Amid all of the promotion of the ACT Government’s new MyWay ticketing system, one consequence of the new system that has not been heavily promoted is the withdrawal of the off-peak daily ticket.
In July 2009, when the new smartcard ticketing system was first announced, Canberra residents were assured that the new system would retain the current flat fare structure.
Now that the MyWay cards are being made available to Seniors Card holders there has been no mention of the sting in the tail. The TAMS media release proudly claims that “the fare system … will mean cheaper bus travel for the majority of patrons”, without once mentioning that the off-peak daily ticket, which is widely used by Seniors Card holders, will be excluded from the new fare structure from 11 April 2011.
During weekdays, instead of an off-peak daily ticket, Seniors and passengers eligible for Concession fares (excluding students) will be entitled to a 55 cent off-peak single trip which includes a 90 minute transfer. Should more than 3 single off-peak trips be used in a day, these passengers will end up paying more under the new system than when an off-peak daily ticket was available.
Similarly, the Shoppers off-peak ticket for adults will also be unavailable after 11 April. Adult passengers will pay $2 for an off-peak single trip which means more than 2 off-peak trips will exceed the previous off-peak daily fare.
The off-peak daily fares will still apply on weekends and public holidays – but can only be accessed using the MyWay card. Using MyWay the daily fare cap will be $4.60 for adults and $1.70 for concessions and students, while passengers paying cash may purchase a daily ticket for $7.60 and $3.80 respectively.
This page was last updated on 20 August 2023
