North East Mayor has stepped in to delay
planned fare rises on the Metro for three months in the wake of
major disruption due in a large part to the closure of the
Gateshead Flyover.
The failure of the flyover in late 2024 effectively severed the
Metro system in half after structural issues on the aging flyover
- which runs directly over a Metro tunnel – meant it was
unsafe to run trains through that section of track for almost two
weeks while protection was put in place.
The increases to Metro fares, which normally take effect on 1
April, have been delayed by the Mayor until 1 July in
recognition of the impact on passengers.
The move was agreed by the Mayor and North East Combined
Authority Cabinet today (28 January 2025) as it agreed its budget
for the 2025-26 financial year.
, North East Mayor, said: “I
want to see a better Metro service. I've been very clear with
Nexus about that but I know passengers have not seen that
improvement happening, in large part due to the severe disruption
caused by the closure of Gateshead Flyover and the impact that
had on the tunnels below.
“With this in mind it would not be the right thing to increase
fares in April as has happened in previous years. People should
not be paying more when they have had less. I have made the
decision to delay the new fares coming in until later in the
year. This way I want to give something back to passengers and
show how serious we are about a better service.
“I know any increase to fares is unwelcome and we have worked
with Nexus to keep these to an absolute minimum. Every penny
people pay to use Metro goes into running the system, and we must
make sure it does not end up starved of cash. In the meantime I
want to remind people that if they switch to Pop Pay As You Go
they really can save money – with Pop prices being roughly the
same as a paper ticket was five years' ago in 2020.
“I am also determined we will make sure Nexus keep improving
services and get the new trains in as fast as possible, and that
we all work to make travel safer, more affordable and better
integrated so that more people feel confident to choose to travel
on our public transport network.”
John Fenwick, Director of Finance and Resources at Nexus, said:
“Our fare proposals for 2025/26 will see discounts for PAYG
customers maintained, offering a saving of up to £1.60 a day with
a Pop card, or using the product via an Android smartphone.
“If customers switch to PAYG this year, they will be paying the
same prices as paper ticket holders were paying between January
2020 and April 2021.
“We also plan to freeze fares for young people, which meets
region-wide ambitions to make public transport more affordable
for them.
“Some fares do need to increase in order to help us address the
challenges of higher operational costs which are increasing at
5.1% heading into 2025/26. In light of this, we are putting
forward a balanced set of proposals.
“In consultation with the North East Mayor, , we are proposing to
implement the fare proposals from 1 July 2025 rather than the
usual 1 April. Holding back the changes recognises the
exceptional disruption caused to customers at the end of 2024
when the central Metro tunnels under the Gateshead flyover were
closed at short notice for 10 days affecting journeys across the
whole network.
“Metro is a public service and doesn't make a profit, so we
require Government support, alongside the revenue that we
generate from fares, to keep the system running.”
Measures approved by Cabinet include:
-
In addition, ferry fares are also proposed to increase by
4.9%, also effective from 1 July 2025 and the price of
concessionary products for young people in Tyne and Wear will
be frozen at 60p for a single and £1.10 for a CAT all day
ticket (eligible with an Under 16 Pop Card).
