Half of Metro travellers now using system without cash

Half of Tyne and Wear Metro passengers no longer use cash to pay for their journeys, it has been revealed.

Nexus, the operator of the system, says there has been a huge switch towards credit and debit cards, as well as contactless payments. Meanwhile, many passengers also hold Pop smart cards, negating the need to pay with notes and coins.

Ticket machines that accept bankcardpaymentsandsmartcards,aswellasnotesandcoins, were introduced at all 60 Metro stations in June 2013.

In 2017, there were nine million transactions at Metro ticket machines, with twothirds of them made using contactless cards.

Nexus says that Pop Pay As You Go now accounts for 7% of Metro journeys.

Nexus customer services director Huw Lewis said: “Cashless and contactless payments on Metro are now overtaking the use of notes and coins, as our passengers choose easier and quicker ways to pay for their travel.

“We introduced new ticket machines to give our passengers more choice and flexibility, but even we have been surprised at how quickly they have moved away from using notes and coins for even quite small purchases like a £1.50 single ticket.

“What we have seen is in line with a national trend as more and more consumers move away from carrying cash altogether.

“We will continue to provide the option of cash payment at machines because some people still want to use notes and coins, but we do save from having less cash flowing through and stored in ticket machines and spending less time handling it.”