Fiji’s bus industry will go fully cashless from December 15, with operators warning that passengers including school children will not be allowed on board without a “topped up” eTransport card.
Fiji Bus Operators Association president Richard Lal said members had “bent over backwards” during the transition phase but it was now time to strictly enforce the “No Card – No Ride” rule.
“With effect from Monday, December 15, 2025, only passengers with ‘topped up’ eTransport cards will be uplifted and carried to their destination,” Mr Lal said.
“No further cash payments on our public transport system will be accepted.”
He said the policy would also apply to students, urging parents to ensure their children had valid cards before travelling.
“Now that 520,000 new cards have been issued as of November 30, 2025, it is time for us to enforce our ‘No Card – No Ride’ policy,” he said.
Mr Lal appealed to travellers to “take responsibility for their transport needs and ensure they have their eTransport cards and that they are always topped up ahead of any transfer plans.” He said the system had delivered 701,885,385 “Trips Per Tap” since its launch in 2017 — an average of 1.7 million trips a week, with only 859 complaints recorded to date, or “0.29 of a complaint each week”.
Mr Lal said Fiji’s bus industry remained “one of the cheapest and most efficient public transport systems in the world”, but operators continued to struggle with illegal competitors who were “not apprehended” by law enforcement.
He said these illegal operators were cutting into revenue on RSL routes, putting pressure on operators already facing “extremely low returns per km” and rising costs for maintenance, repairs and upgrades – issues the association plans to push in the months ahead.
