With most of south east Queensland buses and ferries now flaunting the technology, smart ticketing will finally make its way to Brisbane City Council buses and metro vehicles from next week.
After facing multi-million-dollar lengthy delays, Queensland transport minister Brent Mickelberg has confirmed final preparations are underway for the system to go live on the city’s buses on Monday.
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Customers will be able to pay for their bus rides using contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit or debit cards, cards stored in the digital wallet of smartphones, smart watches and other wearable devices.
“The new ticketing system is already available to customers on all South East Queensland (SEQ) trains, ferries, trams and all bus services covering the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Moreton Bay, Logan and Redlands areas,” a Translink spokesperson told ABC.
“Some Brisbane City Council bus customers may have noticed a change on the ticket readers recently, as equipment has been progressively switched on in the background as part of the project’s readiness procedures.”
The smart ticketing trial in Brisbane has faced ongoing setbacks, with the rollout on services initially expected to be completed by 2023.
Other bus operators — such as Caboolture Bus Lines and Brisbane Bus Lines — have had smart ticketing since the second half of last year.
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