St. Norbert councillor and deputy mayor Janice Lukes holds up a ‘peggo’ card during a media launch on Friday, June 10, 2016. (BRAEDEN JONES / METRO WINNIPEG)

It’s called “peggo,” and it means you no longer have to carry around change to hop on a Winnipeg Transit bus.

The city’s new electronic fare collection system will roll out July 4 for seniors. Full and youth passengers will be able to use it in early August.

The $17.7 million system has been years in planning. Former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz had the vision for the easy pay option back in 2006.

The peggo system is similar to how modern Interac cards work. Riders simply tap their card against the card reader on the farebox and funds are automatically deducted at the sound of a beep.

The cards can be purchased at any 7-Eleven or Shoppers Drug Mart store, online or over the phone.

Two types of peggo cards

e-passes
Replace paper passes and are valid for an unlimited number of trips during a set number of consecutive days. Transit offers e-passes that range from 24 hours in length all the way up to an annual pass.

e-cash
Replaces paper tickets. Riders can load e-cash onto their peggo cards, which deducts e-cash fares from the card when it is tapped on the farebox. When paying using e-cash, a 75-minute transfer is automatically loaded onto the peggo card so paper transfers are no longer required.

A card costs $5 during the launch period and riders will receive a $5 e-cash rebate once they register it online.

Cash fare will also still be accepted.

The city’s cost of the system was about $10 million, while the province contributed $7 million.