The smart ticketing rollout across South East Queensland has been completed, enabling commuters to use a variety of payment options when using public transport in the region.
This includes Brisbane City Council’s fleet of 1,300 buses – the last of 18 operators to attach to the smart ticketing scheme.
The new payment system was hoped to be up and running on all buses across the region by 2023. Translink said the delays faced were, in part, due to the Covid pandemic disrupting international supply chains.
Travellers are now able to use bank cards, smartphones or a smartwatch to pay the 50-cent fare when catching a Translink bus, train, tram or ferry. “The smart ticketing rollout makes public transport even more accessible to customers,” Minister for Transport Brent Mickelberg said.
Commuters preferring to use go cards will continue to be able to do so until a new reloadable card is developed for the smart ticketing system, meaning the two systems will coexist for the time being.
Figures show more than 25 per cent of customers on activated services are now using the smart ticketing technology, a figure expected to increase over time as the project progresses. Translink will continue to refine the system and address any issues that arise as more people adopt the smart system.
Leave a Reply