Say goodbye to bus passes and bus tickets -- a new card will soon change the way some people pay for the bus.

The Presto card is a new smart card that will eliminate the need for OC Transpo bus passes, tickets and transfers.

"You just take your Presto card and tap. And that's all you have to do," said Coun. Diane Deans, chair of the city's transit commission.

The idea of smart cards replacing bus passes and tickets was first floated back in 2006. Now, the city says it's time for the technology.

"We hear lots of complaints about long lineups to buy passes and tickets at places at the Rideau Centre, and those will be a thing of the past," said Deans.

The city will spend $32 million on the new cards. The technology will be paid for with the gas tax revenue the city gets from the Ontario government.

"The condition of receiving the gas tax revenue is also that the City of Ottawa continue its partnership with Presto smart card system and to be able to use this plan for 2012," said OC Transpo General Manager Alain Mercier.

The Presto card is designed to be easy to use, allowing transit riders to purchase bus fares with a simple swipe of their card.

The company that makes the card is provincially funded and says it can adapt its systems to match newer technology.

The Presto card should be available to OC Transpo riders by next spring.

With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua