Africa-Press – Namibia. The City of Windhoek has extended the deadline for municipal bus passengers to verify and transfer balances from their old smartcards to the new cashless system to Saturday.
The municipality initially announced that the deadline was on Friday.
From Monday, 18 August, the municipality will phase out cash and outdated cards used for its bus service.
“Some of our offices will still be open on Saturday from 08h00 until 13h00 to allow those who did not get a chance to transfer to the new system to do so,” municipal spokesperson Lydia Amutenya said on Friday.
Card top-ups are available at municipal offices in the central business district (City of Windhoek head office), Katutura customer care centre, Ombili customer care centre, Wanaheda municipality and Okuryangava’s Nathaniel Maxuilili customer care centre.
Amutenya warned that passengers who fail to make the switch will be unable to board municipal buses starting Monday.
“This visit is necessary to verify and transfer any remaining balance onto the new smartcards. The transfer service was available from 4 to 15 August,” she said.
The change is part of the city’s new ticketing upgrade, announced last year, aimed at improving passenger convenience, operational efficiency and overall travel safety.
According to the city, all passengers, including those with damaged cards or no card, will be issued a new smartcard free of charge between 4 August and 4 October.
A first-time top-up of N$50 is mandatory, while loading fees range from a minimum of N$50 to a maximum of N$2 500.
A replacement fee of N$78 will apply if the new card is lost or damaged.
Passengers are encouraged to present a valid form of identification (ID), birth certificate for pupils, or passport for foreign nationals to register.
According to Amutenya, passengers will enter and exit buses by tapping their new smartcards from Monday next week, eliminating cash handling and reducing boarding delays.
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