Although I never did get those action shots of SmartRider Man that I’d been hoping for, it seems that I didn’t need to. He’s popping up in the newspapers, on the sides of buses, and even in random online promotions.

But why does he never seem to be smiling? The best he can manage is some kind of weird straight-faced smirk. Is it some sort of blasphemy for an RFID card to be happy about its triumphance over magnetic strips?

Some months ago I noted that Transperth seemed to have a new mascot for SmartRider, to replace their talking card graphic. It was basically a dude in, um, a SmartRider suit.

I also predicted (in jest!) that we’d soon see said dude in said suit standing on row E at the Busport, ambushing unsuspecting commuters — somewhat akin to that old Lotto ad with a dude in a scratch-n-win suit who’d rugby-tackle people.

Today Transperth announced that SmartRider will be usable for secondary school students from next week, as originally planned. And — surprise, surprise! — they announced that a dude in a SmartRider suit will be making appearances around Perth and Fremantle.

I have to get me some decent photos, to preserve the cheesiness for posterity …