Adelaide to roll out credit card ‘tap-and-go’ payments on buses, trains

Soon you’ll be able to use your credit card to board all Adelaide public transport – as a report blasts the current payment system as “archaic”.

Commuters will soon be able to use credit cards to “tap-and-pay” on board all forms of public transport in Adelaide, as a report raises serious concerns about the city’s accessibility for migrants.

The state government has announced the full bus and train networks would soon be equipped with new “smart validators” allowing users to pay with Visa, MasterCard or smartphones after a trial on Adelaide’s trams.

“A ‘tap and pay’ system for credit card is currently available on the tram network and will soon be rolled out on the O-Bahn network, followed by the full bus network,” a spokesman for Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis said.

Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

“‘Tap and pay’ via credit card will also be rolled out across the train network at a later date.”

It comes as a new Committee for Adelaide paper to be published on Tuesday pinpoints the state’s “archaic” public transport payment systems as one of several barriers making it harder for migrants to settle in Adelaide.

Mr Koutsantonis’s spokesman said Adelaide Metro’s website was “designed to be used by as many people as possible in line with national accessibility requirements”.

The Committee for Adelaide report also found landlords were turning away migrants immediately because of their inability to physically inspect rental homes before arriving in the country, while employers were similarly shunning overseas arrivals in favour of applicants with local job experience.

It also revealed migrants were becoming increasingly frustrated with slow visa processing systems and were isolated due to difficulties making friends with local South Australians.

In 2020-21, just 9829 migrants – or 6.1 per cent of Australia’s total intake – settled in SA. The Committee for Adelaide has been running an extensive campaign to boost SA’s population, which involves lifting the state’s migrant intake to 10 per cent.

Committee for Adelaide chief executive Bruce Djite said overseas migration would increase in importance as the state’s population ages and fertility rate declines.

Bruce Djite, Committee for Adelaide chief executive, said overseas migration is key to boosting the city’s population. Picture: Tom Huntley

“There is a real need to address our unconscious biases, which are reflected in the data,” Mr Djite said.

“We need to provide a more welcoming and inclusive culture, so that migrants actively choose to stay and work in Adelaide.”

Tourism and Multicultural Affairs Minister Zoe Bettison said giving migrants a “welcoming experience” and enabling them to connect with the community “is essential to growing our population”.

“The (state government) continues to lobby the Commonwealth for improvements in the visa system, including speeding up processing times,” Ms Bettison said.

During the September Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra, the federal government committed to streamlining visa application systems and clearing a significant backlog.

The Committee for Adelaide runs an “Adelaide Connected” program that helps recent arrivals network and explore opportunities in space, defence, energy and other hi-tech industries.

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