Metro customers are encouraged to switch to Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG) to continue to get discounts on their travel costs, while fares for young people are being simplified and frozen in price.
We are introducing revised Metro and Shields Ferry fares from Tuesday, 1 July 2025, which still offers customers the opportunity to make savings whilst also helping to meet increasing operational costs.
The fares were agreed North East Combined Authority’s Cabinet meeting in January, but the start was pushed back from April to July in recognition of the exceptional disruption caused at the end of 2024 when the structural integrity of the Gateshead flyover caused the Metro tunnels under the flyover to be closed at short notice for a period of ten days.
Customers can still get the cheapest Metro travel by switching from paper tickets to Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG). The PAYG product, which is available on the Pop smartcard and Android smartphones, will continue to offer customers a saving of up to £1.60 a day in 2025 verses paper tickets, under the latest proposals.
We will maintain the £1 single fare across all young person products to continue to encourage them to use public transport.
Simplified young persons’ ticketing was also agreed by removing the ‘Junior Blue’ smartcard for those aged under 16. The daily cap for those aged under 16 will increase from £1.90 to £2.20 to align with the Pop Blue smartcard, which is available to everyone aged 21 and under.
Helen Mathews, Commercial Director at Nexus, said: “Our fares package 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 in 2020.
“We are freezing fares for young people, which meets region-wide ambitions to make public transport more affordable for them and support the Mayor’s plans to tackle child poverty
“Some fares do need to increase in order to help us address the challenges of higher operational costs, which have increased by more than 5% when compared to last year. We believe we have put forward a balanced set of fares.
“In consultation with North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, we’re implementing 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.
"Metro is a public service and doesn’t make a profit, so we require financial support from both Central and Local Government, alongside the revenue that we generate from fares, to operate the system.”
The Metro Gold Card, which offers unlimited off-peak Metro travel for pensioners and customers with disabilities for annual payment, will go up from £12 to £15 in 2025, which is the first time the Gold Card has increased in price for ten years, and works out at£1.25 a month for unlimited travel . The cost of a Gold Card for residents outside of Tyne and Wear will be frozen at £24.
Other Metro fares, including standard season tickets, singles, and day tickets, will increase to help meet the rising operational costs of the Metro system.
The rise across the board averages at 4.6%,
Prices associated with the new fourth zone ‘Zone D’, which was introduced with the Northumberland line launch, will remain frozen.