“This is an incredible milestone,” commented Premier Bligh. “Just two years ago the integrated travel system was rolled out across one of the largest geographical public transport networks in the world.”

The system in South East Queensland was fully installed across TransLink buses, ferries and railways in mid-2008. The TransLink network covers an area of more than 10,000 square kilometers, from Brisbane to Coolangatta on the south coast of Queensland, up to Gympie and west to Helidon.

According to the state’s Transport Minister Rachel Nolan, the 100 millionth Go Card trip was taken last month as well, and this year the number of trips taken using the card has shot up from 33 percent to 60 percent.

To encourage even more Queensland commuters to switch to smart cards, TransLink and the State Government are also giving away 400,000 go cards, loaded with 10 dollars credit.

Premier Bligh said, “We want people to make the switch from paper tickets and this give-away is aimed at making it easier for everyone to get on board. go card users board vehicles faster, and they travel and transfer between modes more easily.”