Malta Public Transport yesterday unveiled its new transport card, called the 'tallinja' card, which can start being used as of July. People can register for their card now free of charge either online at www.tallinja.com or by calling 2122 2000. Applicants will be advised when their card is ready for collection from their local council office in June.

The new tallinja card will entitle holders to reduced fares and will make it easy to use the bus without having to buy a ticket. It is an intelligent card and will be personalised with the holder's photo and name and can be topped up with credit easily either online, over the phone, at one of Malta Public Transport's sales outlets or at any MaltaPost post office. The credit on the card will not expire.

Different cards and fares are available for children aged between four and 10, students, adults, Kartanzjan/Maltese 60+ identity card holders, Blue Badge holders and Gozo residents. Children under the age of four will continue to travel free of charge and will not need to present any card.

"When using their tallinja card, our customers will benefit from cheaper fares than when they pay on the bus. Every time they board the bus they must simply touch the card reader on the bus with their tallinja card. A fare for every journey will be deducted automatically from their available credit. It's that easy and much quicker," said Malta Public Transport Commercial Director Daniel Grech.

The tallinja card system allows holders to automatically benefit from daily, weekly or monthly capping depending on the card, but it will still be necessary to touch the reader on the bus with the card every time they board a bus. The system is designed in such a way that once customers reach a certain number of journeys, they will not pay for any more journeys that same day, week or month. The more customers travel, the more they will save.

Children aged between four and 10, holders of a Kartanzjan (or a Maltese 60+ identity card) and Blue Badge holders will be charged a reduced fare of 25c for every single journey of up to two hours, including bus interchanges. However they will never be charged more than 50c in a day or €2 in a week. This is automatic so there is no need to buy any tickets as long as there is credit available on their card. In the case of children or Kartanzjan holders, they can top up €2 every week and enjoy unlimited travel on all buses in Malta and Gozo!

Adults will benefit from a reduced fare of 75c for every single journey of up to two hours, including bus interchanges. However, they will never be charged more than €26 in any month. In the case of student card holders, the system will stop charging automatically at €21 every month, whereas for Gozo residents travelling in Gozo only, the automatic capping for a month is set at €10.

Malta Public Transport also explained that the price of tickets bought on board will rise as of July 2015. In fact, the only ticket that it will be possible to buy on board the bus will be a single journey ticket for up to two hours at €2.00 in summer or €1.50 in winter for day-time services, or €3.00 at night. This is irrespective of whether the passenger is an adult, a child, a Kartanzjan holder, etc.

The exact date in July when this change will take place will be announced at a later stage to ensure that there is sufficient time for people to register and collect their tallinja card. It is therefore very important for bus users to register for their free card before July in order to benefit from lower bus fares. Registration will remain open after July, but a registration fee may apply from 2016.

For this reason, Malta Public Transport launched a national information campaign yesterday. This campaign will include various newspaper adverts, TV and radio information spots and an information leaflet that will be sent to each household over the coming days to explain how the card works, the various fares available and how the card can be obtained.

As part of the campaign, road shows will be held in various areas over the next two months at which representatives of Malta Public Transport will be available to answer any questions and to receive registrations. Ongoing information will be published about the location of these road shows.