Plans to give the North East a London-style smart ticketing system allowing passengers to seamlessly tap in and out of different forms of public transport are making progress, councillors have been told.
There have long been hopes for a revolution in how people travel across bus, train, and Metro services in the region that would finally allow an Oyster-like smartcard to be used on every service, rather than having to buy a collection of different tickets.
While recent months have seen the introduction of a new range of fares providing cheaper travel across different transport operators, proposals are now in the works to make it easier to travel.
Members of a North East Joint Transport Committee scrutiny panel were told on Thursday that a project is being worked on, funded through the region’s £163m Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP), that would allow the Tyne and Wear Metro’s Pop cards to be used on every bus across the region too.
Such a system would automatically calculate the appropriate daily fare for a user’s journeys depending on how far they had travelled.
Under the range of new day tickets launched recently, adults can get unlimited bus travel in County Durham for £4, in Northumberland for £5, and unlimited bus, Metro and Ferry travel in Tyne and Wear for £6 or across the whole region for £6.80.
A flat £1 single ticket and £3 day ticket for under-22s have also been brought in.
At Thursday’s meeting, Newcastle Lib Dem councillor Thom Campion praised the multi-modal fares but called for a London-style system whereby passengers can easily tap in and out with a smartcard or smartphone without having to work out which ticket is best for them.
He said: “Fundamentally, until people are really certain on what the easiest and cheapest way to travel is they are going to be less likely to travel. On the Nexus website, there are over 60 different tickets available.
“It is quite complicated for people who do not necessarily know and unless we can get to a point where you can literally tap your Pop card and have that London-style system that includes everything, then there is going to be a really important piece of work to do.
“However, it is still really good work that is going on now and I am pleased to see the £1 fare and that it is actually being used.”
Huw Lewis, Nexus’ director of customer services, replied: “What you describe is what we want. There is a project through the BSIP to tie together all the back offices in the computer systems that sit behind all of the buses so that it can track your movement [when you tap your smartcard or smartphone] and then give you the £6 or £6.80 fare. It will be about a year before we are testing that, but it is a project that is taking place now to make it happen.”
Chris Lines, an independent councillor in Sedgefield, warned that his residents would think he was “trolling” them if he tried to promote the new bus fares, given how difficult it is to get a bus in some parts of County Durham.
He added: “It is not just rural areas. There are some fairly significant urban communities that cannot access bus services that are in any way adequate. I know I sound like a stuck record, but we need to address those fundamental issues.”
