A new fare structure is being introduced for the Tyne & Wear Metro and the Shields Ferry from 1st July 2025, Metro customers are advised that they will need to switch to Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG) to continue to get discounts on their travel costs.
Under the new fare structure, agreed at a North East Combined Authority cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 28th January, fares for young people will be simplified and frozen in price, while other customers will still be able to make savings on their travel costs.
![The new Metro train enters customer service for the first time at Pelaw Metro station. // Credit: Nexus](https://www.railadvent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/original-1953680A-BE90-4BB3-818B-E3D16AF86778-750x563.jpeg)
The cheapest way to travel on Metro is to use Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG), which is available on the Pop smartcard and Android smartphones, and under the latest proposals will continue to offer a £1.60 a day saving over the cost of paper tickets.
To encourage young people to use public transport, a £1 single fare will continue to be available, but the ‘Junior Blue’ smartcard for those aged under 16 will be discontinued.
To align with the under 21 Pop Blue smartcard, the daily cap for children aged under 16 will increase from £1.90 to £2.20
There will be an increase from £12 to £15 in the cost of the Metro Gold Card that provides unlimited off-peak Metro travel for pensioners and customers with disabilities when they make an annual payment. The cost for residents outside of Tyne and Wear will remain at £24.
![New Gosforth depot](https://www.railadvent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/processed-61E64E5C-B940-42B1-8557-A8222500EDE9-0A9B9E0F-A541-4A29-A08F-37D9291A7A82-750x563.jpg)
To help meet the rising operational costs of the Metro system, other fares including standard season tickets, singles, and day tickets, will all increase
Ticket prices for the new fourth zone ‘Zone D’ applicable to the Northumberland line will remain at current prices.
![Tyne and Wear Metro Control Room](https://www.railadvent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tyne-and-Wear-Metro-Control-Room-750x563.jpg)
“Our fares package for 2025/26 will see discounts for PAYG customers maintained, offering a saving of up to £1.60 a day with a Pop card, or using the product via an Android smartphone. If customers switch to PAYG this year, they will be paying the same prices as paper ticket holders were paying between January 2020 and April 2021. We are freezing fares for young people, which meets region-wide ambitions to make public transport more affordable for them. Some fares do need to increase in order to help us address the challenges of higher operational costs which are increasing at 5.1% heading into 2025/26. We have put forward a balanced set of fares. In consultation with the North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, we’ll implement the fare proposals from 1 July 2025 rather than from 1 April. Holding back the changes recognises the exceptional disruption caused to customers at the end of 2024 when the central Metro tunnels under the Gateshead flyover were closed at short notice for ten days affecting journeys across the whole network.”
John Fenwick, Director of Finance and Resources at Nexus
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