We\u2019ve been waiting with bated breath for the long-awaited launch of contactless payments across Perth\u2019s public transport system \u2013 and the wait is finally over, with new payment options set to go live from Monday, December 8. <\/p>\n
That means that within just a few short weeks, you\u2019ll be able to tag on and off public transport in Perth using your physical debit or credit card, as well as with your phone, smart watch or other device with a digital wallet. <\/p>\n
If using the new payment options, you\u2019ll still only be charged at the current Transperth cash rate \u2013 which means you won\u2019t pay any more than $5.20 for a single journey anywhere on the network. <\/p>\n
However, this will be even cheaper from January 1, when the one-zone fare cap will be introduced \u2013 with a maximum cash fare of $3.50 applied for a single journey. <\/p>\n
Contactless payments will also be expanded across regional services before the end of the year, with Bunbury, Busselton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Albany passengers included from the December 8 launch, and Geraldton, Karratha and Port Hedland to follow. <\/p>\n
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and South Perth MP Geoff Baker.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also been confirmed that there won\u2019t be any surcharges added to these new contactless payment options, with any levies or costs to be absorbed by the State Government. <\/p>\n
Importantly, you\u2019ll need to tag on and off each journey using the same card \u2013 otherwise you may be charged a default fare. Fares will also be calculated at the end of each day, so you\u2019ll just be charged a single amount for all your journeys. <\/p>\n
You can still use your SmartRider to access discounts, concession fares, SmartParker and bike shelters. If using contactless payments for parking at stations, you\u2019ll need to use the Pay-By-Plate machines. <\/p>\n
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With the original system implemented over 18 years ago, the SmartRider Upgrade Project has included the replacement of over 4,000 SmartRider validators, upgrades to Pay-By-Plate parking machines and the replacement of all Add Value Machines with \u201cSmartRider Hubs\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe start of new payment options represents one of the biggest and most important changes we\u2019ve ever delivered on public transport in Western Australia,\u201d said Transport Minister Rita Saffioti. <\/p>\n
\u201cFrom 8 December, people will have significantly more choice and flexibility in how they choose to pay for public transport, which will support more usage across our suburbs and regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will give people another option, as most people will have their card or phone at their fingertips, making it so much easier to jump on a bus, train or ferry when you need to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to reform the payment options available on our system, including looking at the phasing out of cash.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve been waiting with bated breath for the long-awaited launch of contactless payments across Perth\u2019s public transport system…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310295,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[165,77850,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-310294","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-popular","10":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310294","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310294\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}