Nexus lowers the minimum top up on Pop Pay As You Go

A Pop PAYG card
13 July 2023

Metro customers on Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG) now only need to make a £5 top up to start using the money saving product. 

We've changed the terms for Pop PAYG - available as a smartcard and through Android’ Google Pay, lowering the minimum top up from £10 to £5.

Customers who switch from buying paper tickets will save more than £1 a day by making the change to Pop PAYG on Google Pay or by getting a free smart card online from the Nexus website.

Almost a third of Metro journeys are already being made with a Pop card, as more and more people recognise the money saving benefits of the product. 

Nexus said the number of customers travelling on Pop PAYG was at its highest ever level – and that figure was likely to grow even further.

Customer Services Director, Huw Lewis, said: “Pop cards are the cheapest and most convenient way to pay for Metro travel, and customers only need to add £5 to their card to get started. 

“We’ve lowered the minimum top up from £10 to £5 as this is something that our customers said that they wanted to see. 

“Pop is the best product to travel on Metro and we recommend that customers make the switch even if they travel only once a week or less. Getting a free Pop card is really easy, either by applying for one online from the Nexus website or through Google Pay if you have an Android smartphone.”

Customers who use Pop PAYG on Android phones or smart cards have seen prices frozen for the second year in a row and can save £1 a day by making the change.

Full details on how to find Pop on Google Pay – or get a free Pop card – can be found at www.nexus.org.uk/save 
Nexus has also introduced cheaper Metro fares for young people who use a Pop card, meaning they will pay just £1 for a single journey and a maximum of £2.20 for unlimited daily travel.

It expanded the current Pop Blue smartcard from its current 16-18 age range to anyone aged 21 and under. Single journeys for the under 19s have come down from £1.20 to £1, and those aged 19 to 21 have seen the cost of a single journey come down from £2.30 to £1. 

Metro became the first rail system outside London to offer the convenience of pay as you go smart travel on the iconic Pop card when it was launched in November 2015. 

Pop cards can also be used to make payments on bus routes in North East England as well as on the Shields Ferry.
 

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