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Commuters encouraged to get go card refunds ahead of new smart ticketing system

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Queensland public transport users have been urged to get a refund on their old go cards if they are making the switch to smart ticketing, with millions of dollars available to claim.

About $8.6 million was transferred to Translink’s coffers last financial year from go cards that had gone dormant after five years of inactivity.

The public transport operator has reminded commuters that they can still claim the money back at any time — with the average value of the go cards that expired in 2022-23 coming in at $9.29.

However, some cards also had the highest possible balance of $250 when they went dormant.

Speaking on ABC Radio Brisbane, Translink’s smart-ticketing project director Sarah Capstick said the easiest way to reclaim money on an unused go card is to do so before it goes dormant.

Customers can visit a go card retailer to ask for a refund, or — if their card is dormant — they can fill in and return a refund form, which can be found on Translink’s website.

Smart ticketing has been rolled out on Queensland train and light rail services.(Supplied: Transport and Main Roads)

To get the refund, the go card must be registered with Translink, or the customer must still have hold of the card.

“There are some steps involved, but it’s not huge if you want your money back,” Ms Capstick said.

“It’s your money. If you’ve got your card, whether you stopped using it last week or six years ago, we will refund that money.”

Go cards not going away any time soon

The Translink network is transitioning towards a smart-ticketing system, which allows commuters to use a credit card, debit card or smart device to pay for their fares instead of a go card.

The new ticketing system has been rolled out on light and heavy rail services, but it can only be used for full-paying adult fares and not for concession fares.

Ms Capstick said Translink was encouraging commuters who were making the move to the smart-ticketing system to get a refund on their go card.

She said that should mean there will be a spike in dormant go cards over the coming years.

Smart ticketing can only currently be used for full paying adult fares.(Supplied: TMR)

She said a large number of commuters are still using their go card, but the public transport operator had recorded a 15 per cent uptake of customers on the rail network using smart ticketing.

“To date, we’ve had about eight million trips using credit and debit card,” she said.

“Some customers only use it once. Other customers are regular users.”

Ms Capstick said the go card will remain available for commuters to use for now.

“I think at the moment there will always be a need for people to have a reloadable card,” she said.

“If you think about some of our customers, we have children, we have people who are seniors and may feel more comfortable using a card.”

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