Canberra commuters will soon be able to tap on and off on public transport, using their credit or debit cards and mobile phones. The ACT government has set a time frame to introduce its long awaited new public transport ticketing system. During the transition, which will fall during the election campaign, public transport will be free for two months, across the entire network.
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TVTranscript
00:00All aboard the Way of the Future, this one of four demonstration buses featuring updated
00:10ticketing technology.
00:11MyWay Plus is a simpler way to plan and pay for public transport in Canberra.
00:18Under MyWay Plus you'll be able to tap on and off using a debit or credit card or a
00:23device such as a phone or smart watch.
00:26Physical cards and paper tickets will still be available, but existing MyWay cards won't
00:32work and commuters will have to register them to transfer their balance.
00:37Regular public transport users have welcomed the extra convenience.
00:41I literally just caught the bus and, you know, got, well not got done, but I didn't have
00:47a topped up card and that was problematic.
00:50I used my debit card up in Singapore not that long ago and, well, it's a great idea.
00:57In New South Wales, commuters have been tapping on and off with their debit cards for several
01:03years already, but the ACT will still beat Victoria in rolling out the new technology
01:09across its full transport network.
01:12Travellers will also get a sweetener during the transition, with all public transport
01:17to be free for about two months.
01:20Which just happens to line up with the date that the 3G network cuts out and the old ticketing
01:26system would not be able to function anyway.
01:29No, there was always going to have to be a transition from the old system, MyWay, to
01:34the new MyWay Plus system.
01:37A move years in the making, arriving just in time for the ACT election.