MetroCARD

MetroCARD (stylised as metroCARD) is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the Adelaide city and suburbs in South Australia. The system is managed by Adelaide Metro and is usable on their bus, train and tram services.

The contract for the system was tendered out, and in 2010 was awarded to Affiliated Computer Services using technology used in – among others – Montreal, Canada; Houston, Texas; and Toulouse, France. It was originally scheduled to become fully operative in early 2013. Due to overwhelmingly positive response from trial users, it was launched in November 2012.

Operation
Passengers can purchase metroCARDs from eligible retailers, online, the Adelaide Metro InfoCentre at Adelaide railway station, or on vending machines located at select train stations and bus interchanges. There are four main types of metroCARD:


 * Student metroCARDs - for primary and secondary school students
 * Concession metroCARDs - for tertiary students and other government issued concession card holders (e.g., Veterans health card)
 * Seniors Card - South Australian issued Seniors cards are pre-programmed for use as metroCARDs. Travel is free for seniors card holders, but the card must still be validated for travel.
 * Regular metroCARD - for all other passengers not eligible for discounted fares.

Regular metroCARDs cost $5 to purchase and are subject to full priced fares. Student or concession metroCARDs cost $3.50, and are subject to discounted fares.

MetroCARDs are rechargeable, and passengers can add value to the card at any time online, or by using a vending machine on board trains, trams, and select bus stations. Regular commuters are encouraged to purchase an auto-recharge, whereby a direct-debit payment of a set amount is taken each time the metroCARD value falls below the value of a peak fare.

Fares
The Adelaide Metro network operates on a flat fare system, as passengers validate their cards upon boarding a vehicle and when passing through ticket gates to pay for public transport. A single fare lasts 2 hours, and passengers can transfer between trains, trams and buses at any time during this period without incurring any additional fees. Student and concession metroCARDs are charged discounted fares, and cardholders are required to have valid student ID or proof of their concession.

MetroCARDs can also be loaded with 1- ("Daytrip"), 14- or 28-day passes. These allow for unlimited travel on the Adelaide Metro network until expiry, and are a cheaper alternative for regular commuters.

As of July 2023, there are two designated periods on the Adelaide Metro network which determine the price of a fare:

In May 2019, it was announced by the Marshall government that the ability to pay for a cheaper "two-section fare" for shorter trips would be removed in an effort to reduce fare evasion and simplify the fare structure to a single flat fare, regardless of distance travelled. The opposition claimed that there was no evidence that two-section fares were to blame for fare evasion.

History
The original ticketing system was based on the Crouzet system and was provided by Affiliated Computer Services. It was introduced in 1987 and was intended to be used for only a few years before being replaced. Replacement plans soon fell through and the original equipment remained in use until 2012. In 2010, it was announced that Affiliated Computer Services had been awarded the contract to replace the aging Crouzet system with a new contactless smartcard system, which would allow the current Edmondson-sized magnetic stripe tickets to remain in use.

As a result of the new system, multi-trip tickets are no longer sold as Crouzet tickets. metroCARDs have replaced them, and Seniors tickets have been replaced by the new Seniors Card. Single and day-trip tickets continue to be sold as Edmondson-sized magnetic stripe Metrotickets. Passengers could trade their existing Multitrip Metrotickets in for metroCARD trips. From December 2014, validators no longer accepted Multitrip tickets, however users could continue to convert them to metroCARD Trips until 28 February 2015.

In 2013, it was announced that metroCARDs would be able to be used to access secure bike cages, at railway stations fitted with the necessary equipment, for an annual fee. At a later date, bike cages were made free to access, however continue to require a metroCARD to be accessed.

It was announced that, as part of the Tea Tree Plaza Interchange park & ride upgrade, metroCARD users would be able to use their metroCARD to pay for parking.

Contactless payment rollout
In 2020, Adelaide Metro began trials of contactless payments for fare payments on trams. In 2022, the rollout was extended to O-Bahn buses. The rollout involves the installation of new Conduent contactless payment validators which accept Visa and Mastercard debit payments. The new payment method will allow commuters to use physical bank cards, as well as digital wallets, to pay for travel on trains, trams and buses. Payments using the new contactless validators are processed by Commonwealth Bank.

In late 2022, Adelaide Metro announced that contactless payment technology would be rolled out across the entire bus network. Almost all buses have been equipped with the new validators, and the rollout is expected to be completed on the 1st of July 2023. From the 1st of July 2023, metroCARDs subseded metroTickets. As a result of this, Adelaide Metro have introduced the ability to load singletrip and daytrip tickets onto metroCARDs.

In June 2023, the state government announced $7 million in funding funding for the rollout of contactless payment technology on the Adelaide Metro rail network. This project would complete the rollout, allowing commuters to transfer between transport modes using contactless payment. Currently, the rollout is expected to be completed by mid-2025, and will involve replacing the existing turnstiles at Adelaide railway station, along with installation of new validators on all trains. Once this project is complete, metrotickets will no longer be accepted on any Adelaide Metro services.

Validators
There are three kinds of validators currently used on the Adelaide Metro network: contactless payment, metroCARD-only, and dual-purpose.


 * Contactless payment validators are currently rolling out across the network, and only accept metroCARD and debit card payments. These validators feature an LCD display showing information to users, such as debited value, metroCARD balance or pass expiry date and whether the transaction was successful.


 * MetroCARD-only validators are currently installed on trains, and previously trams.


 * Dual-purpose validators had previously been installed on all buses, trains and trams and accept both metroCARDs and Crouzet tickets. The validators are no longer in use on trams, and are progressively being removed from buses in favour of contactless payment validators. Both the metroCARD-only and dual-purpose validators feature indicator lights and an LED display showing basic information to users such as ticket type, debited value and credit balance (if any), and errors.

Vending Machines
Located on every train and tram is a vending machine for recharging metroCARDs and checking card balance. They do not dispense metroCARDs. Vending machines on trains can also be used to purchase single trip and day trip metrotickets. These machines accept coins and card payments, but not bills, which was a common criticism of the previous generation ticket vending machines.

The ticket vending machines have a touchscreen display for passengers to choose the appropriate fare and payment method, and upon payment the machine dispenses a validated ticket for the passenger. Passengers paying using a debit or credit card interact with the PIN pad located towards the centre to process payment.

A similar version of the vending machines is located at several of the city tram stops, the Adelaide Metro InfoCentres, and some major interchanges that will only recharge metroCARDs and accept EFTPOS payments.

metroCARD Vending Machine
These ticket machines are located in the main passenger concourse at Adelaide railway station and in the public bus stop shelter at Adelaide Airport. They differ from other ticket vending machines in that they both dispense and recharge all three Metrocard types.

These machines have a larger touchscreen, allowing for selection of different ticket types and payment methods.

Payment methods accepted by this machine are coins (except 5c pieces), bills (except $50 and $100 bills), and EFTPOS.