Free Travel with Student SmartRider
From Wednesday 5 February, Students with a valid Student SmartRider can travel for free on Transperth or Transregional services for any journey Monday - Friday, until the end of the school year.
We know some students won’t have their Student SmartRider straight away, so from 5 February to 1 March, students can still travel for free even if they don’t have their card yet.
Once a Student SmartRider has been issued, it should be used immediately by tagging on and off each journey to keep it active.
From 1 March onwards, a Student SmartRider will be required to continue travelling for free. If a Student SmartRider is not available, a cash ticket must be purchased.
When boarding a bus, tagging on must be done at the front of the bus. Tagging on at a centre or rear door will result in a deault fare. Tagging off can be done at any door when exiting.
Find out more below:
Primary and secondary school students with a valid Student SmartRider. Students must tag on and off each journey to receive free travel.
No, not all regional towns have SmartRider. Currently, SmartRider is available in the following locations:
- Albany
- Bunbury
- Busselton
- Geraldton
- Kalgoorlie-Boulder
- Karratha
- Port Hedland
- Esperance
Primary school students can order a Student SmartRider online through Monitor WA: SmartRider | MonitorWA or by using the manual application form.
For high school students, if your school is a participating school or registered for online ordering, please ask your school’s administration about obtaining a card. If your school is not a participating school you may be able to order a Student SmartRider online through Monitor WA: SmartRider | MonitorWA or you'll need to complete the manual application form.
Given some schools student’s don’t get their SmartRiders until the end of February, if a student does not have a SmartRider on 5 February they will be allowed to travel for free without a valid ticket until 1 March. After this date, students must have their Student SmartRider to travel for free, or purchase a cash ticket.
When students have received their Student SmartRider they should start using it immediately by tagging on and off each journey to avoid their SmartRider from falling off the activation list.
No, however SmartRiders must not have a negative balance. Find out how to check your SmartRider balance here.
If you forget to tag on or off properly it means you haven’t actually paid for the trip you’ve just taken. We deduct a default fare 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 SmartRider card balance next time you tag on.
The default fare for buses is the cash fare of the longest journey you could have taken on that service. The exception is when you tag onto two bus services within 60 minutes without tagging off the first. When this happens, we use your second tag on location as your tag off location for the first bus service.
Yes, the free travel includes public holidays and school holidays during the school year. Concession fares apply on the weekend and during the summer school holidays only.
No, this only applies to students who have a Student SmartRider. Tertiary SmartRider holders will continue to receive the current concession fare.
Visit the Transperth website for more information.
For more information, call 13 62 13.
Hearing or speech impaired? Call via NRS 133 677 and ask for 13 62 13.