Councillors today backed plans for an average 3.4% fare hike, which bosses say is needed to help the struggling rail network keep up with its running costs.
It comes after recently released figures showed that the Metro recorded its worst-ever performance in the weeks before Christmas, with an all-time low of just 61% of trains arriving on time between 12 November and 9 December, which had prompted calls from critics for any fare hike to be put on hold.
Under the increased ticket prices, the cost of a single journey will jump to a maximum of £4.50 on 1 April.
However, passengers who use the Pop pay-as-you-go card to travel will be able to access substantially cheaper fares than those buying paper tickets.
The cost of a day’s travel on a Pop card will be as much as £1.60 less than a traditional ticket.
While operator Nexus said the new Metro fares would be 3.4% higher than current rates on average, the scale of increases varies substantially between different tickets.
A two-zone day ticket, which is the Metro’s most purchased fare, will jump 7.7% from £5.20 to £5.60 – but an all-zone day ticket is frozen at £5.90.
Fares will be frozen for 16 to 21-year-olds with a Pop Blue smartcard and for older and disabled passengers with a Metro Gold Card.
Nexus customer services director Huw Lewis told a North East Joint Transport Committee (JTC) meeting on Thursday afternoon: “We have been open with the fact that we have challenges in terms of performance. But Nexus still has bills to pay, especially for things like high voltage power which is 75% more expensive than before the energy crisis.
“Although we are proposing a fare rise on many tickets, for the second year in a row it is below the rate of inflation. At 3.4% on average, it is significantly below the national rail average and the level that the Government has set for national rail operators, 4.9%.”
North Tyneside deputy mayor Carl Johnson, who chairs the JTC’s Tyne and Wear sub-committee, said that “nobody wants a fare rise” but that it was inevitable without the Government stepping in with extra funding.
He said: “The sad reality is that if we want to still have a Metro service when the new trains arrive [the £362m new fleet due to start entering service this year] fare rises will have to be a part of that.”
Here is a summary of the 2024/25 fare rises:
- The cost of a single journey paper Metro ticket will go up from £2.60 to £2.80 for one zone, from £3.60 to £3.80 for two zones, and from £4.30 to £4.50 for three zones;
- The cost of a one-zone adult day paper ticket will go up from £4.10 to £4.40, a two-zone Day Ticket is up from £5.20 to £5.60, an all-zone Day Ticket will remain at £5.90;
- The Pop PAYG one-zone single daily cap will go up from £1.65 to £1.80; a two-zone PAYG daily cap is up from £2.55 to £2.70; an all-zone single PAYG daily cap is up from £3.25 to £3.40.;
- A PAYG one-zone day ticket will go up from £2.75 to £2.90, a two-zone PAYG day from £3.85 to £4.00, and the all-zone PAYG day ticket up from £4.85 to £5.00;
- PAYG travel on Metro for young people aged 16 to 21 using Pop Blue or Pop 19-21 smartcards will be frozen;
- The one-zone weekly Metro season ticket is up from £12.20 to £13.20, a two-zone weekly from £18 to £19.40, and an all-zone weekly from £24.40 to £25.70;
- The one-zone four-week Metro season ticket is up from £46.50 to £50.70, the two-zone from to £68.20 to £72.50; and from £90.20 to £94.00 for all zones;
- The price of the one-zone annual Metro season ticket is up from £513.30 to £559.00, the two-zone annual from £717.00 to £780.00, and the all-zone annual from £793.60 to £864.
- A one-zone corporate Metro season ticket will cost £480, a two-zone £630, and £680 for all zones;
- The Metro Gold Card for older and disabled passengers will be frozen at £12 a year, or £24 for people who live outside Tyne and Wear;
- A single ticket on the Shields Ferry is going up from £2.30 to £2.50 for adults and from 90p to £1 for children;
- A ferry day ticket is going up from £3.70 to £3.90;
- The price of a single ferry journey on a Pop card will rise from £1.45 to £1.50, and a day ticket from £2.55 to £2.70;
- A one-week ticket for the Shields Ferry will go up from £11.30 to £12; a four-week ferry ticket is up from £42.40 to £45.
