West Midlands Metro - News & Discussion

[Liam L]

Am I missing the relevance of that with the Midland Metro?

It will integrate together. Swift go cards currently work on Buses and Trams and will eventually work on the trains too

 

[E B]

It will integrate together. Swift go cards currently work on Buses and Trams and will eventually work on the trains too

Are Swift cards similar to Oyster?

 

[Liam L]

Are Swift cards similar to Oyster?

The Swift go cards are. The normal swift cards are direct debit ones where you pay a monthly direct debit and you get access to mode (or modes) of transport you pay for.

 

[Bungle965]

It will integrate together. Swift go cards currently work on Buses and Trams and will eventually work on the trains too

I am talking specifically about the Midland Metro, the PVALs unless these things have dramatically changed in the past few weeks the PVALs haven't been installed on the Metro.

National Rail I have seen the S&B PVALs being installed now

 

[Cross City]

The Swift go cards are. The normal swift cards are direct debit ones where you pay a monthly direct debit and you get access to mode (or modes) of transport you pay for.

It's all stupidly confusing. Just give us contactless card ticket gates and tap-on/off terminals couple with daily caps like any sensible modern city offers.

 

[AY1975]

Does seem like they are gearing up for pay before board (no date confirmed).

From the West Midlands Metro website it appears that they are currently transitioning to pay before boarding, which is planned to be fully in place by late September.

A lot of new staff being trained and the old ones who didn’t want to move over from ‘conductor’ to ‘revenue protection’ (not sure of the difference really) have now gone.

I think basically a conductor stays on the same tram for its entire journey whereas revenue protection staff move around between trams (and tram stops). It remains to be seen whether they do away with conductors as soon as pay before boarding has been fully implemented, though.

 

[E B]

The Swift go cards are. The normal swift cards are direct debit ones where you pay a monthly direct debit and you get access to mode (or modes) of transport you pay for.

Thank you

It's all stupidly confusing. Just give us contactless card ticket gates and tap-on/off terminals couple with daily caps like any sensible modern city offers.

Indeed. That would make multimodal transport incredibly easy

 

[Liam L]

It's all stupidly confusing. Just give us contactless card ticket gates and tap-on/off terminals couple with daily caps like any sensible modern city offers.

We always years behind everyone else. It's unbelievable that a region our size still hasn't had this.

 

[spp]

From the West Midlands Metro website it appears that they are currently transitioning to pay before boarding, which is planned to be fully in place by late September.

I think basically a conductor stays on the same tram for its entire journey whereas revenue protection staff move around between trams (and tram stops). It remains to be seen whether they do away with conductors as soon as pay before boarding has been fully implemented, though.

All the new staff I’ve encountered are for now staying on the same tram. Although have noticed a slight increase of trams with nobody on (used to be extremely rare) now I’d say it’s one in every 6 or 7).

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It's all stupidly confusing. Just give us contactless card ticket gates and tap-on/off terminals couple with daily caps like any sensible modern city offers.

Most (if not all) midland metro stations couldn’t have ticket gates.

 

[Cross City]

Most (if not all) midland metro stations couldn’t have ticket gates.

Hence why I said "and tap on tap off terminals" too.

 

[Connacht]

Is there any update on an opening date for the extension to Dudley? Thanks.

 

[spp]

They’re pressing ahead with the buy before you board changes.

Spoke to a conductor yesterday who told me by September 4th no more conductors riding on the tram and will be ‘revenue inspectors’ who will board the trams at given times but not stay onboard (hope this doesn’t delay, surely they’ll ride along till the next stop at least) then just a week later you will have to have a ticket before boarding or be fined, and that hes redundant as of 4th October.

No real grace period and that hadn’t been advertised anywhere until today ehen I noticed a poster up at one stop.

 

[Dstock7080]

Official announcement on the pay-before-boarding from 13 September 2026:

Metro urges customers to start Buying Before they Board - West Midlands Metro

From 13 September, customers must buy their ticket or have a valid pass before boarding the tram. Revenue Officers will check tickets and passes and issue a £100 penalty fare to anyone travelling without a valid ticket or pass.

www.westmidlandsmetro.com

From 13 September, conductors will be withdrawn from West Midlands Metro services, and customers will need to buy their ticket before they board the tram.
To help everyone get used to the change, Metro colleagues will be out across the network over the coming weeks, offering support and guidance as customers adjust to the new ticketing arrangements.

 

[Jonny78]

However, they still haven’t confirmed how swift go will work… this is an email I received after enquiring about how it will work earlier this week…

Hi Jon,

Thank you for your email.

We are meeting with the West Midlands Combined Authority on Thursday to discuss making Swift Go work in conjunction with our ticket machines. More information specifically about Swift Go will be released later this week.

Kind regards,

Libby

 

[P Binnersley]

For Swift Go you have to "tap" in and out using the ticket machines. You must use the machine on the same platform. Not sure how this works at island patforms.
Swift Go T&Cs

On the tram​

You must tap on and tap off every time you travel by tram. This records where your journey starts and ends so we can calculate the correct fare and apply the right cap.

Before you board the tram:

1. Go to the ticket machine on the platform you are travelling from.
2. Insert your Swift card into the Swift card reader.
3. Select ‘Tap on’ on the screen
4. Wait until you see the success message, before you board the tram.
5. Remove your Swift card from the Swift card reader.

Important: Always use the ticket machine on the platform you are travelling from. Do not cross to the opposite platform to tap on, even if there is a queue.

After you get off the tram:

1. Go to the ticket machine on the platform where you get off the tram.
2. Insert your Swift card into the Swift card reader on the ticket machine.
3. Select ‘Tap off’ on the screen.
4. Wait until you see the success message.
5. Remove your Swift card from the Swift card reader.

Important: Always tap off on the platform where your journey ends. Do not cross to the opposite platform to tap off, even if there is a queue.

If you don't do this, you will be charged a maximum journey charge or be liable to pay a £100 Penalty Fare for travelling without a valid ticket.

Keep your Swift card with you throughout your journey, as Revenue Officers may ask to check it.

For Swift PAYG (pay as you go) you still buy from the conductor on the tram!
Swift PAYG T&Cs

If you’re using pay-as-you-go Swift card, you’ll need to buy the ticket from the conductor on the tram. You may be asked to show your card at any time if a conductor wants to check it.

 

[Edvid]

For Swift Go you have to "tap" in and out using the ticket machines. You must use the machine on the same platform. Not sure how this works at island patforms.
Swift Go T&Cs

For a post-pay system that looks laborious. Instructions within a smartcard scheme to use ticket vending machines in a validation capacity - well I never!

For Swift PAYG (pay as you go) you still buy from the conductor on the tram!
Swift PAYG T&Cs

That link 404s and the quoted paragraph is shown here (within an expandable box) instead. It may even be out of date and TfWM still haven't made clear how to use it.

BTW unless I'm misreading the TfWM pages it sounds like Swift PAYG is just another means of buying paper bus/tram tickets rather than the equivalent of a bus/tram-only Oyster card.

 

[Jonny78]

For a post-pay system that looks laborious. Instructions within a smartcard scheme to use ticket vending machines in a validation capacity - well I never!


That link 404s and the quoted paragraph is shown here (within an expandable box) instead. It may even be out of date and TfWM still haven't made clear how to use it.

BTW unless I'm misreading the TfWM pages it sounds like Swift PAYG is just another means of buying paper bus/tram tickets rather than the equivalent of a bus/tram-only Oyster card.

It’s an utter failure of both planning and technology. One for a letter to my local councillor and also Mayor Richard - how long have TfL been doing payg capped fares now? Crazy.

 

[birchesgreen]

You have to insert the card and not just tap the reader with it? Seems rather old fashioned.

 

[Edvid]

Yes, their TVMs (supplied by Cammax) sport the same style of smartcard reader as those seen on TVMs supplied by Parkeon/Flowbird.

 

[Palmerston]

Is there any update on an opening date for the extension to Dudley? Thanks.

Potentially November 1st, but nothing official yet: https://www.britishtramsonline.co.uk/news/?p=64552

 

[MarkWi72]

My dad said it looks like a lot of work is being done in Flood Street, in Dudley. He said it looks like its ongoing with some of the track down. If he's right, it is unlikely that it will be running by Nov 1st. Or is it more advanced. I have noted the 'greyed out' maps of the Wednesbury - Merry Hill branch on the maps on the trams themselves, so thought it can;'t be far off from opening now.

 

[YassieJ]

I am quite finding the use of the TVMs for Swift Go to be quite tedious. It takes maybe about 5 - 10 sec, but when there is a queue at the TVM, it takes much longer because the person in front is buying their own ticket! If there's a long queue, you're waiting for an age just to leave or board. Absolutely ludicrous... If they had installed the tap readers as expected, then this wouldn't be an issue for Swift Go users are all.

The other tedium is that the ticket machines are located where there is space, not where is convenient to exit. For example, at St Chads if you arrive onto the Birmingham platform and want to exit to street level, you will need to walk down the platform then back again to the lifts.

The one thing I am concerned about is at island platforms like at Bull St. I have just used the ticket machine that is closest to where I enter the platform; how is a service user meant to work out what ticket machine is for which direction? It's all one platform, isn't it? Plus at Jewellery Quarter, the ticket machines are on the Wolverhampton platform adjacent to the rail platform, with none on the Birmingham platform. So how does that square with "always use the ticket machine on the platform you are travelling from"?

It's clear that they did not think this through at all. It's an incredibly tedious and baffling process to me. What is the hold up on installing those readers, didn't they promise to do this earlier this year?

 

[Edvid]

What is the hold up on installing those readers, didn't they promise to do this earlier this year?

They did promise, not that you'd know it if you checked their website today. I've submitted a FoI request to the WMM operator to ascertain why those readers haven't been installed yet.

 

[CyrusWuff]

WM Metro ticketing appears to have been specified by someone who has never worked in the transport industry.

This morning I attempted to try using Pay As You Go for a journey, but evidently I had the wrong type of PAYG as the TVM at the stop I boarded at would only let me use my PAYG balance to buy a ticket, not to start a PAYG journey.

Then there are the tickets themselves, which have no security features whatsoever and are printed in Times New Roman (or a very similar font) despite WMM now using Cammax TVMs.

Their mobile tickets aren't much better, though they do have an animated expiry countdown timer.

 

[meld3]

Has anyone seen any of these working recently ?

22, 26, 27, 32

i haven't seen any of them this year, so either I'm very unlucky or they are hidden somewhere....

 

[Big M]

Has anyone seen any of these working recently ?

22, 26, 27, 32

i haven't seen any of them this year, so either I'm very unlucky or they are hidden somewhere....

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22,26 and 32 are currently out of action.

 

[spp]

They did promise, not that you'd know it if you checked their website today. I've submitted a FoI request to the WMM operator to ascertain why those readers haven't been installed yet.

There are readers they’re just covered up by a blue plastic and have never been used. At some stations anyway

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Monday at 18:44 ==

My dad said it looks like a lot of work is being done in Flood Street, in Dudley. He said it looks like it’s ongoing with some of the track down. If he's right, it is unlikely that it will be running by Nov 1st. Or is it more advanced. I have noted the 'greyed out' maps of the Wednesbury - Merry Hill branch on the maps on the trams themselves, so thought it can;'t be far off from opening now.

They maps with the greyed out Wednesbury to Dudley line in have been up at stations and on trams for months now.

Another waste of money!!

 

[CyrusWuff]

There are readers they’re just covered up by a blue plastic and have never been used. At some stations anyway

Readers were installed at some Zone 1 stops (I noticed St Paul's, Bull Street, Corporation Street and Grand Central) overnight on Friday into Saturday, though they were still bagged up. Possibly trying to get them in ahead of the Conservative Party Conference.

 

[50002Superb]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Sunday at 23:09 ==

22,26 and 32 are currently out of action.

Do you know what’s wrong with them?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen 22 or 32 in action.

 

[Big M]

Do you know what’s wrong with them?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen 22 or 32 in action.

No, just that they are reported undergoing attention.