Pensioners and schoolchildren will be hit by a 40 per cent rise in bus fares from this weekend.
Concessionary fares will rise from 50p to 70p for weekday journeys before 9.30am.
The hike will come into effect on Sunday and will affect bus users across Greater Manchester.
The Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority (GMPTA)reluctantly reached the decision as a book-balancing solution, at their annual budget meeting earlier this year.
GMPTA members said they felt forced into the move because the authority had been told to hand over an extra £3.4 million in taxpayers' money to Greater Manchester's private bus firms each year - on top of the £82 million they already pay out.
Cllr Nick Peel, GMPTA's Bolton spokesman, said: "We either had to cut back on our subsidised network or look at concessions.
"Very few pensioners use the buses before 9.30am and it's still one of the cheapest networks for under 16s.
"We are not happy with a system that forces us to make these decisions. You're not going to see another rise like this in the foreseeable future."
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