All Smartcards must be validated on the Smartcard reader. You validate your Smartcard by holding the Smartcard on the reader target for at least a second or until a light appears.
Good Validation:
When a green light flashes, a single long beep will sound on the reader, the Smartcard is
valid for travel and the message on the display screen will reflect the product that is being used.
If an orange light flashes, a single long beep sounds, the Smartcard is valid for travel. The
orange light alerts you that the Smartcard is running low on journeys or days of travel.
An alert message will appear on the display screen of the Smartcard reader.
Some sample alert messages are:
Days left: 1
This means that only 1 day’s bus travel is left on the Smartcard.
Monthly Travelwide expires 31/01/09
This means that the Smartcard is valid up to and including the 31/01/09.
Bad Validation:
A red light flashes if a Smartcard does not validate successfully or if the Smartcard is not valid for travel. 5 short beeps will sound and an error message will appear on the display screen.
Sample error messages and guidelines