From Newport City News
Newport Bus will revolutionise the way people catch buses from Monday, May 17 when it becomes the first bus operator in the country to launch a commercially available smart card.
The company, which operates more than 47 services throughout the city and to and from Cardiff and Cwmbran, will be the only bus operator in the UK to operate an ITSO compliant commercial smart card.
Bus operators across the UK have tried to launch a smart card system of this kind before, but without success. From conception to launch it has taken Newport Bus just four months to become the first operator to achieve this landmark goal.
The Newport Bus PASSPORT smart card will go on sale from 9am this coming Monday and will be available in weekly, monthly and annual card types. It is being supported by the Welsh Assembly Government through shared use of the systems and equipment installed as part of the concessionary fares smart card project.
Unlike paper-style bus passes the PASSPORT is a unique credit card-style photo ID, similar to a driving licence. It fits into your wallet and is a more secure and flexible pass for getting about on Newport Bus’ network. When boarding one of the company’s buses customers simply place their PASSPORT on the ticket machine next to the driver and away they go.
Next month the company will also launch Wales’ first top-up card giving customers a flexible means of using buses. Just in the same way you would top-up a mobile phone, the Newport Bus top-up card allows customers to add as little or as much journey credit as they need giving them total control over their bus needs. Perfect to store in a wallet for whenever needed, customers will be able to top up the cards from as little as £5.
Both revolutionary bus cards are part of Newport Bus’ efforts to encourage more people to use buses. Currently 7.6m people use Newport Bus to get them to their chosen destination and in the last 12 months more than 100,000 new passengers have begun using its buses.
Chris Blyth, Managing Director at Newport Transport, said: “We are delighted to be the first bus operator in the UK to launch this kind of commercially available smart card.
“If we want to encourage more people to use buses then we need to make it as convenient and flexible as possible and purchasing a ticket is a key part of this. By becoming the first bus operator in the UK to launch an ITSO compliant commercial smart card we are putting our customers in control of their journey needs.”
The Deputy First Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones said: “This is an important step in the development of an all Wales transport entitlement card and I am delighted that Newport Transport has made the move to smart cards.
“The Welsh Assembly Government has ensured that the back office for the concessionary fares smart card scheme has the capacity for an all Wales transport entitlement card and we welcomed the opportunity to work with Newport Transport to assist the transition to ITSO smart cards.
“ITSO enables the Welsh Assembly Government and all of the 22 local authorities to offer a more flexible transport system for our citizens, reducing costs, improving efficiency and offering travellers throughout Wales an improved travel experience.”
The launch of the PASSPORT smart card follows Newport Bus’ recent announcement of one ticket price for single fare journeys across its entire network meaning customers can travel on any service – including Newport to Cardiff – for just £1.30.
The project has been supported by the efforts of key stakeholders including: Applied Card Technology, MVA Consultancy, ESP Systex and Parkeon.
| Adult | Student | Child | |
| Weekly PASSPORT | £12.00 | £10.80 | £9.60 |
| Monthly PASSPORT | £46.80 | £42.10 | £37.45 |
| Annual PASSPORT | £561.60 | £505.45 | £449.30 |
From Newport Transport
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