Plans for Pop cards to be used on North East buses

Work is being carried out to allow the Tyne and Wear Metro's Pop cards to be used across all the region's buses

A London-style ticketing system for the North East will be tested in the next year.

Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus said a system was being built that would allow customers to use a single card to travel on multiple buses across the region.

Councillors have long called for a smart ticketing system to be introduced to simplify public transport.

Newcastle councillor Thom Campion called the current system "complicated" and said passengers were "less likely to travel".

Mr Campion criticised Nexus for having 60 different tickets available on its website.

Nexus’ director of customer services Huw Lewis said a project was being developed that would use a smartcard to track passengers and calculate the correct fair.

The system is being funded through the region's £163m Bus Service Improvement Plan.

Pop cards can be used on Metro trains, buses and the Shields Ferry but work differently on each

Mr Lewis said: "It will be about a year before we are testing that, but it is a project that is taking place now to make it happen."

A recently launched range of day tickets has attempted to simplify bus travel by allowing passengers to travel across the whole region for £6.80 per day.

But Mr Campion, a Liberal Democrat councillor, called for improvements to the Tyne and Wear Metro's Pop cards work.

The travel cards can be used on Metro trains, buses and the Shields Ferry but the card works differently on each mode of transport.

On the Metro, Pop cards automatically calculate the correct fare but on buses they are used to pay for specific tickets.

On the Shields Ferry, customers can purchase cheaper single and day tickets using their Pop card.

Mr Campion said: “It is quite complicated for people who do not necessarily know [about day tickets] and unless we can get to a point where you can literally tap your Pop card and have that London-style system that includes everything, then there is going to be a really important piece of work to do."