Metro fares will include bigger savings for customers travelling with Pop Pay As You Go smartcards in 2017, while other popular Metro tickets are to be frozen in price.
Nexus, the public body which owns and manages Metro, will introduce a bigger 20p saving on single journeys and 30p saving on the cost of DaySaver tickets with a Pop Pay As You Go card. Click here to see the 2017 Metro fares in full.
Overall Metro fares will rise by an average of 1.4% from 2 January 2017 in a package of changes agreed by senior councillors on the Transport North East (Tyne and Wear) Sub-Committee of the North East Combined Authority on 3 November.
Single tickets, weekly Metrosavers, and fares for children, young people aged 16-18 and students will all be frozen in price.
DaySaver tickets, four-weekly Metrosavers and most annual Metrosaver season tickets are set to increase in price – although the one-zone annual MetroSaver is coming down by £10.
The changes will see the amount passengers pay rise by less than the 1.9% Retail Price Index (RPI) rate of UK inflation from July used as a guide to set rail fares by. It is the fourth year in a row the average Metro fare rise has been below the rate of inflation.
Managing Director of Nexus, Tobyn Hughes, said: “We’ve listened to our passengers who told us they wanted bigger discounts for Pay As You Go. The enhanced fare cap means we are able to deliver even more affordable Metro travel for passengers.
“I’m also pleased that we are able to freeze the price of single and weekly tickets, which are our most popular products. We are also maintaining the generous discounts that we offer students and young people aged 16 to 18, and will also be reviewing whether it will be feasible to introduce new products for this age group for single and daily journeys.
“This is the fourth year that the average fare rise has been kept under inflation. Metro passenger numbers are almost at the 40 million mark and this is achieved by keeping the fares low.
“Some other fares are going up in order for us to cover higher running costs. However, the fares package we are putting forward will still offer customer excellent value for money.”
The Metro fares for 2017are set to include:
- A one zone single will remain £1.70; two zone single stays at £2.60; all zone single to remain £3.30.
- The cost of a one zone Adult DaySaver ticket will be increased by 10p from £2.80 to 2.90; the two zone DaySaver is up by 10p from 3.90 to £4; an all zone DaySaver is up from £4.80 to £5.
- 20p off the cost of single fares and 30p off the cost of the daily price cap for Pop Pay As You Go customers.
- A minimum of a 30% discount versus the equivalent adult fares will continue to be offered to students via the Student MetroSaver.
- 16-18 MetroSaver, which offers a 60% discount on the cost of travel, remains available to all young people aged 16 to 18 irrespective of whether they are in full time education or not.
- The one zone weekly MetroSaver stays at £10.50; the two zone weekly stays at £15.50; all zone weekly stays at £21.
- The one zone four week MetroSaver is up from £36 to £36.60; the two zone four weekly is up from £53 to £53.80; the all zone four weekly is up from £70 to £71.20
- The price of the one zone annual MetroSaver will be reduced by £10 to £405; the price of the two zone annual will be increased by £30 from £535 to £565; the cost of an all zone annual MetroSaver will go up by £50 from £575 to £625.
- The Metro Gold Card, which offers pensioners and people with disabilities unlimited off-peak Metro travel for £12, is not part of this review and its price will be determined in the New Year as part of the Nexus budget process.
Pop Pay As You Go, launched in autumn 2015 and since taken up by more than 6,000 people, will remain the cheapest way to pay for single and daily Metro travel.
It allows customers a discount compared to normal single fares on Metro – while a best price guarantee means people will pay less than the price of a DaySaver for the zones they use, no matter how many journeys they make.
Single journeys made with Pop Pay As You Go cost 20p less than the standard fare, and all day travel will cost 30p less than the equivalent DaySaver price for the zones used.
The smart system keeps track of journeys made, and stops charging once a guaranteed daily price cap has been reached for the zones used.
The 2017 Metro fares come into effect from Monday 2 January.