West Midlands Metro is a Buy Before You Board network. This means customers must ensure that they are in possession of a ticket or other authority to travel before making their intended journey. Tickets must be valid for the time of day and all the zones through which they intend to travel.
Customers must retain their ticket whilst they are on the West Midlands Metro network and must allow an Authorised Officer to inspect it when requested.
Tickets are issued subject to these Conditions and in compliance with any other relevant terms and conditions published from time to time. Where a Ticket can be used to make a journey with another operator, the Conditions of Carriage of that operator shall apply to that portion of the journey.
Tickets can only be purchased from official outlets and can only be used by the person they were issued to. Unless specifically advertised, Tickets are not transferable and must not be resold or given to another person for further use. Doing so is an offence and may result in the seller/buyer being prosecuted.
The Company may at its sole discretion withdraw a Ticket if it believes that it has been intentionally misused, damaged, defaced, altered or tampered with in any way. In such circumstances, customers will not be entitled to a refund of any remaining value or Ticket validity.
If a Ticket (or photocard) is damaged to such an extent that any material marking is not clear, it will not be accepted as valid. We may at our discretion replace the Ticket/photocard providing we can confirm that it is still valid, subject to an administration fee.
The West Midlands Metro network is split into four zones: Zone 1 which covers stops within Birmingham City Centre, Zone 2 between Jewellery Quarter and Black Lake, Zone 3 from Black Lake to Priestfield and Zone 4 from Priestfield to Wolverhampton stops.
Tickets from one zone will not be valid in another and customers cannot travel through a zone without a ticket which is valid for that zone.
For example, a ticket for a journey from Grand Central to St Chads is classed as Zone 1 and cannot be used for travel to Wolverhampton St George’s which is in Zone 4. To complete this journey, you would need to have a Zone 1-4 ticket, as the journey travels through all four zones. A Zone 4 only ticket would also not be valid for this journey.
There are 3 stops (Jewellery Quarter, Black Lake and Priestfield) that are on the border of two zones, which means these stops are in two ticket zones. This can be seen on the published tram map where the stop name is in a white box. If you are starting or ending your journey at a border stop then your zone will depend on the direction of travel.
For example, Jewellery Quarter is on the border of Zone 1 and 2. Therefore, if you travel from Jewellery Quarter to a stop in Zone 1, you should treat Jewellery Quarter as a stop in Zone 1. If you travel to Zone 2 and beyond, you should treat Jewellery Quarter as a stop in Zone 2.
Before boarding any tram, customers must be in possession of a ticket or other authority to travel for the entire distance of their journey. The below table details acceptable ticket types:
Ticket | Type | Validity |
Single | Paper ticket | A single journey on 1 or more trams, completed within 90 minutes of issue. |
Day Ticket | Paper ticket/App ticket/Smartcard | Unlimited travel on West Midlands Metro services in the specified zones until the end of service on the date of travel shown. |
Family Ticket | Paper ticket/App ticket | Unlimited travel on West Midlands Metro services until the end of service on the date of travel shown. Valid for groups of 1 or 2 adults with 1 to 4 children |
7 day/28 day/Monthly/Annual season | App Ticket/Smartcard | Unlimited travel on West Midlands Metro services in the specified zones until the end of service on the date of travel shown. |
Tram tickets classed as ‘off-peak’ are only valid for travel after 9.30 am on Monday to Friday but at any time on Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays.
Child rate fares are available for those aged five to fifteen years (5–15) inclusive, except where alternative arrangements are advertised. Customers may be required to provide proof of age.
Customers aged 16 years or over must pay the adult rate fare, unless in possession of a 16-18 photocard issued by the West Midlands Combined Authority which allows eligible persons to pay a reduced fare at specified times and subject to the terms and conditions of the 16-18 Photocard Scheme.
Tram-only family tickets are valid for up to six people. At least one but no more than two must be adults aged 16 and over. Each family group must contain at least one adult and one child. Off-peak for family tickets is after 18:00 Mon-Fri and any time on Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays.
Student product holders must be aged 16 or over and in full-time education studying at a recognised educational establishment for at least 12 hours per week. Holders must be in full-time education for at least 12 weeks after the start date of a one-term product or until at least the end date of a Summer Special product or the 1st June of the academic year for a two-term or three-term product. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the product being withdrawn without remuneration of any remaining product validity.
Swift Cards that do not have a valid ticket loaded on to it will not be accepted, and a Penalty Fare may be applicable. All tickets will be rendered invalid if altered, mutilated or defaced.
West Midlands Metro participates in several multi-operator schemes, which allow travel on the tram alongside travel on local buses and trains. The schemes valid on the tram are listed below:
*nnetwork Zones 1 & 2 Tickets are NOT valid for travel on West Midlands Metro.
Ticket | Type | Validity |
Day Ticket (nbus+metro, nnetwork day, network daytripper) | Paper ticket/App ticket (nbus+metro only)/Smartcard | Unlimited travel on local bus/bus & rail services and West Midlands Metro services until the end of service on the date of travel shown. |
nnetwork Daytripper Family Ticket | Paper ticket | Unlimited travel on local bus, rail and West Midlands Metro services after 09:30 (Mon-Fri), until the end of service on the date of travel shown. Valid for groups of 1 or 2 adults with 1 to 4 children |
7 day/28 day/Monthly/Annual season | App Ticket (bus+metro only)/Smartcard | Unlimited travel on local bus/bus & rail services and West Midlands Metro services in the specified zones until the end of service on the date of travel shown. |
Child rate fares are available for those aged five to fifteen years (5–15) inclusive, except where alternative arrangements are advertised. Customers may be required to provide proof of age.
Customers aged 16 years or over must pay the adult rate fare, unless in possession of a 16-18 photocard issued by the West Midlands Combined Authority which allows eligible persons to pay a reduced fare at specified times and subject to the terms and conditions of the 16-18 Photocard Scheme.
nnetwork family tickets are valid for up to six people. At least one but no more than two must be adults aged 16 and over. Each family group must contain at least one adult and one child. Off-peak for nnetwork family tickets is after 09:30 Mon-Fri and any time on Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays.
Student product holders must be aged 16 or over and in full time education studying at a recognised educational establishment for at least 12 hours per week. Holders must be in full time education for at least 12 weeks after the start date of a one term product or until at least the end date of a Summer Special product or the 1st June of the academic year for a two term or three term product. Failure to meet this criteria will result in the product being withdrawn without remuneration of any remaining product validity.
Swift Cards that do not have a valid ticket loaded on to it will not be accepted and a Penalty Fare may be applicable.
All tickets will be rendered invalid if altered, mutilated or defaced.
Holders of an older persons or disabled persons travel pass issued by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) are entitled to free travel on West Midlands Metro services after 09:30.
Passes issued by other local authorities are NOT valid for travel on West Midlands Metro services.
Customers must hold their concessionary pass with them at all times whilst travelling on the West Midlands Metro network.
Customers must present their concessionary pass if requested to do so by an Authorised Officer. Travel prior to 09:30 or using a concessionary pass issued by an alternative local authority may result in a Penalty Fare being issued.
Concessionary passes remain the property of the issuing local authority.
Some tickets are available to purchase via the West Midland Metro Mobile Application (“The App”), which is valid on Mobile Device operating systems running either Android or IOS. Compatibility is not guaranteed on other operating systems.
Products and promotions may be added or withdrawn from the app without notice at any time, with tickets made available on the My Metro app at the sole discretion of West Midlands Metro.
It is the customer’s responsibility to ensure that they carry their Mobile Device on the relevant journey and that their Mobile Device is charged, functional, displaying the correct date and time and that they are able to display the ticket on your Mobile Device for inspection when travelling.
Mobile tickets must be activated from within the Mobile Application. The Mobile Device must be capable of running the Mobile Application and clearly presenting the Mobile ticket in a legible manner.
By purchasing a Mobile Ticket, customers agree to cooperate with an Authorised Officer and let him/her clearly view the ticket on their Mobile Device. If a ticket is not shown upon request by the Officer, they shall be entitled to consider that customers are travelling without a ticket and issue a Penalty Fare.
We reserve the right to refuse travel on invalid Mobile tickets or if used on a stolen phone.
If customers are found to be using the MyMetro app fraudulently we reserve the right to terminate their account, and no refunds will be offered for outstanding tickets. Examples of fraudulent use include but are not limited to: Multiple log-ins on the same account, screen grabs of tickets, Gifs to simulate ticket validity, failure to activate tickets.
To protect against ticketing fraud the My Metro app account will be linked to the customer’s mobile device. Customers will be able to change the registered device automatically once every 30 days, with any subsequent changes within this time period needing to be escalated to [email protected] who will review these requests on a case by case basis.
Mobile tickets are not transferable and may only be used by the registered phone user. Mobile tickets do not give priority over other passengers.
Customers must allow an Authorised Officer to examine their ticket at any time during their journey if they are requested to do so.
Customers should not attempt to use a ticket or smartcard which has:
If a customer is found to be on a West Midlands Metro vehicle, or on a West Midlands Metro stop platform having just alighted from a vehicle, without a ticket or pass or other approved authorisation to travel valid for their journey, they will be liable to pay a Penalty Fare of £100 and may be liable to prosecution.
Penalty Fares must be paid within 28 days of issue. If a customer pays within 14 days they will benefit from a 50% reduction. Payment of the Penalty Fare will be accepted either over the telephone or via the web portal – payments in cash are not accepted. Failure to make payment may result in legal proceedings being commenced in order to recover any outstanding debt
Customers issued with a Penalty Fare may appeal against the notice at any point within the 28 day period. Customers must check the circumstances in which an appeal may be permitted, with details found on the West Midlands Metro website and the card handed to them when the Penalty Fare is issued. If circumstances apply where an appeal may be permitted, Customers must complete the online Penalty Fare appeal form that can be accessed via the same webpage (or send the appeal in writing to Penalty Fare Appeals, Metro Centre, Potters Lane, Wednesbury, WS10 0AR)
Tickets with a validity of 1 day or shorter are non-refundable and customers should ensure that they have bought the correct ticket for their journey.
If a customer experiences issues with a Ticket Vending Machine, they should press the customer assistance button located at each stop. The customer service team will attempt to resolve issues immediately, but this may take up to 10 business days in the case of more complex issues. West Midlands Metro will issue refunds where appropriate on a weekly basis, and customers should allow 3-5 business days for funds to arrive into their account.
If customers no longer need their season ticket, they may be able to claim a refund for 90% of the outstanding validity of the ticket, calculated from when West Midlands Metro receives the refund request, less a £5.50 administration charge.
Please contact Customer Services on 0345 835 8181 or email [email protected]
Season tickets are sold at a discounted rate and 90% of the outstanding value of the ticket takes into account the discounted travel customers have benefited from by holding a season ticket instead of buying day or week tickets. This means the refund will not be the exact remaining value of the pass.
For tickets bought through the Direct Debit Scheme, refunds are not available – customers must give at least one month’s notice by telephone, email or in writing of their intention to cease Direct Debit payments.
