New automatic ticket gates have entered service at Regent Centre Metro station, delivering on North East Mayor Kim McGuinness’ pledge to make public transport safer and reduce fare evasion.
The ticket gates, at the public transport interchange near Newcastle, complete the first phase of a £2.1m programme to put more ticket gates on the Metro system by 2027.
The Mayor announced in March that she was putting more money towards new Metro ticket gates as part of a £208 million package of wider transport investment. The gates will make transport safer as they will be staffed by Metro teams, providing a regular customer service presence at Regent Centre for the first time.
Mayor Kim said: “Too often people don’t feel safe when using public transport, especially women and girls. That’s why I promised to put ticket gates and staff at more Metro stations before the end of the year. Now, with the gates live at Regent Centre and staff on the ground there, people can see the investments we’re making in deterring anti-social behaviour on our transport network.
“But this is just the start of our multi-million pound investment to make public transport safer by replacing unwanted old bus shelters right across the North East, putting in better lighting and updating CCTV.”
More than 1.3 million customers pass through the gates at Regent Centre station every year. These gates will be managed by Metro customer service teams to support safe and secure travel for customers and tackle ticketless travel.
Ticket gates help to deter anti-social behaviour and tackle fare evasion at the busy interchange located in Gosforth, north of Newcastle, which serves local schools and offices, and where Metro connects with bus routes into Northumberland.
We are in the process of completing a feasibility study to identify which other Metro stations will be added to the list stations with ticket gates as part of the Mayor’s funding package for Metro.
Paul Welford, Major Projects Director at Nexus, said: “I’m pleased to say that our first new ticket gates for more than ten years are up and running on Metro, supporting North East Mayor Kim McGuinness’ pledge to make public transport safer.
“The new gates have gone in at Regent Centre Metro station near Newcastle. They will help to make this busy suburban interchange more secure and help us to lower Metro fare evasion.
“We continue to work on a feasibility study to identify which other stations on the Metro system would be suitable for the installation of new automatic ticket gates. It will determine how many stations will be incorporated into the programme, with considerations including safety, security, revenue protection and optimum value for money.
“We now have 14 out of our 60 stations with ticket gates. These include the busiest stations on Metro and it means that, in normal circumstances, 75% of customers must pass through a gate either at the start or end of their journey.
“Ticket gates help us to safely control customer flow and access to stations. This increases security and safety allowing only those travelling on Metro to access the platform.”
Ken Cameron, Scheidt & Bachmann’s Managing Director UK, said: "Together with Nexus, we are proud to support Tyne and Wear Metro in improving safety at their stations and reducing fare evasion attempts.
“Regent Centre will be the first station on the Metro network to receive Scheidt & Bachmann’s advanced gate solution, the FareGo PG|50, which supports a wide range of ticket formats, including magnetic stripe tickets, paper and mobile barcode tickets, contactless smart cards, and ITSO-compliant media. Additionally, our new gates will complement the existing, proven system and will be fully integrated into the current fare collection infrastructure.”
Ticket gates are already currently located on Metro at Airport, Central, Gateshead, Haymarket, Heworth, Jesmond, Manors, Monument, North Shields, South Shields, Chichester, St James, and Byker.
They were installed between 2010 and 2012 as part of the Metro Asset Renewal Programme.
The new ticket gates at Regent Centre has been supplied and installed on behalf Nexus by Scheidt & Bachmann, a German company which specialises in providing fare collection systems on transport networks across the world.