'Mode': AROUND
Category: Subway/Metro
Getting TO/AROUND: Buying Metro tickets can be tricky. Take coins with you, as notes and cards are not accepted in the machines, and only a few stations have change machines.
Secondly, the ticket machines are nearly 30 years old (even though they've been refurbished to look newer), and they are finnicky about accepting even slightly dirty coins. The best way, I've found, is to rub both sides of the coin on a handkerchief before inserting it.
The machines sell single/return tickets, and two types of day ticket - the DaySaver and Day Rover - allowing unlimited travel within a 1 day period. The DaySaver is valid on all Metro services, the Shields ferry, the yellow Quaylink buses, and train services between Sunderland and Newcastle. The Day Rover is more expensive, but it also gives validity on all buses within Tyne and Wear, and train services to and from the MetroCentre.
A special type of single ticket - called a Transfare - is available if you want to take a Metro to a particular station, followed by a bus to your final destination. This is cheaper than buying two separate tickets. (Transfares are also available from bus drivers, if you're doing it the other way round.)
For longer periods of unlimited travel, weekly, monthly, and annual tickets are available, but they must be purchased from a Travelshop (inside larger Metro stations), and a passport-sized photo must be provided. There are two types: MetroSaver (same validity as DaySaver above) and Network Travelticket (same validity as Day Rover).
Some honesty is expected when travelling, as the Metro is an "open" system. A few stations have ticket barriers, but these haven't actually worked since the 1980s! Just push the turnstile and you'll go straight through.
Regular ticket checks are conducted on trains, so if you think you can get away with not paying, beware. A fine of £20 is charged if you don't have a ticket, and the Metro regularly names and shames fare dodgers on its monthly "loser list".
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on Jul 17, 2007
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