Transport Board to go fully cashless ‘early next year’

Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw on Wednesday pledged a full cashless overhaul for Transport Board buses by early next year, promising real-time tracking and reliable schedules to lure motorists to park their cars and restore commuter trust.

“Early in the new year it’s our intention to complete the full cashless system,” Bradshaw said, noting that only one secondary school had been outstanding in its initial rollout to schools and that this had now been resolved.

Bradshaw acknowledged that the pace of change had not always matched public expectations but insisted that the current administration’s commitment to reform remained firm.

She said: “Sometimes it doesn’t always take the pace that we would all want it to take, but the commitment has been there certainly by the Transport Board and Government to move in a direction that allows people to have a system for public transportation that is more reliable, that is more efficient.”

She explained that the ultimate goal was to build confidence in the system so commuters could plan their daily lives around predictable bus schedules. “If people want to put down their vehicles because they know that a bus is coming at a particular time, that they start to plan their business accordingly,” Bradshaw said. “If it says it’s going to come at 8:10, it will be there at 8:10.”

Once implemented, the expanded system will integrate smart card payments with real-time bus tracking through the Transit BB mobile app, allowing commuters to monitor bus locations, track arrival times and receive notifications about delays.

“We’re also working on an app that would allow for the commuters as well to know when buses are coming,” Bradshaw said, adding that the government intended to engage the public more closely as development across the island reshaped transport needs.

“We want to be able to hear from the general public, where do you need public transportation,” she said, stressing that improvements would come through ongoing collaboration with commuters and interest groups.

The announcement builds on progress reported in October, when the Transport Board reached a major milestone in its transition to a cashless fare system with the introduction of personalised smart cards for school children. That phase marked the beginning of what officials described as a new era in public transport, with thousands of students now tapping cards to board buses free of charge.

Under that system, each student receives a personalised card issued through their school, with the first card free and replacements available for $5.

Phase one of the project, which began last December, focused on seniors, with all old-age pensioners now able to tap their Trident ID cards to board buses free of charge. Where cards have not yet been pinned or registered, drivers verify eligibility using tablets, and passengers may also present their old identification for manual approval.

(SZB)