Paying for a journey by public transport is now easier than ever! With a number of season tickets available in the area, contactless payments accepted on most services and even the option of purchasing and storing tickets on your smartphone you’ll find it super easy to find a payment method that suits you!
If you are a regular public transport user, make sure that you have spent some time exploring ways you could save some money. Paying on the day may be a quick and flexible option, but you could make some serious savings by buying a monthly or annual pass, or by booking your travel in advance.
POP Card
If your regular journey includes more than one bus operator, or is combined with a journey by rail or Metro, a POP Card may offer a better option. The POP Card is a smart card, administered by Nexus, that makes travelling on Metro, bus and train across the North East really simple and saves you money! Given the bus services in the local area are provided by a number of different operators and that travel by Metro is really simple from Coach Lane, a POP Card is the sensible choice for travel by public transport!
Arriva Tickets
Arriva is the main operator of bus services in the local area, they offer a range of ticketing options aimed at making your journeys as cheap as possible. Arriva also now accept contactless payments on all services across the UK, which is ideal if you plan on paying for your bus journey on the day of your travel.
For further details on Arriva tickets, including information on how to buy tickets via your smartphone, follow the links below.
Go North East Tickets
Go North East are a key provider of bus services across the North East. As well as offering a number of season ticket options, they also accept contactless payments on all services, making paying for your tickets easy and convenient, as well as cheap!
For further details on Go North East tickets, including on how to buy tickets via your smartphone, follow the links below.
Network One Tickets
There are a range of Network One tickets available, offering unlimited travel across Tyne and Wear on a combination of bus, Metro, train and ferry. Giving you total flexibility!
Train Tickets
Finding good value train tickets is easier than ever, with a number of great online tools available! Newcastle Central has a ticket office and ticket machines, making purchasing train tickets in person really simple. Alternatively, the Trainline app gives you the ability to purchase digital tickets to store on your smartphone, as well as giving you live journey information.
Here are some of our tips for cheaper train travel:
Booking train travel in advance is an easy way to get cheaper tickets, with the number of cheap advance fares available doubling in the last few years! Advance tickets are available to buy as far as 12 weeks before your date of travel and can usually be purchased up until 6pm the day before!
If you’re making the same train journey three days per week or more, perhaps on your journey to work, then getting a season ticket could save you a considerable amount of money! Most season tickets of 7-days or longer can only be used by a specific person and will require a Photocard to validate them. Use National Rail’s handy tool to calculate the cost of different season tickets by following the link below.
Further Discounts
If you regularly commute to work by bus it would be worth checking whether your employer facilitates workplace bus ticket discounting.
Nexus (POP Card) have a discount scheme in place which employers can sign up to, giving employees significant cost savings. Find out more by clicking the links below.
If you regularly travel by train it’s worth checking if you’re eligible for a Railcard. You could be saving 1/3 on all of your train travel!
There are a number of different concessions for seniors wishing to travel locally and nationally in England, across all types of public transport. For more information about eligibility and the concessions available check out Age UK’s guide by following the link below.