Customer care centres: sorting your queries, card issues
- Details
- 14 April 2016
Need more information on our services? Having problems with your smartcard? Rea Vaya's customer care centres are there to answer your questions and sort out your issues as speedily as possible.
CUSTOMER CARE QUERY FAST FIND
- Where the centres are
- When the centres are open
- What services the centres offer
- What to do if your smartcard is lost, stolen or damaged
- What to do if money is incorrectly deducted from your card
1. WHERE THE CENTRES ARE
Rea Vaya's customer care centres are conveniently located at four of Rea Vaya's most frequented stations, two in the CBD, one in Soweto and one in Auckland Park:
- Park Station
- Johannesburg Art Gallery
- Carlton Centre Eastbound
- Orlando Police Station
- UJ Sophiatown Res
2. WHEN THE CENTRES ARE OPEN

Our customer care centres are open from 8am to 4.30pm Mondays to Fridays. On weekends and public holidays they're closed.
For more information, or for after-hours queries, call Rea Vaya's customer care number: 0860 562 874
3. WHAT SERVICES THE CENTRES OFFER
At each of our customer care centres you'll find a trained customer care agent standing by to assist you with any general information you need on Rea Vaya.
The customer care centres are also the place to go if you're having smartcard problems, in particular if:
- You want to get money transferred from a lost, stolen or damaged smartcard onto your new smartcard (see below for more info).
- You want to lodge an appeal for a refund in cases where you feel you've been wrongly charged or penalised (see below for more info).
Smartcards NOT for sale at the centres
Please note, however, that the customer care centres do NOT sell new Rea Vaya smartcards. But you won't have far to go if you want to buy one - they're available for sale at the following 8 stations:
- Park Station
- Johannesburg Art Gallery
- UJ Kingsway
- Orlando Stadium
- Thokoza Park
- iNdingilizi
- Diepkloof
- Carlton Centre Westbound
4. WHAT TO DO IF YOUR SMARTCARD IS LOST, STOLEN OR DAMAGED
If your smartcard is lost or stolen or damaged, you can buy a replacement card for R25. You can then arrange with the staff at one of Rea Vaya's customer care centres to have the money still left on your old card transferred to your new one. However, PLEASE NOTE:
- The money transfer will take up to 30 days.
- If your smartcard was lost or stolen, or the chip on the card cannot be read, you must be able to prove your identity and your entitlement to the remaining money.
To arrange for the money transfer, you should take your new card, your old card if you still have it, as well as your ID book/card to one of Rea Vaya's customer care centres, which are located at the following stations:
- Orlando Police Station
- UJ Sophiatown Res
- Johannesburg Art Gallery
- Carlton Centre Eastbound
Know your smartcard number and expiry date
The faster we're able to trace your details on the smartcard database, the sooner we'll be able to transfer your money. To this end, it will help if you can provide the number of your old smartcard.
For this reason, commuters are encouraged to keep their Rea Vaya smartcard number and expiry date written down somewhere safely in case their card is one day lost or stolen.
- The smartcard number is the 16-digit number on the front of the card.
- The expiry date is the month-year combination (for example, 03/19) under "valid thru", also on the front of the card.
You should also take care to provide your correct ID number, as the wrong number will also delay the money transfer process.
Still have questions about your smartcard? Contact Rea Vaya's call centre on 0860 562 874.
5. WHAT TO DO IF MONEY IS INCORRECTLY DEDUCTED FROM YOUR CARD
If you feel you've been charged the wrong fare, wrongly penalised, or penalised as a result of system problems, we encourage you to lodge an appeal by completing and submitting a penalty appeal form.
You can download the form by clicking on one of the following links:
- Download as PDF file (65 KB)
- Download as MS Word document (153 KB)
Then fill and save the document (Word), or print out the document and fill it in (Word or PDF). Then Either:
- Email the form to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; or
- Hand in the form at a Rea Vaya customer care centre; or
- Drop the form in any of the station suggestion boxes.
Forms are also available at the customer care centres, where you can fill in and immediately hand one in.
PLEASE NOTE:
- Queries take up to seven working days to resolve at Head Office.
- Balance transfers, where charges or penalties are found to be incorrect, take up to 30 days to be effected.
- The total cost of the journey travelled will be deducted when fare corrections are processed.
- Queries older than three months will not be considered.
- Terms and conditions of the Rea Vaya smartcard