Using the new Pay-As-You-Go system, I even made it to Newport on a single fare for the entire day
SPENDING a day travelling Cardiff by train may seem like a waste of time and money, but after testing out a new way to pay, it was cheaper than I expected it to be.
This was because I travelled using the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) system offered by Transport for Wales (TfW), letting me pay for travel by tapping my card or phone in and out at ticket barriers.
Taking seven train journeys around the city – including one to Newport – set me back only £5.90 using PAYG. The total cost of the journeys with standard tickets was £13.80, which meant a saving of almost £7.90.
Anyone who uses the city’s buses may be used to paying for journeys by tapping their card or phone when entering and exiting buses.
But, you may not be aware that this new way to pay, which has already been used for over 150,000 journeys since launching in November last year, can also be used on Cardiff trains.
To find out more about how it worked, I spent a day travelling on trains to test out the system for myself.
How the experiment went
I started my day by catching a train from Cathays to Cardiff Central to get to Cardiff University’s JOMEC building. Living near the station, it wasn’t long before my first tap of the day and I was through the barriers on to the platform.
After doing a bit of work, it wasn’t long before my second train of the day, which took me all the way to Newport. After a stop in café, it was soon time to head back to Cardiff.
At this point in the day, I’d already hit my daily price cap of £5.90. This is one of the main benefits of using PAYG, as it provides daily and weekly fare caps, meaning that commuters will never spend more a predetermined amount.
▼ Where can I go?
Commuters can use the new pay as you go system across the South Wales Metro area, which covers trains running between Bridgend and Newport and from Barry Island up to the Valleys.
Just like the London Underground, the area has been split into zones, with travel in different zones costing different amounts. For example, traveling between Cardiff and Newport takes place in Zone 1, but travelling to Bridgend from Cardiff means entering Zone 5, which costs more.
▼ How am I saving money?
Transport for Wales say that using PAYG offers the cheapest equivalent ‘anytime’ fare for journeys.
For example, an ‘anytime return’ ticket to travel from Cardiff Central to Newport costs £7.40. Making the same journey using PAYG, you would instead be charged £5.40.
Using PAYG also offers daily and weekly price caps. Travel within Zone 1 is capped at £5.90 for the day and £17.70 for the week, meaning that you are not charged for any other trains taken after paying this amount. However, travel costs and fare caps in other zones do differ.
▼ Is this system too complicated for me?
TfW say that using pay as you go offers smoother train travel for commuters. However, those using the system must use the same card to tap in and out, to ensure they’re charged the proper amount owed.
Commuters must also remember to tap out when leaving stations or be charged for an incomplete journey and face extra fares.
By linking your card with the TfW app, it’s possible to keep track of your journey history and also mark journeys as complete should you forget to tap out.
After taking three trains in Zone 1, which covers the Cardiff area, I’d spent more than £5.90, which meant that I wasn’t charged for any trains over that limit.
That was good news for me, as I still had plenty of travel left to go. Taking the train to the Bay involved tapping in once again at Cardiff Central. I was confused as to where I should tap out when I arrived as Cardiff Bay station lacks ticket barriers.
However, there was a PAYG point near the exit where I could tap my phone to complete my journey and avoid extra charges.
Before long, it was time to head back to Cathays to finish the day. I’ll admit I was a little worried when the conductor asked for my ticket, as seeing that I didn’t have one he might have thought I was fare-dodging.
But, after all explaining that I was using PAYG, all I had to do was tap my phone against his card reader to confirm I’d paid.
After tapping my card one last time at Cathays, it was down to TfW to figure out my fare for the day. Waking up the following morning, I was greeted by a notification saying that I’d been charged £5.90 for the day, exactly as I expected.
What do the experts say?
Professor Mark Barry, who first conceived the South Wales Metro and has been closely involved in its development, said that the PAYG system plays a crucial part in making train travel smoother for commuters.
“The fact that you can tap on and off removes barriers to entry, making transport frictionless and easier to use,” he said.
But, Prof Barry said, those who haven’t used similar systems to pay before may feel hesitant to use it, suggesting that the way to encourage usage may be to “make it more difficult to use other options and even easier to use pay as you go.”
Alexia Course, Chief Commercial Officer at Transport for Wales said: “We want to offer customers the fastest, easiest and cheapest ticket offer and tap on, tap off ticketing allows us to do this.
“We are proud to be one of the first train operators outside of London to be using this technology at 95 of our stations across South Wales. This was one of our huge promises around the South Wales Metro and it’s now been delivered and has become our fastest selling product.”
- More detail on how the Pay as You Go system operates can be found on the Transport for Wales website
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