Nottingham has become the first city outside of London to launch an Oyster-style travel card.
The Robin Hood card launched this morning after the city council released the first images of it last week.
It is designed to create a hassle-free way of getting around Nottingham on bus or tram – even when using different transport operators.
They are available at selected ticket machines as part of an initial testing phase, with shops, travel centres and a bigger machine network selling them in 2016.
Cards are free when first issued – passengers just have to top them up using credit cards to a minimum of £10.
A single trip on one day is £1.70 with any operator. Unlimited day trips can be made for £3.15 from any one given operator or £4 for more than one operator.
A full list of places where passengers can buy and use the card is available on a special website.
Video: The city council’s head of transport answers questions on the cost differences between cards
Cllr Nick McDonald, the city council portfolio holder for transport, said: “It’s a lot simpler and a lot easier than any other way of doing it.
“The aim is by the summer next year you will be able to get one of these cards pretty much anywhere.”
There’s been criticism from some travellers that the card can’t be used any further outside of the city centre than West Bridgford, but next year it’s hoped the service will extend in to the county.
Other travellers have pointed out existing cards such as the Mango card allow people to ‘touch on and touch off’ for shorter journeys, which can cost as little as £1 on a tram.
The city council says cheaper ‘hop on hop off’ journey fares will also be available on Robin Hood cards from around April 2016, and the plan is to expand the scheme further into the county.
