To assist patrons become more accustomed with the process of tagging on and off buses with their MyWay card, the ACT Government will extend the current transition period where default fares do not apply until 31 December 2011, Paul Peters, Executive Director, Roads and Public Transport, announced today.
“Since the introduction of the new MyWay smartcard ticketing system in March, a transition period has been in place where a passenger is not charged a default fare if they forget to tag off the bus,” Mr Peters said.
“The transition period was due to finish on 30 June 2011 however, to allow people more time to become familiar with the tagging on and off process, the transition period will be extended until the end of the year.
“Information will be posted on the website, in Canberra Connect Shopfronts, MyWay Centres and recharge agents to help notify people of the extended transition period and to remind them of the importance of tagging off.
“At present there are on average 70,000 trips recorded on weekdays on the MyWay system of which there are approximately 1,600 instances where people have been detected not tagging off.
“The key reason is that people are simply forgetting to tag off. We will continue to remind passengers over the next six months that the requirement to tag on and off the bus not only ensures customers are charged the cheapest available fare but also provides ACTION will valuable planning data to help them improve the bus network.
“There are also some instances where people have not been able to tag off because equipment on the bus has been temporarily unavailable. These instances are being addressed with the equipment supplier as they are identified.”
Mr Peters said the new MyWay ticketing system was making bus travel easier and cheaper for the majority of Canberrans and encouraged the travelling public to get into the habit of tagging on and off the bus when travelling.
This page was last updated on 19 June 2011
