Terms and Conditions of Use

Personal Information Protection

The Department of State Growth (State Growth) regulates the collection, storage, use and disclosure of personal information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection Act 2004. Further information is available at the Common Ticketing System Personal Information Protection Statement.

Use of contactless payment methods

1. Customers paying a full adult fare for travel on buses and ferries operating the Common Ticketing System will be able to tap on and tap off using their contactless payment method as a valid ticket for travel.
2. Payment methods that are accepted for use include:
   1. contactless Visa or Mastercard debit or credit cards, including cards stored in the digital wallets of smartphones, smart watches and other wearable devices using Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.
   2. contactless Visa or Mastercard reloadable and non-reloadable prepaid cards.
3. Cards offered by Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes (such as Afterpay and ZipPay) are not accepted as valid contactless payment methods.
4. You must tap on at the start and tap off at the end of each trip using the same contactless payment method. A trip is travel from point A to point B. A single trip does not include a return journey.
5. When transferring between services, discounted fares will apply where:
1. all services are operating the Common Ticketing System;
2. you use the same contactless payment method to tap on and tap off for each trip within the journey; and
3. the time between transferring (between tapping off on one trip and tapping on for the next trip) does not exceed 60 minutes.

If all of the above conditions are met, then you will only be charged the lowest fare for the distance between the two furthest points in your journey.

6. If you use different contactless payment methods for each trip, the ticketing system will record these as individual trips, and you will be charged separate fares. This may result in you paying a higher aggregate of fares for the journey.
7. You cannot tap on twice with the same contactless payment method to pay for both yourself and another passenger.
8. If you have a joint bank account with a debit card for each person, or a credit card account with Primary and Secondary credit cards, and the cards display the contactless payment symbol, the cards can both be used as contactless payment methods to pay for travel on passenger services operating the Common Ticketing System.
9. Access to travel history and associated fare payments for a contactless payment method is available to anyone with the payment method details, including joint bank account card holders. Any person with access to your contactless payment method may be able to access the travel history and fare payments associated with that payment method.
10. On services that are not operating the Common Ticketing System, you must pay the required fare using a supported payment method.
11. If a contactless payment method cannot be tapped due to a ticketing equipment malfunction or a direction given by a driver or Authorised Officer to not tap, any unmatched tap in your journey may be charged a default fare. In these circumstances, you will need to call the Common Ticketing System Call Centre on 1300 784 636 to verify the issue and confirm whether you are entitled to a refund of the difference between the default fare and the fare payable for your trip.

Payment of fares

16. You must ensure sufficient funds are available in the account linked to the contactless payment method you are using to pay for your journey.
17. If you don't have sufficient funds in your account, your contactless payment method will be blocked from being able to be used on services operating the Common Ticketing System until you have paid for your fare.
18. If using a smartphone, smart watch, or other wearable device as your contactless payment method, you are responsible for ensuring that it has sufficient battery life to enable the device to be used to successfully tap on at the start and tap off at the end of each trip within your journey.
19. The Common Ticketing System will validate that your account is in good standing to travel at each initial tap - that is, your account is active at your financial institution and your contactless payment method has not been blocked because of unpaid debt or suspected fraud. 
    Note: depending on your financial institution this check may show as a nominal amount in your transactions.
20. The Common Ticketing System will combine all fares paid by the same payment method on the same day before debiting the funds from your account, and fares charged over multiple days may appear as a single transaction. 
    Note: this transaction may not appear in your bank transaction history immediately due to bank processing timeframes.

Request from an Authorised Officer

22. You must produce the contactless payment method used for payment of your journey on request by an Authorised Officer for the purpose of confirming you have a valid ticket for travel. The Authorised Officer may use a revenue protection device to determine if you have used the contactless payment method to enable payment of the fare for the journey. If using a smart device as your contactless payment method, you are responsible for ensuring that it has sufficient battery life to enable it to be used to successfully tap on at the start and tap off at the end of each trip within your journey.
23. If an Authorised Officer determines you have not used the contactless payment method correctly to enable the fare for the journey to be processed, a warning or infringement notice may be issued.

Default fares and adjustments

24. You must tap on and tap off using the same contactless payment method for each trip within your journey. If you use different contactless payment methods to tap on and tap off for your trip, the ticketing system will charge you a default fare. Default fare rates vary by operator. The ticketing system relies on you using the same payment method to tap on and tap off to calculate the correct fare.
25. If you think you have been charged incorrectly, you can request a fare adjustment or refund by calling the Common Ticketing System Call Centre on 1300 784 636.
26. We may limit the number of times a fare adjustment request (made in accordance with condition 25) is accepted.

Refunds and debt recovery

27. Refunds resulting from approved fare adjustment requests for journeys paid using contactless payment methods are subject to bank processing requirements and timeframes. Any applicable refund will be refunded to the same contactless payment method used to pay for the trip.
28. If you are due a refund, you will need to allow up to 10 business days to receive the refund on your credit card or in the bank account associated with your debit card. The timing of the refund to your account is not controlled by State Growth. Any questions you have regarding a missing refund should be referred to your financial institution.
29. We reserve the right to recover debt for unpaid fares. To clear a debt, the ticketing system will make several attempts to settle any outstanding amounts from your financial institution. You may also clear the debt by ensuring there are sufficient funds in your bank account and tapping your contactless payment method on a Common Ticketing System validator. Failure to clear the debt will result in the contactless payment method (and any related payment method such as an alternative physical or digital version, partner card, etc) being blocked, and you will be unable to use it as a payment method on services operating the Common Ticketing System until the debt has been repaid.

Loss, theft or misuse of a contactless payment method

30. As per financial institution requirements, you are required to immediately notify the financial institution of the loss, theft or misuse of your credit or debit card.
31. State Growth assumes no liability for any loss, theft, or unauthorised use of a contactless payment method. As the contactless payment method holder, you acknowledge that you are responsible for following your financial institution's procedures for reporting a lost, stolen, or misused credit or debit card. You also acknowledge that any person with access to your contactless payment method may be able to view your travel history and associated fare payments linked to the contactless payment method.
32. Once a financial institution has blocked or cancelled a credit or debit card, any contactless payment method linked to the relevant credit or debit card cannot be used as a payment method on a passenger service operating the Common Ticketing System and will be blocked from accepting taps. There may be a short period between your financial institution cancelling or blocking the contactless payment method and the contactless payment method being blocked in the ticketing system. You should contact your bank or financial institution if you become aware of any travel related transactions that occur during this period.

Changes to terms and conditions

33. State Growth reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions at any time and will publish any changes to these terms and conditions before they commence.
34. Should you continue to use contactless payment methods after any changes are published on the Common Ticketing System website you agree to be bound by those changes. If you do not agree to be bound by those changes, you must discontinue using the contactless payment method for travel on passenger services.
35. These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of Tasmania. As a user of passenger services operated in Tasmania, you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Tasmania.
36. These terms and conditions for the use of the Common Ticketing System take effect on and from 1 December 2025 and remain in force until replaced.