Using the Newport Transit system in Wales, England is about to get a whole lot easier. Now passengers have the choice to use a pay-as-you-go smartcard called the Freedom Card. The free card can store up to £50 of credit and offer an easy-to-use, longer-term alternative to paying cash for paper tickets.

Freedom cards can be reloaded on Newport buses or at the city’s bus station. When run through a ticket machine, the cost of the ride is deducted from the credit stored on the card. Riders can use their smart cards on Newport Bus services around the city, and are allowed to lend the cards to others or pay the fares of friends and family traveling with them.

A similar smart card transit program was launched in 2010 in Cardiff Wales.

Learn more about Smart Card Systems