A new ticketing system on Canberra's bus network will deliver more accurate timetables, with the data it collects expected to provide more precise information about travel times, passenger numbers and journey types.
From November, passengers will finally be able to pay fares with their credit and debit cards, and smartphones and watches.
Dedicated travel cards will be available at a larger network of retailers. The ACT will be the first place in Australia to have transport cards made wholly from recycled plastic.
Public transport will be free in the ACT between October and November, when the new MyWay+ system is installed across the territory's bus fleet and light rail line.
A demonstration bus, part of a group of four to be deployed on the bus network from Monday to learn the network, was unveiled with the new system on Thursday.
The card readers can accept dedicated MyWay+ cards, credit and debit card payments and will read quick response (QR) codes from cards, phone screens and paper tickets. Paper tickets will be available from ticket machines and will be available for sale online for printing at home.
Credit and debit card payments - to be processed by Westpac - will not attract a customer surcharge. Processing fees will be factored into the fare price.
Screens onboard buses will display upcoming stops and the the time to reach each stop along the route, while artificial intelligence will be used to generate spoken stop announcements.
Transport officials expect data collected by the new system will allow them to more accurately design timetables that respond to traffic congestion and patronage.
Passengers will also be able to access accurate real-time information on when their bus is due to arrive and how full the service is once the MyWay+ system is completely installed.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the new hardware would be installed in October and would be switched on for passengers after final checks in November.
The changeover would not be affected by the switch off of the Optus 3G network, which parts of the old system rely upon.
The ACT government has signed a 10-year contract with NEC Australia to operate and maintain the system, but the territory will own all the hardware.
"We could have made the decision to bolt on credit card payments to the old MyWay system, just like Transport for NSW did with the Opal card, but that wouldn't have provided the full range of functionality that people expect from the transportation system," Mr Steel said.
The free public transport period would cost the government about $2.5 million but it was better to have a hard switchover date to the new system, he said.
Mr Steel said the free travel period was not timed to coincide with the October 19 territory election, and was based on advice from the project team.
"We've made that decision to have a hard switchover because it was the best thing to do," he said.
Meanwhile, weekend passenger numbers on the bus network have increased since additional services were added, with the government now considering how to further expand services.
