGM website or obtained in a TfGM travelshop in bus stations.
A £10 administration fee applies and the child must also provide a passport-sized photo of themselves and a copy of proof of name and age such as a birth certificate.
In September last year, the mayor introduced free bus travel and half price, off-peak Metrolink travel for 16-18-year-olds with the 'Our Pass' scheme.
It also requires a one-off £10 fee.
And last summer, town leaders agreed to introduce a £10 charge for pensioners to get a concessionary tram and train passes.
Previously, older people in the region received tram and rail access on top of their legal entitlement to free bus travel, without having to pay an admin fee.
Now anyone wanting to extend that concession to Metrolink or the rail network needs to pay an annual administrative charge.
While mayor Andy Burnham said the plan was to create ‘parity’ with 16-18-year-olds signing up to the Our Pass discount scheme , several town hall leaders said it was fundamentally also about raising money to overhaul the region’s bus network in the long term.
Introducing the charge will raise about £1.25m, transport officials believe.
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