10,000 public transport commuters are wanted by the LTA to 'test-ride' a new ez-link card between Aug 29 and Oct 28.

Commuters who try at least 100 rides with the new card - which will eventually have several non-transit applications - will receive $20 public transport vouchers in return.

Volunteers can sign up at TransitLink ticket offices located at most bus interchanges and MRT stations.

The new card will be versatile enough to be used for a variety of applications,such as electronic road-pricing (ERP),carparks, taxi fares and for in store purchases as well.

The card is a 'Contactless ePurse Application' (Cepas)- which means that it is a secured platform for all non-cash transactions using contactless cards.

Another difference is that this card will have not have a $3 travel deposit which the current Ez-Link card has.This is why commuters are able to start a train or bus trip with only $0.01 reflected in their ez-link card.

However with the new card,there is no travel deposit and the real balance in the card is shown. So people with a habit of not topping up their card till the last minute should be warned.  

Tests are being conducted so that any glitches can be removed to ensure that the system is ready for revenue service at the end of the year.

Ample time will be given for people to replace their cards and details of the ez-link card replacement exercise will be announced later in the year.  

Trial participants have been pre-selected from adult ez-link cardholders based on the following criteria:

1) High public transport usage.

2) Do not use non-transit applications or GIR0/Auto credit card top up facilities (as these applications will not be available during the trial).

The first 10,000 to respond to LTA's invitation to join the trial will be accepted as participants.

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