Travel cost

1. What is the GO GEORGE Smart Card?

The GO GEORGE Smart Card looks like a plastic bank card and replaced the paper ticket system of the bus service on 15 November 2018. Issued and facilitated by Standard Bank, cardholders can load trips in different packages and fare categories onto this card at dedicated kiosks, registered GO GEORGE vendors and selected Standard Bank vendors such as supermarkets, petrol stations and cafés.

2. Where and how do I get a card?

GO GEORGE Smart Cards are available at the following points, 7 days a week:

  • Smart Card kiosk in the George Transport Hub in Cradock Street: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk next to York Park glass building, York Street: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk at Garden Route Mall: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk at Blanco Triangle: 05:30 – 20:30
  • GO GEORGE Smart Card mobile vehicle (schedules will be made available to passengers)

Cost of the Smart Card:

  • When buying your first card, a Smart Card including two pre-loaded trips will cost R21. This means that in reality the card itself does not cost the cardholder anything, since the two trips would have cost R20 (at the time of going live, Nov. 2018).
  • You will have to show your ID, birth certificate, passport or driver’s licence, or a copy thereof, to ensure that only one card at this first-card price is issued per person.
  • You may buy cards for your children, employees or any other person if you have their identification with you.
  • The normal price of the card is R25, no trips included. If you do not have any valid form of identification to show, you can buy as many cards as you like at the normal price.

3. How do I load trips onto the card, and at what cost?

Once a GO GEORGE Smart Card has been activated at the point of collection, trips can be loaded at any of the following points, 7 days a week:

GO GEORGE Smart Card distribution points:

  • Smart Card kiosk in the George Transport Hub in Cradock Street: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk next to York Park glass building, York Street: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk at Garden Route Mall: 05:30 – 20:30
  • Smart Card kiosk at Blanco triangle: 05:30 – 20:30

GO GEORGE Smart Card mobile vehicles (schedules available here)

A network of Smart Card top-up vendors only (list available here)

Accepted forms of payment shall be cash, debit card, credit card or Sassa cards.

The minimum value to be loaded on the Smart Card is two trips.

Trips loaded on the card never expire and stay valid until used.

Travel cost:

GO GEORGE fares are distance based. Currently (November 2018), no routes exceed the 15-km radius, with all trips and transfers completed within an hour at a flat fare.

Cost of trips (July 2019)

2, 4, 6, 8 or 10 trips: R10.50 per trip

10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 trips: R9.50 per trip

The number of trips remaining on the card is printed on the receipt issued to the cardholder after tapping the card when boarding a bus. The number of trips remaining on the card will also reflect on the receipt when topping up.

4. Will I still be able to buy a cash ticket on the bus?

For visitors to the city, as well as passengers who don’t usually make use of the bus service, a single trip can be bought on the bus with cash, whereupon a printed receipt serving as ticket, is issued.

  • Take note that these trips cost more than the prepaid trips loaded onto the GO GEORGE Smart Card and will require the buyer to keep the right amount of cash handy.
  • The date and time of purchase will be printed clearly in large print on the receipt, containing the details needed by a subsequent bus driver to confirm the validity of a transfer within one hour on this trip.
  • We encourage all passengers to purchase their Smart Cards as soon as possible – it’s easier and cheaper to travel.

5. How to use your GO GEORGE Smart Card

  • Upon boarding a bus, the passenger holds the card in front of a card scanner that subtracts the trip from the available trips on the card.
  • A receipt with the details of the trip and the remaining balance on the card, is printed out. Should there be insufficient trips on the card, the reader will indicate this, and the passenger will have the option to buy a cash trip.
  • The GO GEORGE Smart Card can be used for only one trip/passenger at a time – each passenger needs their own Smart Card. This is to avoid accidental double tapping and loss of trips on the card.

6. What to do when:

I cannot remember how many trips I have left on my card.

It is best to always keep your last trip receipt showing the balance of trips remaining on your card. Should that not be available, go to any card distributor who will swipe your card and give you the number of trips remaining on your card. Take note that the top-up vendors will not be able to help you with this.

My card was lost or stolen.

Treat your card the same way that you treat a bank card or cash. Lost or stolen cards will not be replaced, and you will have to buy a new card for the normal cost of a card (R25 at 2019 tariff). No remaining value on your old card can be transferred to the new card.

My card does not seem to work (is defective).

Go to any card distributor (not top-up vendor) who will test the card and replace it immediately at no cost if found to be defective, retaining the old card. After verification of the number of trips remaining on the defective card, that value will be transferred to the new card immediately.

My card got damaged and no longer works.

Go to any card distributor where you can buy a new card for the normal cost of card (R25 at 2019 tariff), leaving your damaged card with them to verify the number of remaining trips. Any valid trips left on the damaged card will be transferred to the new card within two business days.

Cardholder fees

There will be no fees levied for a replacement card if a GO GEORGE Smart Card is found to be defective.

The cardholder will be responsible for the cost of the replacement GO GEORGE Smart Card if the card has been damaged.

7. General refund policy

A cardholder with a GO GEORGE Smart Card is not entitled to a refund of any trip balance under any circumstances.

8. Determining the remaining number of trips on a card

The management information systems of Standard Bank shall be conclusive evidence of the amount of remaining value on any card.

9. Cardholder confidentiality

In the event the Municipality of George requires personal information from cardholders, such information shall remain confidential and private.

The GO GEORGE Call Centre, the Municipality of George and GO GEORGE Smart Card system developers / administrators shall maintain the confidentiality and privacy of an individual’s personal information unless such confidentiality or privacy is waived by the cardholder, or unless instructed otherwise by way of a court order by a court having jurisdiction over any of the said parties.

The GO GEORGE Smart Card will be anonymous, in other words, no names or ID numbers will be printed on the card.