The Minns Labor Government has made it easier for commuters in rural and regional NSW to access public transport, with contactless payments now available on nearly 350 fare-paying buses across 47 local bus networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tap and go payment system means commuters can leave their wallet at home, accepting payments from phones, smartwatches, as well as credit and debit cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The program has been delivered in just 10 months, from its launch in Wagga Wagga in July 2025 to completion in Queanbeyan earlier this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the buses where Transport\u2019s contactless ticketing technology has been installed, in total more than 140,000 tickets have been purchased, accounting for about 40% of journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Minns Government has partnered with 28 bus operators, ranging from small, single vehicle, family run businesses to larger multi-depot companies to deliver this upgrade, as well as software and hardware partners TransportMe and Littlepay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Contactless Ticketing Program does not include dedicated school services where students mostly use pre-paid bus passes or NSW TrainLink long distance coach services where tickets are pre-paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Regional Transport, Jenny Aitchison said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Minns Labor Government has listened to regional communities who told us they wanted simple, modern ways to pay for their bus trips.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter over a decade of delay under the former Liberal and Nationals government, which failed to deliver contactless ticketing to the regions, we\u2019ve rolled this program out right across rural and regional NSW, bringing these services in line with what city commuters have had for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve seen strong uptake where this technology has been introduced, with 40% of commuters choosing to tap and go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know that making buses easier to use can help boost patronage and give families the option to leave the car at home, saving on fuel and everyday costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course, cash is still available for those who\u2019d like to use it, but this is an important change, giving regional communities more choice and making it easier to catch the bus.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minns Labor Government has made it easier for commuters in rural and regional NSW to access public transport, with contactless payments now available on nearly 350 fare-paying buses across 47 local bus networks. The tap and go payment system means commuters can leave their wallet at home, accepting payments from phones, smartwatches, as well … Continue reading “A better way to pay: Minns Government completes roll out of contactless ticketing program for regional and rural buses”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38439"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38440,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38439\/revisions\/38440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}