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MAN → Manchester · head to head

Bus 43orPrivate transfer to Liverpool?

The short answer

These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The Bus 43 reaches Piccadilly — Piccadilly station for the train, Piccadilly Gardens for the 43, St Peter's Square for the tram; the Private transfer to Liverpool does not. This goes to Liverpool, not Manchester: the driver takes you to any address there.

The Private transfer to Liverpool is quicker: 1 h against 1 h 09. The Bus 43 varies between 48 and 82 minutes.

Bus 43: Runs all night. Private transfer to Liverpool: hours not recorded.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in GBP. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row. The Private transfer to Liverpool is charged in euros; its column is converted at the reference rate in its fare note.
TravelersBus 43Private transfer to LiverpoolDifference
1£2about £93£91
2£4about £93£89
3£6about £93£87
4£8about £93£85
5£10about £126£116
6£12about £126£114
7£14about £126£112
8£16about £252£236

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
43 · Bee NetworkBus 43
From
The bus stands at The Station, the interchange between Terminals 2 and 3 (stand E in TfGM's data), a 7- to 10-minute walk from the terminals
To
Piccadilly Gardens, via Wythenshawe, Northenden, Withington, Fallowfield, Rusholme, the Royal Infirmary and the universities on Oxford Road
Runs
All night
Journey
48–82 min

It runs all night, every 30 minutes from about 20:00 to 04:35, then every 10 minutes from 09:00 to 18:00 on weekdays (every 15 on Sundays). The night bus takes 48 minutes; by day about 70, up to 82 at 07:10 on a weekday.

It is £2.60 cheaper than the tram and £4.20 cheaper than the train, taking about the same time as the tram by day and less at night. It is a city bus making 51 stops, the last stretch along Wilmslow Road and Oxford Road, with no luggage rack.

The terminus is Piccadilly Gardens, the square; the 43 does not enter the railway station's forecourt.

Tap once when you board; there is no tap-out on a bus. If you arrived by tram and forgot to tap out there, the bus tap cannot repair it and the tram leg is charged as an incomplete journey.

The airport lists eight Bee Network routes at The Station — 43, 103, 130, 199, 248, 288, 313 and 368 — and only the 43 goes to the city center.

Bus 43: price for every party size

Check Bee Network bus fares with TfGM

This compares two of 6 options. See all of them ranked for your party size

The other comparisons at Manchester Airport