The ‘tap and go’ transport cards which cost Australian taxpayers billions of dollars could soon be scrapped.
In a frustrating wave of the white flag, state governments across the country could eventually get rid of the tickets in favour of allowing commuters to use bank cards and smartphones on public transport.
Opal cards in Sydney, Myki cards in Melbourne and Go Cards in Brisbane – which have collectively cost taxpayers $2.8billion – may face a slow death with trials for contactless bank card payments set for 2019, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Opal cards (pictured) in Sydney could soon be rendered obsolete after it was revealed plans to allow bank card payments
Melbourne Myki cards also face a similar demise as the transport cards are replaced with smartphone and card payments
The expensive Opal card technology received a particularly lukewarm reception in Sydney after a spate of malfunctioning machines and general confusion over the payment system.
The NSW Government spent a whopping $1.2 billion in its attempts to seamlessly integrate opal cards into Sydney’s transport network.
More than 15,000 commuters on the Manly Ferry are now able to use their bank cards to ‘tap on’ and the change will likely take effect on buses, trams and trains across the city over the coming years.
It is a move that may see the end of Opal Card minimum-spend top ups – but NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has assured the cards will still be an option.
‘Opal isn’t going anywhere; it has been a huge success and supports roughly 14 million customer trips every week,’ he told the publication.
‘We have always said we want to make travelling on public transport as easy as possible for our customers, which is why we are trialling contactless credit-card payments on the Manly ferry.’
The expensive Opal card (Pictured) technology received a particularly lukewarm reception in Sydney after a spate of malfunctioning readers and general confusion over the payment system
Positive findings from the trial could mean Melbourne commuters will enjoy convenient ‘tap and go’ card payments as early as this year on all trains, trams and buses (Myki pictured)
Queenslanders will also enjoy a more liberal transport payment system with the introduction of contactless bank card ticketing in lieu of the Go Card (pictured)
The $1.5billion Melbourne Myki system will face a similar demise after the Victoria Government revealed plans to trial contactless bank card payments on E-class trams.
Positive findings from the trial could mean Melbourne commuters will enjoy convenient ‘tap and go’ card payments as early as this year on all trains, trams and buses.
It will also mean travellers can avoid shelling out $6 for the transport card which proved inconvenient for tourists and single-use commuters.
The troubled MyKi concept got off to a rocky start after it failed to keep in schedule and suffered a three-year delay before it was rolled out in 2009, an eye-watering $500million over budget.
Queenslanders will also enjoy a more liberal transport payment system with the introduction of contactless bank card ticketing in lieu of the Go Card.
The troubled MyKi concept got off to a rocky start after it failed to keep in schedule and suffered a three-year delay before it was rolled out in 2009, an eye-watering $500million over budget
It is understood commuters will not be charged an extra fee for using their bank card to pay for trips on transport networks (stock image pictured)
The $134 million ticketing system will follow in the footsteps of the Opal Cards and MyKis with a slow introduction of ‘tap and go’ bank payments in late 2018 or early 2019.
A TransLink spokesman told the Sunday Mail: ‘The future of public transport ticketing across Queensland’s TransLink network will involve credit and debit card contactless payments,’ he said.
Go Cards currently cost commuters $10 and were introduced in Queensland in 2003.
It is understood commuters will not be charged an extra fee for using their bank card to pay for trips on transport networks.