From Friday 19 December, Student Free Travel is taking a break, so it’s important to make sure students are ready to get around safely and easily during the school holidays.
Ensure their SmartRider is topped-up or they have a valid ticket before hopping on board.
Students who tag on and off properly with a valid Student SmartRider will receive a concession fare during the summer school holidays.
Here are a few ways to top up
Find out more below:
Student Free Travel only applies to the school gazetted year, which does not include the summer school holidays. Concession fares apply on weekdays and Saturdays. Travel is free on Sundays for all SmartRider holders when you tag on and off properly
Tagging on and off is the most important part of using your Student SmartRider. If you don’t tag on, you haven’t purchased a valid ticket to ride on our services and if you don’t tag off, we can’t figure out the correct amount your journey costs.
Here’s how to do it properly:
- Tag on at the start of your journey by holding your Student SmartRider over the card symbol on the card reader. You’ll hear a beep and see a green light - that means you’re good to go. The screen will show your remaining balance.
- Tag off at the end of your journey the same way. You’ll hear another beep, and the screen will show the fare deducted and your updated balance.
Important:
- On buses, you must tag on at the front door. Tagging on at the middle or rear doors will charge you a default fare.
- When getting off the bus, you can tag off at any door.
For more information go to Using SmartRider.
If you forget to tag on or off properly it means you haven’t actually paid for the trip you’ve just taken. This means a default fare will be deducted from your SmartRider card balance if you:
- don't tag on at the start of your journey, but tag off at the end (you can be fined if you travel without tagging on, as you don’t have a valid ticket)
- do tag on at the start of your journey, but don’t tag off.
The system deducts the default fare from your Student SmartRider card balance next time you tag on.
This expiry date relates to the concession entitlement to the student fare you receive while you are in high school. Once the expiry date passes your Student SmartRider will revert to a standard SmartRider and you will be charged standard fares.
Before this date you can apply to have a new concession on your card, such as a Health Care Card or tertiary concession if you are continuing your studies at an eligible institution.
Autoload enables a direct debit to be made automatically from a nominated bank account or credit card to your SmartRider when the balance on your card falls below the low-value threshold of $6 for standard users and $3 for concession users. Register for Autoload through My Account
More information on Autoload can be found here.
For more information, call 13 62 13.
Hearing or speech impaired? Call via NRS 133 677 and ask for 13 62 13.