Tyne and Wear launches travel smart cards

The cards will be rolled out across the region this year, with the project being described by Nexus as "the biggest smart card initiative outside London". Initially the Pop cards will replace season tickets and under 16 identification cards, but the executive plans that by next year passengers will be able to put credit onto the card and use it to "pay as they ride". Nexus is investing £15m from government funds in smart ticketing, which is part of the Metro: All Change modernisation programme. This will include the replacement of 225 Metro ticket machines and the introduction of gates at key stations and electronic smart validators across the system. It also forms part of the wider North-east smart ticketing initiative (Nesti), which is led by the local authorities in the region and aims to spread smart ticketing across all local public transport from the Tees Valley through to the Scottish border. Bernard Garner, director general of Nexus, said: "Smart cards will soon be used by hundreds of thousands of public transport users, and we are one of the first regions in the UK to fully embrace the future of travel. "The Pop card will make using public transport so much easier than now, and opens the way for people to get better value and pay more flexibly." He added that the phased programme would give people time to get used to using the cards and "appreciate what they can do". This article is published by Guardian Professional.