Big change to Tyne and Wear Metro ticket prices coming into force under mayor's £2.50 fare cap

A new package of ticket prices on the Metro will see the cost of a single journey capped at £2.50 and a full day’s travel at £5 for passengers using a Pop pay as you go smartcard to travel.

The move has been described by travel chiefs as the “biggest and most significant” overhaul of Metro fares for 20 years.

It will mean savings for some Metro users, with those making longer journeys benefitting the most.

But for passengers making shorter trips, ticket prices will actually be increasing.

The big winners will be those travelling across three separate Metro zones or using the Northumberland Line, for whom the cost of a single trip will fall by up to 34%.

But there will be a 10% increase in the Pop card cost of a single one-zone Metro journey, up from £2 to £2.20, and hikes of up to 7.1% in the daily travel cap for one and two-zone travellers – which rises to £3.30 and £4.50 respectively.

Everyone still buying paper tickets rather than using a Pop card will also see fare increases and will not benefit from the new cap, with the equivalent Pop card journeys becoming between £1 and £2.60 cheaper.

A single paper ticket will increase in price from £3 to £3.20 for one zone, £4 to £4.30 for two zones, and £4.70 to £5.10 for all zones. Paper day tickets will go up from £4.60 to £4.80 for one zone, £5.80 to £6.10 for two zones, and £6.70 to £7 for all zones.

North East mayor Kim McGuinness, whose office has committed around £1 million to compensate Metro operator Nexus for lost income resulting from the changes over the next year, wanted to introduce the Pop card price cap to match the fare limit on the region’s buses.

The Labour mayor said: “People tell me Metro fares were too high so we’re now carrying out the most significant cuts to them for more than 20 years. My vision is for a world-class transport network for the North East, and that has to include fares people can actually afford.

“From 1 April, my Mayor’s Fares cap Metro journeys when using Pop Pay As You Go, meaning passengers pay no more than £2.50 for a single journey or £5 per day, no matter how far they travel.”

The new prices will apply until April 2027.

All fares for young people will be frozen at current rates, including the £1 single fare and £2.20 day rates on a Pop Blue card.

The Metro Gold Card, which offers unlimited off-peak Metro travel for pensioners and customers with disabilities for an annual payment, is proposed to increase for Tyne and Wear residents from £15 to £18.

All Metro season tickets will increase in price by an average of 4.6% – including weekly, monthly, and annual passes.

On the Shields Ferry, single tickets for adults will increase by 20p for paper tickets to £2.80 and 10p for Pay as You Go to £1.70. Day tickets will increase by 20p for Pay as You Go to £3.00 and by 10p to £4.20 for paper tickets. Weekly and four-week passes for adults will increase, by 50p and £2.50 respectively.

Overall, the changes amount to an average 1.5% fare increase and are expected to generate an extra £700,000 of revenue over the next year.

John Fenwick, director of finance and resources at Nexus, said: “The Mayor’s Fares are a game changer for our customers, delivering the most affordable Metro travel that we’ve been able to offer for many years.  

“It caps Metro single tickets at £2.50, no matter how many zones you travel in, with some single journeys costing less. Customers won’t pay more for a single journey on the Metro than they would on the bus, making public transport simpler to use and Metro more affordable.

“The best way for customers to save is to use Pop PAYG. These are the biggest savings we’ve been able to deliver for our customers in a very long time.  We have set a balanced package of fares, one that will help us to meet our running costs, support the essential services that we deliver, and offer savings to our customers on the cost of travel.”