OFF-duty police officers in Greater Manchester are to get free bus travel in a bid to put a clamp on rowdy behaviour by yob passengers.

Plain clothed and uniformed police will also be given free travel on their way to work in a bid to provide a visible deterrent to unruly passengers.

The initiative, which will allow free travel to Police Officers on production of their warrant card, will also include Special Constables, both on and off duty, and on duty Community Support Officers.

Councillor Roger Jones, Chair of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authoritysaid: "By and large, using public transport in Greater Manchester is an extremely safe way to travel.

"Unfortunately there will always be a minority of people who behave unsociably, and this is a first class initiative being brought in by the new Chief Constable, at the request of the Passenger Transport Authority and

GMPTE and with the support of local bus operators.

"By making travel by bus free to Police Officers we hope to encourage more officers to use buses - both on and off duty. I am certain that this will provide reassurance for both passengers and drivers whilst also acting as a

deterrent to would be offenders.

"We are in the process of looking at similar schemes for rail and Metrolink as we believe this would be an excellent way to enhance safety and security on all modes of public transport."

Greater Manchester Chief Constable Michael Todd added: "GMP, the Passenger Transport Authority and GMPTE have been looking at ways of making public transport safer and therefore encouraging more people to use it. As

part of this, we have been looking at the possibility giving Police Officers free travel on public transport, whether on or off-duty.

"This would reinforce our commitment to high-visibility policing across Greater Manchester and offer additional reassurance to people using public transport. In addition, by encouraging off-duty officers to use bus services

more, we believe it would act as a deterrent to would-be offenders, who would not be able to tell whether the person sitting next to them was a police officer or not."

Mark Threapleton, Chair of Greater Manchester's Bus Operators Association, said: "As operators we know that our customers and drivers need to feel as safe as possible when they are travelling on buses in the area, which is why

we are very supportive of the free travel for police scheme.

"We have been campaigning for such an initiative for some time as we are convinced that it will act as a deterrent to those individuals who cause problems for passengers and drivers.

"In similar schemes in London and New York, the police have helped tackle a number of issues from anti social behaviour to fare avoidance and illegal parking in bus lanes."