A new ticketing system allowing WA public transport users to tap on with their phones and bank cards is due to be online by the end of the year. Transport Minister Rita Saffioti says the existing SmartRider system will also stay operational. The system was due to roll-out last year, and has gone $10 million over budget.
00:04Using credit cards to pay for your public transport.
00:09The upgrade to the state's smart rider system also allowing payment by your phone.
00:14The Transport Minister hopeful the new technology will be ready to use across the entire network by the end of the year.
00:21This is about making sure there's no reason people don't jump on public transport.
00:25The government first looking for 50 regular ferry users to volunteer for a four week trial.
00:32Should it be successful we'll move to the next one which will be 150 regular users of public transport across the buses and trains and that will be another four weeks.
00:42The project is already a year behind schedule and has blown out in cost from 58 to 68 million dollars.
00:50Rita Safiotti blaming the delay on interruptions caused by COVID and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
00:57All those issues impacted some of the supply chains and also some of the software engineering that's behind these systems.
01:03Again, it's the Labor government that struggle to get things done on budget and they struggle to get things done on time.
01:09They're doing a trial after six years. That's quite frankly embarrassing.
01:13The Transport Minister says while the contactless method may eventually make the current smart riders redundant,
01:20they remain the only way to access concession fares.
01:24And she says a decision on whether the entire system would go cashless was yet to be made.
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