Why is my card declining when I have a valid travel pass?

If you have a valid travel pass but are receiving an insufficient funds / card declined message, this may be because your Snapper has incurred an IOU or a penalty fare. You won’t be able to tag on if you have an IOU, or a pending penalty that outweighs your Snapper balance – regardless of whether or not you have a travel pass.

In order to start travelling again, simply top up your Snapper balance by at least the amount of the IOU or the penalty fare.

We strongly recommend you always have a few dollars loaded onto your Snapper, even when you regularly use a travel pass. That way, if your travel pass runs out unexpectedly, you’ll still be able to travel, and you’ll be able to use other services not covered by your pass.