New public transport payment options to go live next month

New payment options for public transport will roll out in Perth from Monday, 8 December, in a major milestone for the SmartRider Upgrade Project.

Passengers will be able to tag on and off public transport using physical debit or credit cards, as well as cards on phones, smart watches and other wearable devices.

The launch of new payment options represents one of the biggest changes to public transport in Western Australia since the introduction of the SmartRider 18 years ago.

Passengers in Bunbury, Busselton, Kalgoorlie, Esperance and Albany will also be able to use contactless payments from 8 December, before the roll out is extended to passengers in Geraldton, Karratha and Port Hedland before the end of the year. 

SmartRider will continue to play a key role in our system,providing access to SmartRider discounts, concession fares, SmartParker, and bike shelters.

SmartRiders will still be required to access concession fares, consistent with jurisdictions like New South Wales, where eligible passengers are required to use an Opal card.

Passengers using these new payment options will be charged at the current Transperth cash rate - paying no more than $5.20 for a single journey anywhere on the network.

This becomes even more affordable from 1 January 2026, with a maximum $3.50 cash rate applied to contactless payments for a single journey. Those using the new payment options will still be able to receive free travel on Sundays by tagging on and off.

The State Government also confirmed there would be no additional surcharge for passengers using new payment options, with the Government to absorb the cost of surcharges levied for this technology.

There will be some minor differences when using contactless payments, including:

• Pay-By-Plate machines must be used for parking at stations (contactless payments cannot be used on SmartParker machines);
• Concession rates will not be available for contactless payments;
• The same card or device must be used to tag on and offeach journey. Not doing so could result in a default fare being charged, or the devices not being properly detected; and
• Fares will not be displayed on a validator or calculated throughout the day - instead a final calculation will be completed at the end of the day and a single amount charged.

More information will be available on the Transperth website.

The major milestone follows successful trials with selected participants using contactless payments across the last two months to ensure readiness of the wider rollout by the end of the year.