Introduced by Nexus in 2018, the Pop Blue smartcard for travel on the Tyne and Wear Metro has proved to be very popular with more than 1.2 million journeys recorded. The idea of the introduction of the card was to give more affordable travel for young people aged 16-18 with trips costing just £1.
In total over 16,000 young people have taken out Pop Blue cards and currently almost 30,000 journeys using the card take place every month with 85% of 16-18 year olds using a Pop Blue card when they take a journey on the Metro.
Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “We’re delighted with how successful Pop blue has been. We estimate it has generated about 1 million additional Metro journeys since it was introduced, due to its ease of use and flexibility, and we’re keen to encourage more teenagers onto Metro as our lives return to some normality. Pop blue lets young people travel on Metro for £1 and as much as they want all day for £2. It’s easy to use, customers don’t have to commit to any regular travel, it’s contactless and better value than using ticket machines. Pop Blue is part of our family of great value smart cards and discounts for young people on Metro up to the age of 21. You can find the right card for you or your children and start saving right away – and don’t forget that children aged 11 and under travel free with a fare paying adult all day, every day.”
The Pop Blue card itself is free but must be purchased with a £10 balance on the card. Anyone aged 18 or under will only ever pay £1 for a single trip and you will only pay for a maximum of two Metro trips on any single day. A £2 daily price cap applies to Metro travel, regardless of how many trips they take. It can easily be topped up online and at Metro ticket machines.
In addition a Junior Blue smartcard is available for those under 16 with child fares available for just 90p for a single trip or a daily cap of £1.40. Over 100 under 16s use this card every month.
Find out more details about the Pop Blue at https://www.nexus.org.uk/ticket-information/pop/pop-blue