Farewell Metrocard: Bus riders can go contactless as Motu Move starts in Canterbury next week

Tuesday, 4 November 2025

Canterbury is the first region to launch Motu Move, the country’s new $1.3b contactless public transport payment system.

Bus riders will be able to ditch their Metrocards and use their own debit, credit or digital cards to pay for standard adult fares in Greater Christchurch from next week.

After multiple delays, the contactless payment ticketing system Motu Move will come into action on all Metro buses and ferries across Christchurch, Selwyn and Waimakariri on Monday.

Canterbury is the first region in the country to roll out the $1.3 billion national ticketing system.

Riders will be able to tag on with a debit or credit card, phone, or smartwatch to pay for standard adult fares.Environment Canterbury

Metro said it will become an extra way to pay because Metrocards, cash, or SuperGold cards can still be used — and those will still need to be used by riders paying a cheaper concession fare for now.

Paying concession fares through the Motu Move system is not expected to be rolled out until the next stage in 2026.

The standard adult Metrocard fare remains the same at $3 for buses or $5 for ferries.

Riders can still expect daily caps and free transfers between bus services and are encouraged to use the same card when tagging on the bus each time. Motu Move automatically calculates the best fare for the day’s travel and charges it overnight.

There will be no extra charges when paying contactless, but customers may notice a temporary $0.10 pre-authorisation on their account after tagging on the bus — used to verify the card - and will be replaced overnight when the total fare is calculated.

As well as physical debit or credits cards, riders will be able to pay digitally with Apple Pay and Google Pay on phones or smart watches.

More features are expected to be rolled out in Motu Move’s future phases, including a tag-on and tag-off system, a new Motu Move card for prepaid travel, and concessions built into the system.

Motu Move is a national programme that will provide a range of easy-to-use payment methods that customers can use for all public transport across New Zealand. It is expected to be rolled out across the country by the end of 2026.

It had been tested on Route 29 from Christchurch Airport to the city.

Disruptions to bus services on Friday

In an update to customers on Tuesday, Metro also warned that there could be disruptions on Friday because of a bus driver union meeting.

Metro said some services will be affected between 9.30am and 2.30pm and it was working with the operator to minimise the disruption.

Details of impacted routes will be shared on the metro.co.nz website when available.