tickets

There are a range of tickets you can choose for your public transport journey. There are straightforward 'single' tickets which you can buy from your bus driver, or on the Metro or train platform. Most operators also offer 'day return' tickets, and withing Tyne and Wear there is a 'Transfare' ticket which allows you to move from a bus to a Metro or vice versa, within one trip.

However if you are using public transport regularly, then it will almost certainly be cheaper for you to buy a 'season ticket'."

Here’s a range of information relating to tickets. All of this information was accurate in July 2009.

Season Tickets
Season tickets can be weekly, monthly or yearly. You can choose from a single-operator season ticket which is valid for one bus operator or Metro, or an all-operator Network Travelticket.

Special offers at an even greater discount are available for young people and students, for most of the season tickets shown below.

Arriva season tickets
Arriva offer weekly and 4-weekly tickets for their buses, covering the zones of your choice.

A convenient way to get around on Arriva services, it also costs you less than buying single tickets for all your journeys. Arriva's website has more information on all tickets available.

Go North East BuzzFare
With BuzzFare you can have unlimited travel on Go Northeast buses through your selected zones for 1, 7 or 28 day periods.

Check out Go North East's website for more information and to start saving today.

MetroSaver
If you commute or travel on the Metro regularly, then MetroSaver is the ticket for you.

The price depends on the number of zones you require – see the Nexus Metro pages for more info.

Shields Ferry Pass
If you make four or more return journeys on the ferry in a week, you could save money by buying a Shields Ferry 7 Day Pass for just £8.00.

Stagecoach: Megarider
There are 3 versions of the Stagecoach Megarider available in Tyne and Wear - one for South Shields, one for Newcastle and one for Sunderland.

Tickets can be bought as weekly, monthly or annual versions and are valid for travel at all times on Stagecoach buses within the relevant boundaries.

For travel outside these boundaries the Megarider Plus is available in South Shields and Newcastle. Megarider can be bought directly from the driver.

Visit Stagecoach Northeast for further details.

Network Travelticket
There is also an 'all modes' season ticket known as the Network Travelticket. This allows you to travel within Tyne and Wear on the Metro, Ferry, railway, and virtually all buses.

Very convenient – and with prices starting at just £2 per day for an annual, all-zones ticket, they are pretty cheap if you need to use multiple modes of transport! Visit Network Ticketing for more information. Where to buy season tickets You can get hold of a Network Travelticket (and all of its variations for students and young people) by going to a Travelshop such as those at key Metro stations; there are also others in local travel businesses.

You need to take a passport photo to have your card issued, the first time you get one.

Travelshops can also issue season tickets for Metro and for most bus operators. Go Northeast and Arriva also issue some bus season tickets via the Paypoint shop network.

In many cases you can also buy and renew your season ticket online, via the operator’s website (see above) or the Nexus website.

Weekly Ferry passes can only be bought on the Ferry itself.

Rail

Season tickets for the train are based on a specific route (e.g. Chester le Street to Newcastle, or Hexham to Sunderland). You can buy these from your local staffed railway station, but may need to take along a passport photo to get a photocard.

Discounted Tickets
We’re all looking for ways to save cash, and there are a couple of ways to do this with season tickets – if you work for a larger organisation.

Discounted season tickets
There are good discounts for buying multiple season tickets for staff.

All your organisation has to do is apply for them – so if they don’t do it, why not encourage them to do so?

Salary sacrifice
Sounds like something painful, but in fact salary sacrifice is a system which allows you to pay for an annual bus season ticket which is tax and national insurance free, saving you at least 31% per year.

The amount is taken from your gross salary and paid back in monthly installments to your employer, directly through your wages. Believe it or not, salary sacrifice also saves your employer money!

Sounds good?

Why not contact your employer directly about this scheme – and if they don’t offer it, why not?!

You (or more likely your company accountant!) can find out more on the details here.

Go Northeast bus company can operate salary sacrifice on your employer’s behalf.