Students in Perth say the current public transport system is hard to use and outdated, as they wait for a promised upgrade to the SmartRider, the network’s electronic ticketing system – an upgrade that would bring the city’s transport in line with current technology.

It has now been one year since Transport Minister Rita Saffioti told the ABC that the full rollout of the SmartRider Upgrade was “eight months away.” The upgrade is to advance contactless payments on the Transperth network.

Curtin University student Manasi Pillai said the current system was inconvenient and needed work to become more efficient and easier to use. She said enabling digital payments via a smartphone and debit card compatibility would make taking public transport less of a hassle.

Ms Pillai also said upgrades to ticketing hardware, such as card validators, would also improve the customer experience.

“Often when you tap the physical card, the scanner doesn’t work, and you have to go to the other one at the back of the bus.”

Ms Pillai said updates to the technology surrounding the SmartRider would encourage more people to use public transport.

The upgrade project is set to advance Perth’s train, bus and ferry networks with updated ticketing hardware, new account systems, and the introduction of digital payments from debit cards or smart wallets.

The upgrade project was initially announced by the McGowan government in September 2017, when it was planned to have been completed by 2021.

A spokesperson from the Public Transport Authority of WA said while the rollout was still in progress, testing has been completed with new validators and add value machines.

They said 70 per cent of new train validators have been installed, with the current focus being to implement the new machines on buses too: “Once all the validators have been rolled out across the network, the PTA will commence plans for a pilot test of the new systems.

“Further testing of the new SmartRider payment system continues, and the results will determine the timeline of the rollout of the credit card payment technology for passengers.”

In its annual report for 2022–23, the PTA said the new readers, which would allow customers to tag on using debit cards and mobile phones, would arrive in early 2024.

Now nine months into the year, students and other users are still waiting for the promised step forward.