Reporter David Humphreys was one of 50 people to take part in the initial Merseyrail trial
David Humphreys outside Moorfields after walking to and from Everton’s new stadium
It has been a big few years for Merseyrail. The roll-out of new trains was met with much fanfare in 2023 as part of the move towards delivering a London-style transport network, even if those trains have had their fair share of issues.
Everton’s long awaited new stadium has shone a light on Sandhills, with changes hopefully making journeys easier, quicker and safer to serve the number of fans using the station for matches at Hill Dickinson Stadium. People have also been calling for a faster, smoother ticketing system.
After years of waiting, a trial began earlier this summer across the Liverpool City Region for 50 people to test out a tap and go system that has long been in place in the capital and major cities around the world.
Now, after successfully rolling out that experimental phase, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram confirmed at long last passengers will now be able to tap in and tap out on train journeys using a Metro card.
The scheme removes the need to queue for tickets and guarantees the lowest fare on all journeys. Linking a bank account to a MetroCard takes just a few minutes.
It is the first phase of a staggered roll out of the project that will eventually lead to passengers being able to tap in and out with bank cards. As luck would have it, I was one of the few selected for the initial trial and the extension of the scheme is nothing but a good thing.
I must stress this was completely at random, I applied like any other commuter would have done, popped my details down and received an email from the combined authority confirming I was on board.
The new Tap & Go card.(Pic Andrew Teebay).(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
My commute from the north end of the city into Moorfields proved to be the perfect setting for this test, meaning I could use my Metro card every day on my way to work. The system uses the smartcard to track your journeys across the Merseyrail network across a 24 hour period.
On my way into work, rather than join the queues I would walk down the platform and place my card – available for £1 at any station – on the yellow platform validator. With a little beep and a green flash on the screen, it knows my journey has begun.
A little more than 12 minutes later, arriving at Moorfields and ascending the single escalator because one has been out of action for a number of weeks now, I place the card back on the gates at the station and move on with my day.
No more faffing about finding the ticket in my wallet or my pocket, straightening it out to fit among a queue of other people trying to get to work then for some reason the machine rejects it because it was slightly not straight.
You simply walk up, tap and go. I’ve made hundreds of journeys with it so far as I normally would with a railpass and it is that easy.
It also removes the need to wake up in a cold sweat on a Sunday night having forgotten to buy my weekly pass and quickly tap in my details to buy one.
The card is also linked to my bank account, so upon registering I had the simple task of adding the details to my account and letting the card do the rest.
The next day I receive an update via email to confirm I have been billed accordingly. The second phase will launch after that and allow passengers to be able to use their bank card, or devices such as phones or watches, without the need for a MetroCard.
The new system is another way to help and encourage more people out of their cars and on to buses, trains and ferries. Users will also still be able to buy season tickets, as well as daily and return tickets from rail stations and online via the Metro Portal.
There had been hopes the £10m project would have gone live last Autumn but we are here at last. Mr Rotheram told me last week the next phase of testing will go live later this year making bank cards and phones a target for next year.
It can’t come soon enough.