Those living in Wellington, New Zealand, will soon be able to tag onto public transport with their phones and debit cards.
Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Daran Ponter says that residents were "sick of waiting", and contactless payment on buses and trains will roll out in the first half of next year.
The AUS$1.4 billion National Ticketing Solution (NTS)(NTS) was first signed off more than 16 years ago, and would allow people to pay for buses, ferries and trains with debit cards and digital payments across the country.
It was recently rolled out in Christchurch.
But the national project was recently delayed, with Wellington's launch date pushed out from the end of next year to the end of 2027.
Now, the regional council says it will roll out contactless payments itself in the first half of next year, at a cost of $5.5 million.
He could not yet say what month the new technology would be rolled out.
Source: RNZ