What is the Pop Card?

What is Pop Pay As You Go?

The Pop card is Nexus's reloadable smart card for travel on public transport in the North East of England. The main product is Pop Pay As You Go (PAYG), which lets you load credit onto the card and pay for journeys as you make them. You touch in at the start of your journey and touch out at the end — Nexus calculates the cheapest fare for the journey and deducts it from your balance.

Pop PAYG can be used on the Tyne and Wear Metro, on almost all buses in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham and the Tees Valley, on the Shields Ferry, and on the Northumberland Line.

How it works on Metro

Touch your card on the yellow validator or orange gate reader when you enter the station, and again when you leave. Nexus calculates the cheapest fare for your journey and deducts it from your balance. There is a daily price cap — once you reach it, you won't be charged for any further Metro journeys that day, as long as you continue to touch in and out.

If you don't touch in or out, your journey will be incomplete and you may be charged a maximum fare — so always remember to touch in and out.

What does it cost to get one?

The Pop PAYG card itself is free, but it must be purchased with a minimum £5 balance. You can get one online at nexus.org.uk, or at any Metro station ticket machine.

Is it cheaper than buying a ticket?

Yes. Pop PAYG is cheaper than buying adult single and day tickets. The daily price cap means you'll never pay more than a set daily amount no matter how many Metro journeys you make, as long as you touch in and out every time.

Other Pop card products

As well as Pay As You Go, the Pop card platform is used for Metro Season Tickets, Student Season Tickets, Corporate Tickets, the Metro Gold Card for concessionary pass holders, Pop Blue for 16–21 year olds, and the Under 16 Pop card. Each is a separate product loaded onto a Pop card.