Iff card is a contactless

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

introduced in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

in 2010. It allows customers to travel on

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to r ...

services after having pre-paid.Cardiff Bus , Iff
The name "Iff card" is a play on the word "Cardiff".Guardian Cardiff , Cardiff gets its own Oyster card
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Launch

Having been an aspiration of Cardiff Bus for many years beforehand, the card was launched in October 2010 during a publicity event outside

Cardiff Central Library Cardiff Central Library (now Cardiff Central Library Hub) ( cy, Llyfrgell Ganolog Caerdydd) is the main library in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. It offers a public library service and is open six days a week. Four buildings have been name ...

. The first 30,000 cards were issued free of charge and pre-loaded with £3 of credit, after which the cards were charged at £5. The cards are now issued free. The company spent £300,000 on developing the card whose ITSO technology can be shared with other transport providers and public bodies in the future. More than 25,000 applications for the card were received within the first few weeks of its launch.

Use

An amount of money is electronically loaded onto the card, either upon boarding a bus or at the Cardiff Bus customer service centre. A passenger then chooses a ticket type. The card can also be used as a season ticket. The card should be topped up when the balance is low, but the card allows the customer to acquire a negative balance up to £3, the first operator in the UK to do so. Those who have registered for an Iff card will be able to be sent service updates via text or e-mail during spells of bad weather.WalesOnline, Cardiff Bus launches Iff smart card scheme
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Restrictions

The card can be topped-up in units of £5, £10 and £20 up to maximum amount of £50. The card may be used by persons aged between 6 and 60. The Iff card cannot be used to pay a partial amount. The card would be cancelled if not used for a continuous period of one year

Future

The Managing Director of Cardiff Bus hopes the online topping up service would be available by 2011. Executive Member for

Cardiff Council Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

hopes the card would become integrated with rail companies so it could be used across all transport systems.

Deputy First Minister for Wales The deputy first minister of Wales ( cy, dirprwy brif weinidog Cymru) is the deputy leader of the Welsh Government. The post was created in October 2000 when Mike German of the Welsh Liberal Democrats was appointed Deputy First Minister as part ...

Ieuan Wyn Jones Ieuan Wyn Jones (born 22 May 1949) is a Welsh politician who was the Deputy First Minister in the Welsh Government from 2007 to 2011. He was the Member of the Senedd for the Ynys Môn constituency from 1999 to 2013, and he was also leader of P ...

hopes to see the smartcard technology rolled out throughout Wales by 2014.

References

External links

Cardiff Bus site – how to use the Iff card (Archive copy)

BBC News: Cardiff Bus smartcards are unveiled
{{Transport in Cardiff Contactless smart cards Bus transport in Cardiff Bus transport in Wales Transport in Cardiff