Kinetic Sunshine Coast buses are the newest operator to begin accepting debit and credit cards as payment, as part of a $371 million rollout of smart ticketing on South East Queensland’s public transport network.
The new technology allows commuters to tap on and off their public transport service with a credit or debit card, or a smart device such as a mobile phone – instead of with a go card.
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The technology has already been deployed on trains and trams, with the rollout onto buses hit with delays caused by international supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The launch of smart ticketing on Kinetic Sunshine Coast buses follows the successful rollout on Caboolture Bus Lines, which was the first Queensland bus service to go live with Smart Ticketing.
The highly anticipated launch on buses led to a 10% uptake rate on Caboolture Bus Lines, with more than 18 million trips recorded using contactless payments to date across all available modes of transport.
Customers transferring between a SEQ train, and Kinetic Sunshine Coast bus no longer need their go card to pay for travel but are reminded to tap on at the start of their journey and tap off at the end of each trip.
Customers who are transferring to another bus operator that is not yet participating in the Smart Ticketing trial, are reminded to continue using their go card at this time.
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