Travel With Your Smart Card

University smart cards will soon be able to act like London’s Oyster Card in that students will be able to pay for travel around Newcastle with the card they already use to gain access to Uni buildings.

The scheme will be open to Newcastle University students and it will be possible to put Student MetroSaver tickets on their smart card for ease of use.

The developments follow the North East Smart Ticketing Initiative’s (NESTI) plan to modernize the formerly out of date Metro system in the city. Some stations including Monument already provide ticket machines that allows payment by card or notes instead of the tedious coin system which has been in place for 30 years.

Laura Perry, NUSU President explained that “it will make using public transport so much easier and convenient, without having to find the correct change or worry whether you have enough money when you’re trying to head home after a night out. For that reason, this should help people feel safer and less vulnerable, and will probably encourage more students to use public transport.”

It will also make travel outside Newcastle easier for students as the initiative will work around Tyne and Wear and Northumberland making those days out that little bit easier.

The enthusiasts among you will also enjoy the removal of peak fares in the new age of the Metro.

Existing students can go here to register their interest in adding travel to their smart card.