MetroCARD

For other uses of Metrocard, see MetroCard (disambiguation).

metroCARD

Location	Adelaide
Launched	3 November 2012
Technology	MIFARE
Manager	Adelaide Metro
Currency	AUD ($5 minimum load, $200 maximum load)
Stored-value	Two-hour unlimited trips from first validation
Auto recharge	Optional
Validity	Bus Train Tram
Variants	Regular Student Senior Concession
Website	www.adelaidemetro.com.au

metroCARD is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the city (and surrounding suburbs) of Adelaide, 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.^[1]

History

Old Crouzet tickets

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.^[2] 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 Edmondson-sized magnetic stripe tickets to remain in use.

As a result of the new system, multi-trip tickets were no longer sold as Crouzet tickets. metroCARDs replaced them, and Seniors tickets were replaced by the Seniors Card. Single and day-trip tickets continued to be sold as Edmondson-sized magnetic stripe tickets until their complete withdrawal in 2025. Passengers could trade in their existing Multitrip tickets 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.^[3]

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.^[4][5][6][7] In the same year it was also 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.^[8]

In 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.^[9]

Payment types

metroCARD

There are four main types of metroCARD:

• Regular metroCARD - for all passengers. These cards are blue and say 'Regular'.
• Concession metroCARDs - for tertiary students and other government issued concession card holders (e.g., Veterans health card)^[10] These cards are green and say 'Concession'.
• Student metroCARDs - for primary and secondary school students (Students over 15 are required to carry a South Australian Government approved Student ID). These cards are orange and say 'Student'.
• 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.^[11][12] Seniors cards feature the metroCARD logo.

metroCARDs can be purchased from eligible retailers, the Adelaide Metro InfoCentre at Adelaide railway station, online, or by using a ticket machine located at select train stations and bus interchanges.^[13] 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.^[11]

metroCARDs are rechargeable, and passengers can add value at any time online, or by using a ticket machine at select bus stations or on board trains and trams. Regular commuters are encouraged to set up 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.^[14] Additionally, metroCARDs can be loaded with Singletrips, Daytrips, 3-Day Visitor Passes, 14-day passes and 28-day passes. These allow for unlimited travel on the Adelaide Metro network until expiry.^[11]

Contactless payments

In early 2020, Adelaide Metro began trials of contactless payments on trams.^[15] The rollout involved the installation of new Conduent contactless validators which accept physical bank cards, digital bank cards, and QR codes.^[16] The new payment method allows commuters to use a Mastercard, Visa, or Adelaide Metro's Buy & Go app to pay for travel.

In mid 2022, the rollout was extended to O-Bahn buses.^[17] In mid 2023, the rollout was extended to all buses.^[18]

In June 2023, the state government announced $7 million in funding for the rollout of contactless payments on the Adelaide Metro rail network. This project would complete the rollout, allowing commuters to transfer between all public transport modes using contactless payments. The rollout was completed in December 2025, after which paper tickets were no longer accepted on any Adelaide Metro service.^[19] Payments using the new contactless validators are processed by Commonwealth Bank.^[16]

Fares

The Adelaide Metro network operates on a flat fare system. A Singletrip lasts 2 hours, and passengers can transfer between trains, trams and buses at any time during this period without incurring any additional fees. Eligible concession holders and students are charged discounted fares, and are required to have valid proof of their concession or student ID.^[11]

Since 1 July 2025, the following fares apply to all Adelaide Metro bus, train and tram services:^[20][21]

Fare Type	Ticket Type	Regular Fare	Concession Fare	Student Fare
Singletrip Peak (3PM - 9AM Mon - Fri, all day Sat)	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$4.55	$2.25	$1.60
Singletrip Off-Peak (9AM - 3PM Mon - Fri, all day Sun)	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$2.60	$1.30	$1.30
Singletrip Peak (3PM - 9AM Mon - Fri, all day Sat)	Mastercard, Visa	$4.55	Not Available	Not Available
Singletrip Off-Peak (9AM - 3PM Mon - Fri, all day Sun)	Mastercard, Visa	$2.60	Not Available	Not Available
Daytrip	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$12.50	$6.30	$6.30
3-Day Visitor Pass	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$28.90	Not Available	Not Available
14-day pass	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$71.80	$35.80	Not Available
28-day pass	metroCARD, Buy & Go app	$119.10	$59.60	$10.00

Operation

Passengers validate their cards upon boarding a vehicle and when passing through ticket gates. The appropriate fare is calculated and deducted from the stored value on the card. If the fare for a trip is greater than the stored value remaining, the card cannot be validated again until it has been recharged.

Infrastructure

Ticket validators and a ticket machine, positioned at the doorways of a 4000 Class train

Ticket validators

Ticket validators are located onboard all buses, trains and trams, as well as at Adelaide railway station. The validators accept metroCARDs and contactless payments. The 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.^[18]

Ticket machines

metroCARD ticket machine located on a 3000 class railcar

Purchase

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 machines in that they both dispense and recharge all three metroCARD types.^[22] 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.

Recharge

These ticket machines are located on every train and tram for recharging metroCARDs and checking card balance. They do not dispense metroCARDs. These machines accept coins and EFTPOS payments, but not bills, which was a common criticism of the previous generation ticket machines. A similar version of this ticket machine is located at several of the city tram stops, the Adelaide Metro InfoCentres, and some major interchanges where they accept EFTPOS payments only (no coins or bills).^[22]

See also

• Opal – Sydney's public transport ticketing system
• myki – Melbourne's public transport ticketing system
• go card – Brisbane's public transport ticketing system
• SmartRider – Perth's public transport ticketing system
• MyWay+ – Canberra's public transport ticketing system

References

1. Kelton, Sam (19 September 2012). "Public transport Metrocard ticketing up and running on SA buses, trams and trains by November". The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 25 May 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
2. "New Connections – Winter 2010" (PDF). Department of Transport, Energy and Infrastructure. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
3. Multitrip tickets for Adelaide public transport to be invalid soon Seven News 2 December 2014
4. "Adelaide Metro – Bikes". Adelaide Metro. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
5. "Improved Bike'n'Ride facilities for Adelaide Metro". dit.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
6. "Bikes". Adelaide Metro. 8 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
7. Chan, Ray (22 December 2022). "Bike-friendly carriages on Belair line". Rail Express. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
8. "Safe and secure parking for O-Bahn commuters at Tea Tree Plaza" (PDF). Infrastructure SA. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
9. "Scrapping of two-section fares to cost train users an extra $150 a year". ABC News. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
10. Approved Concession and Student Passes Archived 10 July 2023 at the Wayback MachineAdelaide Metro, 2021
11. "Adelaide Metro fares". Adelaide Metro. 1 July 2023. Archived from the original on 17 May 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
12. "Travel free with your SA Seniors Card". Adelaide Metro. 10 March 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
13. "How to catch a bus, train or tram". Adelaide Metro. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
14. "Adelaide metroCARD". Adelaide Metro. 1 July 2023. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
15. "Contactless payment introduced in Adelaide". Railway Gazette International. 19 November 2020. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
16. "CBA enables new cashless payment option for Adelaide commuters". www.commbank.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
17. Hendry, Justin (25 July 2022). "SA gov nears end of public transport ticketing upgrade on buses, trams". iTnews. Archived from the original on 24 October 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
18. "Easy ways to pay on buses". Adelaide Metro. 26 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
19. "Tap and pay validators to roll out across Adelaide train network". dit.sa.gov.au. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
20. "Fare prices are changing". Adelaide Metro. 23 June 2025. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
21. "metroCARD Conditions of Use" (PDF). Adelaide Metro. July 2025. pp. 19–21. Retrieved 2 August 2025.
22. "Find a retailer or facility". Adelaide Metro. 1 July 2023. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.