Nexus ticketing

[Haywain]

It looks like I need to be in the Tyne and Wear are next weekend, so would appreciate any advice on ticketing for the Metro. Can contactless payment cards or Google Pay be used on the metro and, if not, what day tickets are available and how easy are they to purchase? Also, is there any risk of the Metro to Sunderland being affected by the RMT strike action taking place next Saturday?

 

[Kilopylae]

Can contactless payment cards or Google Pay be used on the metro

According to my friend, you need 'the app' (Google suggests it's called Pop) to get in and out using a phone/Google Pay, which seems a bit primitive.

 

[Willie Bee]

You can just buy tickets at the station with a debit card. Depending on the zone of travel, the cost of a day ticket will vary. Getting a zone A+B+C day ticket will also let you travel on the North Shields to South Shields ferry and on the 'normal train' Newcastle to Sunderland (Northern rail).
I'm not 100% sure whether you can just use the app. I have a physical Pop Card, which was sent to me which I can top up online. Using a Pop card is actually a little bit cheaper than using day tickets, bought at the machine.

 

[Haywain]

According to my friend, you need 'the app' (Google suggests it's called Pop) to get in and out using a phone/Google Pay, which seems a bit primitive.

That's very helpful, thanks. Not an app as such, but a virtual card in the Google Wallet.

I'm not 100% sure whether you can just use the app.

Looks like it's a stand alone 'card'.

 

[rg177]

Having a Pop PAY-G card is indeed cheaper, and it can be loaded into Google Pay. A bit of a convoluted way of doing things - it'd be better to just skip the middleman, but there we are.

It's £4.10 for a paper day ticket for one zone, £5.20 for two zones and £6.20 for all.

The S&B machines on Metro are easy enough to use. You can buy tickets in about three taps.

As said above, all zones is good on the Ferry and Northern Rail.

Metro won't (shouldn't) be affected by industrial action now that the Network Rail dispute has been resolved. They've not announced anything - but Sunderland has had issues with staffing before. In this case, you'd need to get off at Park Lane or St Peters instead.

 

[Haywain]

Metro won't (shouldn't) be affected by industrial action now that the Network Rail dispute has been resolved. They've not announced anything - but Sunderland has had issues with staffing before. In this case, you'd need to get off at Park Lane or St Peters instead.

Thanks, good to know it should be running.

 

[wilbers]

Its handy having a POP card, even if I only end up using it about twice a year. If not sooner, I'll be back over there on 8th July for pinball.

North East Retro Gaming | The home of Retro Gaming

www.northeastretrogaming.com

 

[Willie Bee]

Its handy having a POP card, even if I only end up using it about twice a year. If not sooner, I'll be back over there on 8th July for pinball.

North East Retro Gaming | The home of Retro Gaming

www.northeastretrogaming.com

Can you buy POP cards at the machine or do you have to apply online.

I phoned Nexus and they actually posted one to me .. I just had to add some credit

 

[wilbers]

Can you buy POP cards at the machine or do you have to apply online.

I phoned Nexus and they actually posted one to me .. I just had to add some credit

I had one posted to me. Think it was £10, and came with £10 credit.

 

[Haywain]

I had one posted to me. Think it was £10, and came with £10 credit.

Having added one to Google Wallet, and a small balance, I recommend going that way if you use an Android phone.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Can contactless payment cards or Google Pay be used on the metro and, if not, what day tickets are available and how easy are they to purchase?

There’s a Metro Day Saver, as others have detailed above, which is inter-available on the trains Newcastle-Sunderland (zones dependent).

There’s also a Tyne and Wear Day Rover (valid as above, additionally on buses and also the train Newcastle-MetroCentre-Blaydon).

Both are easy enough to buy from station machines. Day Rovers can also be bought on a bus.

If going further afield, there is also the Explorer North East, which is valid on the Metro (and rail Newcastle-Sunderland) and ferry. It’s also valid on buses from Berwick as far as Scarborough, but is limited to the big operators.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Hope you stuff them

 

[trainophile]

Don't you have to be resident in the Tyne & Wear area to buy a POP card?

 

[Haywain]

Don't you have to be resident in the Tyne & Wear area to buy a POP card?

Clearly not, and you don't have to buy it - just add some credit.

 

[ainsworth74]

Also, is there any risk of the Metro to Sunderland being affected by the RMT strike action taking place next Saturday?

I'd just watch out for Sunderland station. Because it counts as a subterranean station special staffing requirements apply which can make it tricky for Northern to keep open on a strike day. But the service itself should be unaffected with trains just running non-stop through so get out on stations either side. Though if you're going for football related reasons St Peters or Stadium of Light will be more convenient than eh main station anyway!

 

[Haywain]

Though if you're going for football related reasons St Peters or Stadium of Light will be more convenient than eh main station anyway!

It's mainly for football but beer is also an important part of the day, so getting to the centre is desirable.

 

[ainsworth74]

It's mainly for football but beer is also an important part of the day, so getting to the centre is desirable.

Ah an important matter! Well Park Lane and St Peters basically bracket the city centre so either would suit should Sunderland itself be shut. You could probably even start from Park Lane and make your way towards the stadium on foot quite efficiently really.

 

[Wallsendmag]

It's mainly for football but beer is also an important part of the day, so getting to the centre is desirable.

No it really isn’t

 

[Haywain]

No it really isn’t

You're wrong, beer really is important!

 

[SeanG]

If you are just going the once then I don't think it would be worth the hassle of getting a POP card, as has been said further up the thread you need to load the account with credit which I doubt that you would spend - I would just buy a paper ticket from the machine which is easy enough.

As a Boro fan I'm in two minds, always like to see Sunderland get beat, but would also like the pleasure of beating them at Wembley!

 

[Wallsendmag]

If you are just going the once then I don't think it would be worth the hassle of getting a POP card, as has been said further up the thread you need to load the account with credit which I doubt that you would spend - I would just buy a paper ticket from the machine which is easy enough.

As a Boro fan I'm in two minds, always like to see Sunderland get beat, but would also like the pleasure of beating them at Wembley!

I really don’t want them to get to Wembley, I did have a little bit of second thoughts thinking of the revenue generated but with Newcastle playing Chelsea that weekend it’s irrelevant

 

[Willie Bee]

As a NUFC fan, I still smile when I think of Sunderland getting beaten by Charlton Athletic 3 1 many years ago, despite Sunderland scoring 3 goals. Yep ! they managed to score 3 own goals

 

[Kite159]

If you are just going the once then I don't think it would be worth the hassle of getting a POP card, as has been said further up the thread you need to load the account with credit which I doubt that you would spend - I would just buy a paper ticket from the machine which is easy enough.

As a Boro fan I'm in two minds, always like to see Sunderland get beat, but would also like the pleasure of beating them at Wembley!

Agreed, I believe the minimum you can top up by is £5 (at least using a virtual POP Card on Google Pay as it gave options for £5 or £10 when I looked last week) so if you are only going to use it infrequently it might be better paying extra for a paper ticket.

At least that way you won't get penalised if you forget to touch in (or out)

 

[Haywain]

If you are just going the once then I don't think it would be worth the hassle of getting a POP card, as has been said further up the thread you need to load the account with credit which I doubt that you would spend - I would just buy a paper ticket from the machine which is easy enough.

Once I found out how to do it, loading the card in Google wallet was very easy, and I've added £5 credit. That will cover my capped travel on Saturday and allow me to make my one journey on Sunday. That will leave a negative balance but Nexus say that's OK to do:

If your balance is in credit when you touch in at a Metro station, we’ll give you one last trip to make sure you can get to where you need to be, even if making another journey will take you into a negative balance. You then can’t use Pop PAYG on Android again until you top up.

I like that I don't need to pay a deposit, or add a large credit balance, and that I don't have to faff about with ticket machines on arrival in Newcastle. I also like the virtual card as it means I don't have to remember where to keep yet another card, and to take it with me if I happen to head that way.

At least that way you won't get penalised if you forget to touch in (or out)

As a user of Oyster and KeyGo I'd be quite disappointed with myself if I did forget.

 

[londonbridge]

Don't you have to be resident in the Tyne & Wear area to buy a POP card?

Nope, I have one, live in London, regularly in the North East for Sunderland games and/or visits to friends and family.

As a NUFC fan, I still smile when I think of Sunderland getting beaten by Charlton Athletic 3 1 many years ago, despite Sunderland scoring 3 goals. Yep ! they managed to score 3 own goals

I still smile when I think of six in a row.

 

[Haywain]

Just thought I'd report back. I added the POP card to the Google Wallet on my phone and added a credit of £5.00. My first journey charged £3.25, and the second journey took me to the daily cap of £4.85, with no charges for later journeys. The next morning I touched in with a credit of £0.15 and after completion of my single journey now have a debit on the card of £3.10. which will need to be cleared before I next use the metro. Overall, I see this as being very user friendly.

My only other observation is that using the phone to touch in and out was quite slow, and at first I found it difficult to touch successfully because I wasn't waiting long enough. It was much slower than using the phone to pay at a credit card terminal in a shop or bar. Once I was used to that, it was easy.

 

[Wallsendmag]

Just thought I'd report back. I added the POP card to the Google Wallet on my phone and added a credit of £5.00. My first journey charged £3.25, and the second journey took me to the daily cap of £4.85, with no charges for later journeys. The next morning I touched in with a credit of £0.15 and after completion of my single journey now have a debit on the card of £3.10. which will need to be cleared before I next use the metro. Overall, I see this as being very user friendly.

My only other observation is that using the phone to touch in and out was quite slow, and at first I found it difficult to touch successfully because I wasn't waiting long enough. It was much slower than using the phone to pay at a credit card terminal in shop or bar. Once I was used to that, it was easy.

New NFC readers are on the horizon I hear

I take it you are familiar with ticketing systems to get to Wembley ?

 

[Haywain]

One further small update to this. Since loading the POP card, I experienced some difficulties paying fares on bus services elsewhere using Google Pay. Each time I touched on a bus, the POP card would appear and payments failed. So, I have now deleted the POP card and can happily pay on buses again! I guess it will take some time to find out if my debt to Nexus has gone with the card or will magically reappear next time I need it.

 

[londonbridge]

Since this thread has been bumped, can you add a pop card to apple wallet on an iphone? Genuine question as I honestly don’t know, though I suspect the answer is no. I did try adding my pop card to the Stocard app, it created a barcode for it but the reader wouldn’t work when I tried using it on a GoNorthEast bus.

 

[rg177]

Since this thread has been bumped, can you add a pop card to apple wallet on an iphone? Genuine question as I honestly don’t know, though I suspect the answer is no. I did try adding my pop card to the Stocard app, it created a barcode for it but the reader wouldn’t work when I tried using it on a GoNorthEast bus.

I don't believe it's possible yet. Certainly a long-standing omission.