Nexus are encouraging passengers on the Tyne and Wear Metro to switch from paper tickets to Pop Pay As You Go to save money on the cost of travel across the network. Pop ticket prices will not be increasing in 2022 and give a saving of 85p per journey.
At the moment only 15% of all tickets purchased for travel on the Metro are using Pop Pay As You Go which means that 85% of passengers are still purchasing paper tickets and paying extra for the privilege of doing so. Pop prices will not be increasing until at least April 2023.
A new campaign has been launched – “Say goodbye to paper tickets” – to encourage people to make the switch. It will include on system advertising and Nexus staff handing out Pop cards across the network.
Huw Lewis, Nexus’ Customer Services Director, said: “By making the switch to from paper tickets to Pay As You Go our customers won’t see a price increase. This is the best way to save money on the cost of your Metro travel. Our fares plan means that customers won’t have to pay more for their Metro travel until at least April 2023 if they switch from paper tickets to Pop, or buy corporate season tickets. We hope this will encourage people to make more frequent journeys, for a combination of leisure travel and commuting. This is a great price incentive to make the switch to smart travel, and it’s now even easier to use Pay As You Go now that it’s available as an app on android smartphones.”
Paper ticket prices increased from Friday 1st April with a one zone single now costing £2.30 (up from £2.10) whilst an all zone day ticket is now £5.70 (was £5.40).
The Metro is recovering quicker than any other UK transport network with passenger numbers now up to 90% of pre pandemic figures. However, fare revenue is only at 70% as many commuters have yet to return.