• What is pay as you go?

    • Pay as you go (PAYG) is a new payment method that Transport for Wales will be rolling out across our network over the coming months and years.

      It will allow customers to travel across our network by tapping their contactless EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) credit/debit card or digital wallet on smartphone & smartwatch, at a gate line or yellow platform card/ticket reader.

  • How does pay as you go work?

    • You might already use this type of technology when purchasing goods at your local shop, or even when using the Transport for London network. On our network, customers will simply tap in at the start of their journey and tap out at the end, using our new pay as you go gate lines at Cardiff Central and Newport, or yellow platform card/ticket readers at Pontyclun, stations up to Ebbw Vale and platform 0 at Cardiff Central.

      The start and end taps will record the customers journey, and they will then be charged correctly for their journey. Our daily and weekly price caps mean that customers will get our best value fares for their journeys.

  • What if a customer wants to start their journey at one of the eleven stations, but end at a different destination?

    • Pay as you go is only available for journeys that start and end between Pontyclun, Cardiff Central, Newport and stations up to Ebbw Vale. If customers want to travel to or from any other station, they’ll need to pre-purchase a ticket from a ticket office, ticket vending machine, via the TfW app or tfw.wales.

  • When will pay as you go be available in my area?

    • Initially, the new pay as you go scheme will be available to use at 3 trial stations, Cardiff Central, Newport and Pontyclun*. From January 2024, pay as you go will gradually expand to other areas of the South East Wales Metro network.

      Further information will be available as pay as you go is rolled out across the network.

  • Pay as you go fares and capping

    • Pay as you go fares will typically be cheaper than current fares and will be capped at a daily and weekly level to improve value further.

      For the more information please visit, Pay as you go fares and capping.

  • Exclusions

    • The following exclusions apply when using pay as you go, however these are subject to change.

      • Pay as you go journeys are not currently available on GWR services.
      • No return journeys. Pay as you go operates a single adult journey only.
      • No group tickets. For group tickets, you’ll need to purchase from a ticket office.
      • Not permitted for first class travel.
      • No peak and off-peak times.
      • No child tickets, please visit tfw.wales/kids-go-free for affordable family travel.
      • Pay as you go does not support the use of concessionary cards.
  • What happens if a customer doesn’t ‘tap out’?

    • If a customer fails to tap out to complete their journey, they be liable for an incomplete journey. The system, in some cases, will complete the journey for them if there is a regular pattern of travel between locations. Incomplete journey charges will not be counted towards a customer’s daily/weekly cap.

  • Duration of travel for Pay as you go journeys.

    • Once a customer has tapped in, they can travel on the network for up to 2.5 hours before they need to tap out. If a customer reaches the 2.5 hour time limit and hasn’t tapped out they will be subject to an incomplete journey charge as detailed above.

  • What happens to abandoned journeys?

    • If a customer takes longer than 60 minutes to enter and exit at the same station, The amount of time a customer may exit at the same station is 60 minutes after which it will be considered to be 2 two separate incomplete journeys i.e. station to unknown and unknown to station and will be subject to the incomplete journey charges as detailed above.

      Exiting the station within 60-minues will not generate any charges for the customer.

  • How will Pay as you go customers claim for refunds, or Delay Repay?

    • As the scheme is based upon charging for journeys that have been made, refunds are not available.

      TfW Delay Repay functionality will be made available for Pay as you go customers during the pilot period. Further details on this will be provided later.

  • Charging Schedule Payments for completed journeys.

    • Where the customer has tapped in and tapped out, payment will be taken from their account the morning after the day of travel.  The settlement window completes the Wednesday after their travel week. In cases where customers query charges, they must do so within this time, once the transactions have settled. Customers will not be able to amend any of their travel history.

      Example:

      A customer travels 3 times between Monday and Sunday, but they forget to tap off for one of these journeys, they will be subject to an incomplete journey charge if we cannot see any frequent journeys to add an automatic missing tap.

      The customer will need to use the pay as you go application, if registered, to amend their journey history for this incomplete tap or contact the TfW contact centre by the following Wednesday.

  • What if I’m asked to show a ticket when using pay as you go?

    • Please let the train staff know you’re using pay as you go. They’ll ask you to tap your payment card or device on their inspection device to confirm you’ve tapped in. Make sure to use the same card or device you used at the start of your journey.

      If you haven’t tapped in before your journey, you will need to pay a penalty.

  • What is an inspection penalty?

    • We’ll issue a penalty if you didn’t tap in at the start of your journey using pay as you go. These penalties are higher than our regular pay as you go fares.

  • Can I get an inspection penalty refunded if I tap out?

    • No. Tapping out will not reverse an inspection penalty.

  • What if I couldn’t tap in for a reason that was no fault of my own?

    • If you couldn’t tap in due to something beyond your control, please let us know. We’ll review the situation, and in some cases, we may be able to refund your penalty.

  • What should I do if I don’t agree with an inspection penalty?

    • If you believe you were given a penalty by mistake, our customer support team are here to help.

      They’ll review your travel information and check if the penalty is valid.

 

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