Students at the Newcastle University located in the northeast of England will soon be able to use their campus smart card to travel around the city on the Tyne and Wear Metro, according to nebusiness.

A pilot scheme recently launched between the North East Smart Ticketing Initiative (NESTI) and the university aims towards making smart cards part of everyday life in the region, eventually reaching up to 20,000 students when it is fully rolled out.

Students will be able to place MetroSaver tickets on their university cards, which will be usable at Metro ticket machines and to activate new gate lines and smart validators stations, already installed ready for launch later this year.

University officials say the move will make using public transport much easier and convenient for students, without having to find the correct change or worry whether they have enough money when boarding the Metro.

Newcastle University students already access buildings, libraries and student union facilities with their University issued smart card.

With the pilot underway, students will also be able to use the same card to pay for Metro travel and buy season tickets, enjoying all the benefits of the Pop Card, which works in a similar way to London’s Oyster Card.

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