Pensioners travelling on the Tyne and Wear Metro rail system will face increases in concessionary fares from Sunday.

The move was given the green light by the Passenger Transport Authority at a meeting in September last year.

Metro operators Nexus has blamed the rise on a need to balance the books following an expected shortfall in revenue in the coming year.

Lower than expected passenger numbers on the new Sunderland extension line and fare dodgers have been a factor in the revenue dip.

From Sunday, the basic fare for a pensioner will rise from a maximum of 30p for a single journey to 50p, while on the buses half fares up to a maximum of 50p will apply.

But the start time of concessionary travel has been brought forward from 0930 to 0900 GMT.

The cost of travelling between the four zones on Tyneside and Wearside will be most marked, with fares rounded up by 11% to �1, �1.50 and �2.