TYNE AND WEAR METRO

CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE

August 2002

Explanation of Terms

In these Conditions:

• `We' and `us' means Metro and our agents

• `You' means any customer holding one of our tickets or using our stations, Travelshops, and trains

We have tried to make the wording of these conditions as clear as possible, but we have given certain words and phrases special meanings as shown below.

Authorised Permission given by a member of staff, police officer, or by an official notice or sign;

Child Fare tickets Tickets available to children aged between 5 and 13 (inclusive). Under 5s travel free. Children and young people aged between 5 and 16 who are resident in Tyne and Wear are eligible for concessionary fares under the Tyne and Wear Concessionary Fares Scheme. Further details in section 4.3;

Compulsory ticket area Generally includes all platforms, trains, and access routes to and from platforms (excluding Sunderland Station). Additionally, in the case of stations which have barriers, all of the station area within the barriers;

Concessionary fare A cheaper fare available to some customers, usually with a permit confirming entitlement to the concession, e.g. children/young people aged up to 16, elderly and disabled people who live in Tyne and Wear qualify for a range of concessionary fares under the Tyne and Wear Concessionary Fares Scheme. Further details in section 4.3;

Contractors The bus and taxi companies who run services on behalf of Metro (see also `Our staff' and `Staff');

Metro The light rail system in Tyne and Wear, operated by Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE);

National Rail Formerly British Rail. Trains run by Train Operating Companies on the national rail network. Stations managed by train operating companies or Railtrack;

Nexus The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (PTE);

Our staff People employed by us and working for us (see list of Nexus Travelshops in Appendix 1);

Penalty Fare A higher fare which can be charged in circumstances set out in The Strategic Rail Authority's (SRA) Penalty Fares Rules 2002. Information is available on the SRA's website: www.sra.gov.uk;

Staff People employed by contractors who work for us, including some cleaning staff, conductors, members of the police or emergency services and other contractors;

Zones The ticket zones set out on Metro's maps, in literature relating to Metrosaver season tickets and Network Ticketing Ltd.

1. Introduction

1.1 This booklet contains the Conditions of Carriage relating to the Tyne & Wear Metro operated by Nexus. These Conditions of Carriage set out your rights and any restrictions of those rights.

• The Tyne & Wear Metro Byelaws;

2 Useful Contacts

2.1 We aim to be fair and responsive in all our dealings with customers. Complaints about our service or suggestions for improvement are always welcome. Full details of how to comment or complain are contained in the Metro Passenger's Charter. If you have a problem with your journey please speak to a member of staff. If a member of staff is not available, you should use the nearest station Help Point, from where assistance is available at all times when trains are running.

Telephone - 0191 203 3199 - open 7.00 a.m to 11.00 p.m. on weekdays, and 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m. on weekends and bank holidays. Fax. 0191 203 3309.

E-mail - [email address]

Customer Response Forms - Obtainable from Nexus Travelshops, Inspectors, Customer Service Agents or Conductors.

In Writing - Address your letter to the Metro Communications Manager, Tyne and Wear Metro, PO Box 28, South Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 1PZ

Within three working days of receiving your comment or complaint we will acknowledge it or send you a full reply within ten working days. If an investigation takes longer, we will write to tell you when a full reply will be sent.

2.3 Other useful addresses and telephone numbers are:

3. Services, Safety and Passenger Comfort

3.2 If the service is withdrawn due to a fault or planned engineering work, Metro will provide alternative travel arrangements, depending on the circumstances. These will normally be by way of either replacement buses, taxis, shuttle services, or the acceptance of Metro tickets on other commercial services. Advice will be given on which alternative arrangements will be in place through regular public address announcements, or by staff on stations, Travelshops, and Help Points. In the case of cancellation of last trains, a replacement train will be provided or, failing that, taxis will be provided for stranded passengers.

3.3 You may use any Metro train if you have a ticket that is valid for your entire journey. Our services are often heavily used so we cannot guarantee to carry you, or to provide you with a seat.

3.4 We reserve the right to close entrances to, and exits from, our stations and to refuse entry to or require you to leave our premises, or trains, at any time. In most cases this will be for reasons of safety, but it may also apply to the conduct of passengers, for which offenders may be liable for prosecution under the Metro Byelaws.

3.5 For your own safety and the safety of others, you must follow instructions given by staff including contractors, the police and members of the emergency services.

3.6 You must comply with the Metro Byelaws.

3.7 In the interests of safety and the comfort of fellow passengers you must not:

• Smoke on Metro

• Carry lit cigarettes and light matches or cigarette lighters on Metro

• Use roller skates, or skateboards on trains or platforms

These are offences that may result in us refusing entry to passengers or in prosecution (see section 3.4).

3.8 In cases of emergency, exit from the trains will be through doors. If they cannot be opened by the driver automatically, any person will be able to open the doors by means of the emergency door handles situated at each doorway. The doors will not open until the train has stopped. Misuse of the emergency door handles is an offence under the Metro Byelaws and may result in prosecution.

3.9 In the interests of safety, it is important that you allow passengers to leave a train, or lift, before you enter.

3.10 Begging and unauthorised busking is not permitted on Metro. Metro does approve certain busking opportunities at selected stations. Any person wishing to busk on Metro must book performances and register in person at the Metro Travelshop at Central station. All authorised buskers must comply with the rules and regulations laid out in the “Instructions for Buskers” information which is made available when registering.

4. Tickets, Travel Permits and Photocards

4.1 Duty to have a ticket. You must have a ticket that is valid for the whole of the journey being made. The ticket must be made available for inspection on demand by authorised collectors who will have the authority to withdraw tickets. You must use it in accordance with the conditions set out in this booklet and it must be returned to us, or destroyed, as soon as you have finished using it. All tickets remain the property of Metro.

Failure to pay the correct fare for the journey being made may make you liable for payment of a penalty fare or excess fare, or prosecution (see section 5).

4.5 Use of tickets. Our tickets can only be used by the person for whom they were bought, or to whom they were issued (except the Metro Business Pass, where separate conditions apply). Tickets cannot be resold or passed on for further use. Such tickets will be invalid and offenders may be liable for prosecution.

4.6 Duty to show tickets. You must have your ticket (and photocard if needed) ready for inspection at any time during your journey and when alighting from the train onto the platform. You must retain your ticket for inspection until you have left the Metro station at your destination and you must hand it over for examination by a member of staff or a police officer if you are asked to do so.

4.7 If you are unable to buy a ticket due to faults with ticket machines you should use a station Help Point and explain the situation to Metro staff in the Control Room. Your name and the ticket machine numbers will be noted and you can then commence your journey. If you meet an inspector please explain the circumstances. The details can be verified through radio contact with the Control Centre and you will be issued a ticket by the inspector. If you do not meet an inspector you should pay for your journey at the station at which you alight.

4.8 Travel permits. If a travel permit is being used which contains a photocard, the photograph on your photocard must match your appearance, and the photocard number must match the one on your ticket. If they do not match, your ticket is invalid and may be withdrawn by an authorised member of staff. The photocard may also be withdrawn.

If you are using a Child Fare All Day Permit and your appearance has changed significantly since it was first issued, you must return to the place where the travel permit was issued for advice about a replacement. Alternatively, you can contact 0191 203 3211.

4.10 Travelling beyond ticket availability. If you wish to travel beyond the availability of your ticket or before or after the times that it is valid you must buy an additional ticket before you board the train.

4.11 Compulsory ticket areas on Metro are the trains and the station platforms as stated in the Explanation of Terms at the start of this document.

5 Suspected Fare Evasion

5.5 If we think that the details on your ticket, travelticket or travel permit have been altered, we will withdraw it and will not replace it or give a refund. You may also be liable to prosecution.

6.1 Refunds on unused single and return tickets purchased from our ticket vending machines, or reimbursement of money lost in a Metro Ticket Machine due to mechanical failure or vandalism, are made in accordance with the Metro Passenger's Charter.

6.2 If you lose money in a ticket machine because it fails to issue a ticket or give the correct change, you can apply for an immediate refund. If you buy a ticket which you do not use due to train cancellations or service disruption you can also claim an immediate refund. Please speak to an Inspector, call at a Nexus Travelshop, or apply to the Metro Communications Unit at South Gosforth, telephone (0191) 203 3199.

6.3 If, because of our failure, you wait on a platform for more than 15 minutes longer than advertised, or the Metro train you are on is delayed by more than 15 minutes, we will refund you with a voucher equal to the value of the ticket for that delayed journey (concessionary rates for concessionary tickets).

6.4 Metrosaver Season Ticket Discounts

If we fail by more than a small margin, we will offer discounts to passengers holding Metrosaver season tickets valid for 4 weeks or a year, when they renew their tickets.

5% discount

If on average over the previous 4 weeks, or year, either punctuality has been below 89.5% (i.e. trains arriving within 3 minutes of the advertised time), or reliability has been below 97.5% (i.e. cancelled trains), we will give a discount of 5%.

10% discount

If both punctuality and reliability were below those thresholds we will give a discount of 10%.

To claim a discount you will need to buy your new ticket within four weeks of the expiry of the old one. If the new ticket is not for the same period and/or zones, the discount you will receive will be that which you would have received had you renewed your ticket like for like.

6.6 Where a ticket has been purchased for use on a specific day and a passenger can demonstrate that they have been unable to use it on that day they will be able to apply for a refund in the normal way.

7.1 We are committed to making travel easier, especially for people whose mobility is impaired, including those with small children or pushchairs. The Metro system is designed to be accessible for those with impaired mobility.

7.2 Access to all platforms is either level access, lifts or by sloping ramps. At several stations, lifts are available for mobility impaired passengers to access and exit the platforms.

7.3 Access between the platform and the train is with only a minimal gap between the platform edge and the train.

Address: Nexus Access & Mobility Unit, Nexus House, St James Boulevard,

Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 4AX

7.6 For safety reasons pushchairs should not be taken on escalators.

8.1 Luggage and Possessions

For safety reasons, and for the comfort of customers, we have to restrict the amount and type of luggage and possessions that you can take with you on Metro. You may, at the discretion of staff, take with you the following items provided they do not cause an obstruction, and are not put on seats:

• personal luggage

• pushchairs and buggies

• prams

• folded bicycles

• any other item provided that it is not dangerous or likely to injure anyone

You may not take:

• unfolded bicycles

• any item that is more than 2 metres long

• hazardous or inflammable substances

• any item which you are unable to carry yourself (including up and down stairways and escalators)

We can refuse permission for you to take any item on to a Metro. If you are in any doubt over a particular item, please contact Metro. (See 2.2 for details)

We reserve the right to restrict the carriage of items when there is a need for increased security. If we think that unattended property may be a security threat, the police or security services may destroy it.

Please keep your possessions with you at all times.

8.2 Animals

8.2.1 You can take with you without charge a dog trained for disabled people.

8.2.2 A concessionary single ticket must be bought for any other type of dog. Any such animal carried on Metro must either be on a lead or carried in a suitable container and must not be put on seats. We can refuse permission for you to take an animal on our trains if this condition is not met or if the animal is likely to cause discomfort to other passengers.

8.2.4 Staff are not allowed to take charge of any animal.

8.3 Lost Property

8.3.1 If you find any lost property on our trains or premises, please alert a member of staff immediately, for example, the train driver.

8.3.2 If you lose something on a train, contract us at the Metro Travelshop Central Station, telephone 0191 203 3186, where lost property is normally held. Please contact us as soon as possible but allow 2 working days for the item to be delivered to the Travelshop. If it is possible to identify the owner of the property, Nexus will endeavour to contact that person to advise them that it has been found.

8.3.3 Lost Property may be reclaimed from the Metro Travelshop at Central Station. We reserve the right to charge an administration fee, currently £2 per item, on collection of lost property. The opening hours of the Lost Property Department are shown in section 2.3 of this document.

8.3.4 If any item of Lost Property is not claimed within 28 days from when we received it, the item will be disposed of as we think fit. Please note that perishable items will be disposed of immediately.

9.1 Bicycles are not conveyed on Metro. Folding bicycles, in their fully folded state, are permitted. However, bicycle racks are provided at some of our stations. You may leave your bicycle at a rack, providing that it is not left in a position that causes an obstruction or hindrance to other people using the Metro.

9.2 Bicycles left at the racks are left entirely at the risk of the owners. Metro accepts no liability for loss or damage to bicycles left at Metro stations.

9.3 FREE* cycle locker hire is available at several Metro stations throughout the system. For details on the hire of these lockers call the Commercial and Retail Section on (0191) 203 3315 or call into Monument Travelshop in person.

*£10 deposit refundable.

Appendix 1

List of Nexus Travelshops

Central TravelShop, Newcastle

Four Lane Ends Metro

Gateshead Metro Interchange

Haymarket Metro

Heworth Metro

MetroCentre Bus Station

Monument Metro

North Shields Metro

South Shields Metro

Sunderland, Park Lane

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