The Sunderland section of the Tyne and Wear Metro has become first part the system to see new smart ticket machines fitted at all of the stations.
Nexus, which owns, manages and is modernising Metro, has installed smart ticket machines at the 12 Metro stations on the Sunderland line, with St Peter’s station the final one to be completed this week.
The new ticket machines are at the heart of a £25m project to update the ticketing system on Metro. Nexus is replacing a total of 225 ticket machines at 60 stations.
Smart ticket machines can accept credit and debit card payment and notes, as well as coins. They are also enabled to accept smartcard payments.
The work forms part of the £385m Metro: all change modernisation programme, which will see the system transformed over the next 11 years, including revamped stations and trains.
Director of Customer Services for Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “The Sunderland line is the first to have all of its Metro stations installed with the new smart-ticket machines. This is a significant milestone for our £385m Metro all change modernisation programme and great news for our customers on Wearside.
“This new technology is transforming the way people access the Metro system. The machines accept card payments and bank notes, which remove a lot of the hassle of needing the correct change to buy a ticket.
“The machines are also smartcard enabled, so when the new Pop cards go live passengers will be able to top up their Pop Cards using the machines.”
Gary Hutchinson, SAFC Commercial Director, said: “The Metro is a vital service for Sunderland, providing a hugely important service for football matches, concerts and other major events at the Stadium of Light. It is great to see such significant investment being made to continually improve the service offered to passengers and we wholeheartedly welcome the latest developments.”
Sunderland City Council Portfolio Holder for City Services, Councillor James Blackburn, added: “We hope this new ticketing technology will encourage even more people to use the Metro and public transport.
“This latest investment into the system shows our continued commitment with Nexus to further improve services, and provide our city and our region with the best transport system that we can.”
The new Metro ticket machines are enabled to handle smartcard transactions for the new Pop cards. Passengers will be able to use the new ticket machines to top up their Pop cards.
Pop is the name of the new travel smartcard which is being rolled out across Tyne and Wear during 2013.