Mayor announces price cap for Metro journeys

THE cost of a single journey on the Tyne and Wear Metro will be capped at £2.50 rate in what is being branded the biggest change to the network's ticketing for 20 years.

- DANIEL HOLLAND

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness has confirmed plans to introduce the new price limit for all passengers using a Pop pay as you go smart card to travel.

If signed off by the North East Combined Authority's (NECA) cabinet next week, it will come into force on April 1 alongside a £5 cap on a full day’s travel with a Pop card.

Bosses hope that the move - which will cost the mayor's office £1m to subsidise for a year - will make the Metro a cheaper and more attractive option for many people, following warnings that it is at risk of becoming unsustainable if it does not grow its income.

Some other fares are set to rise, however, including a 4.6% hike in season ticket prices, a £3 rise in the cost of the pensioners’ Gold Card, and increases on the Shields Ferry.

The £2.50 cap policy, which mirrors the region’s offer on single bus fares, will apply across all of the rail network’s four fare zones - including the Northumberland Line. A one-zone single ticket will cost £2.20, with tickets across multiple zones capped at £2.50.

While that will be a 20p increase for a one-zone ticket compared to current Pop prices, it represents a saving of up to £1.30 for a single journey across multiple zones.

It will also become up to £2.60 cheaper to use a Pop card to make a trip than purchasing a paper ticket, the maximum cost of which will jump up to £5.10.