Metrobus, the second largest municipal bus operator in South Africa, is changing the way users pay for their rides.
Starting on Tuesday, Johannesburg commuters will use contactless cards to pay for their bus rides: simply register, load money onto the card, then tap in when boarding and tap out when leaving. This new system enables Metrobus to calculate fares based on the actual distance travelled, not just the travel zone. This is all part of Metrobus’s push to modernise and streamline public transport, which it started in October 2024 with cashless payments.
“Metrobus has embarked on a digital transformation journey,” said Tshepo Nathan, corporate strategy and business support manager at Metrobus. “This is in line with our strategic direction towards ensuring a digitally enabled operation for the benefit of our commuters.”
Metrobus’ digital changes have led the bus to get rid of its old payment system, which was too old to keep up with the advances of technology. “The old system is no longer receiving support from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) due to its age,” he said. “ In addition, the system is not capable of basing fares on kilometers travelled, which is a serious limitation.”
Nathan noted that the zonal based fare structure has caused major operational challenges for Metrobus and has had a significant negative impact on the collection of fares. The new system ensures that all services consumed are properly paid for.
Metrobus transports approximately 90,000 passengers daily, covering 80 scheduled routes and 130 school routes, according to the City of Johannesburg. Passengers have been using the bus mostly due to its affordability, as compared to the taxis, particularly those who catch the bus twice to reach their destination. Now, every trip will be charged separately, calculated by the distance users travel.
But there have been some concerns about the new system making fares increase with users noting that the bus fare is now higher than the taxis to some routes.
Angel Mthembu who commutes from Soweto to Lyndhurst, relied on the free transfers, with the new payment system, it means she has to pay separately for going to Lydhurst.
“I used to travel from Naturena to Gandhi Square and then transfer to Lydhurst for about R30,” said Mthembu. “Now, since there are no more free transfers and the fares have gone up, I have to pay about R8 extra for each trip. That adds up to around R300 more than what I used to pay.”
Siyabonga Mdluli, who travels from Orange Grove to Linbro, is worried about how the high cost of living is hitting commuters who have to transfer buses. He says, “It’s really sad to see that some people will have to pay over R100 more, taking money from what little they already earn”. Mdluli noted that he is aware that there is an increase of about 4.6%, but at least he is not affected by the change to transfers because he can get a bus that goes straight to his work.”
Talking about the transfer increase, Nathan noted that it is actually small—the highest fare bump is just R1.26, but for the commuters, it is not the case.
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