Product Code Database
Opal is a Proximity card smartcard fare collection system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area. Operation of the Opal system is managed by Transport for NSW. First launched in late 2012, Opal is valid on Transport for NSW's metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services that operate in Sydney and the neighbouring Central Coast, Hunter Region, Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Southern Highlands areas. Opal equipment was designed from the start to support a variety of cards, but launched with the captive Opal cards.
Opal cards are the standard method of paying for fares on the Opal system. The card is a credit card-sized smartcard which includes a microchip and internal RFID aerial, allowing the card to communicate with readers. The microchip enables value to be loaded onto the card, as well as allowing the journey details to be recorded and the appropriate fare deducted from the stored value on the card. Passengers 'tap on' and 'tap off' any services whenever they travel through the public transport network. Opal cards can also be used to pay for fares on selected third party transport services via a facility known as OpalPay.
After a gradual rollout from 2017, the Opal system has accepted contactless payment via credit card, debit card and linked devices with the same fares and benefits as an adult Opal card since 2019.
A unified brand for the majority of public transport tickets was introduced in April 2010. MyZone was designed to simplify the fare system and remove one of the stumbling blocks to the introduction of a smart card. The AFC system was retained where it was in use, but tickets could also be used on private buses – and subsequently on light rail – by presenting a ticket to the bus driver or tram conductor.
In 2001, Cubic launched a court action against the government but the case exposed an improper relationship between its then managing director and a RailCorp employee alleged to have leaked tender secrets to Cubic.
Ruling against Cubic in 2002, the NSW Supreme Court judge Michael Adams found it was ''guilty of reprehensible conduct'' and had shown a ''lack of good faith and positive dishonesty'' in the tender process.
The development and rollout of the system was beset with difficulties, leading the government to terminate the contract in November 2007. "NSW ends TRG Tcard contract" The Australian 9 November 2007 The government sued ERG for $77 million who counter sued for $215m. The claim was settled in February 2012.
In September 2011 the new name for the system was announced as 'Opal', chosen from a selection of 665 names. Transport for NSW said Opal was chosen because it was 'uniquely Australian', short, and easy to say. As well as the opal being Australia's national gemstone, the black opal is the New South Wales gemstone symbol. "New name's the ticket for Sydney transport" ABC News 13 September 2011
The Adult fare card was the first card to be released, becoming available in December 2012. On 6 April 2014, the Child/Youth card was made available. These cards had to be ordered either online or over the phone. From 28 July until the end of September 2014, temporary kiosks were set up at major railway stations and shopping centres, as unregistered Adult and Child/Youth cards were made available for the first time. Opal card pop-up kiosks now located at 28 major Sydney stations Transport for NSW 28 July 2014 Opal cards available at 1,000 retail outlets, shopping centres and even more pop-up kiosks Transport for NSW 4 August 2014 Opal retailers have distributed unregistered Adult and Child/Youth cards since 10 August 2014. Opal cards to be sold at 1000 stores as paper tickets go , Sydney Morning Herald
The Senior/Pensioner card was made available for ordering online or by phone on 3 November 2014. New Gold Opal Card with $2.50 daily cap available for seniors and pensioners , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 30 October 2014 Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales Number 95 , NSW Government Gazette, 31 October 2014 Between 11 November and 5 December 2014, temporary kiosks were set up at shopping centres to allow seniors and pensioners to order their Opal cards. Opal rolls out to more than 450 buses in Northern Sydney as Senior/Pensioner information kiosks start Transport for NSW 9 November 2014
The Concession card is available to eligible apprentices, trainees, tertiary students and job seekers. Concession Opal card starts rolling out for university students Opal tickets 18 December 2014 Concession cards became available to tertiary students on 2 February 2015. To be eligible for the Concession Opal, students must be enrolled full-time at a participating institution. Tertiary Students Transport for NSW Students need to give consent for their institution to share enrolment details with Transport for NSW. Concession Card Launch , Opal Announcement Retrieved 2 February 2015 Tertiary students tap on with Opal from today Transport for NSW 2 February 2015 Sydney Morning Herald 1 February 2015 As of 14 June 2015 the cards were available for students at over 80 institutions. Transforming ticketing for tertiary students Opal Card 13 July 2015. The Concession Opal became available to eligible NSW job seekers from 29 June 2015. Opal for job seekers Opal Card retrieved 29 June 2015 Opal takes centre stage at Central Transport for NSW 29 June 2015
When originally launched, adult cards were scheduled to expire after nine years.
The School card is provided to students with entitlements to free transport to/from school under the School Student Transport Scheme. Owing to the light rail's heritage as a privately run enterprise, free travel for school students was traditionally not available on this mode. The School Opal was introduced on light rail from July 2016.
A grey Opal card is available for holders of a free travel Vision Impaired Person's Travel Pass. The card can be used to open ticket gates at stations and ferry wharves without requiring staff assistance.
Employee cards are used by certain public service employees (e.g. Police, Sydney Trains staff) entitled to free travel on some or all public transport services. Prior to June 2021, employee cards were grey.
Single trip tickets can be bought from top up machines at most train stations, ferry wharves and light rail stops. Tickets issued from these machines are cardboard MIFARE Ultralight C cards.
In the past, single trip tickets were also available on buses. These were simply thermal paper receipts and did not need to be validated. As with prior to Opal, these tickets were not available on PrePay routes or stops. Starting in 2018, PrePay routes became known as 'Opal only' routes and many more routes became designated as 'Opal only', with no tickets sold on board.
The technology is based on a system developed by Cubic Transport Systems on licence from Transport for London.
The following tables list Opal fares:
^= $2.50 cap applies for Senior/Pensioner cardholders
A surcharge is levied when using the two privately operated stations serving Sydney Airport:
As there are no return or periodical options available, reusable Opal cards and contactless payments include a number of caps to reduce the cost for frequent travellers:
Other key discounts include:
Fares have increased on the first Monday in July (although October in 2023) generally matching inflation, but with some adjustment from government directives. The caps for Senior/Pensioner cards, the transfer discount and the Weekly caps (since introduced) have not changed since 2016.
Being a distance-based system, Opal users are required to tap on on all modes & tap off on all modes (apart from the F1 Manly Ferry) to ensure the correct fare is charged. If a user only taps at one end of their journey, a default fare will be charged, corresponding to the maximum fare on that mode of travel. However, a lower default fare applies if it is not possible to reach the maximum fare on the route for which the tap on took place. If the user fails to tap off, the default fare is charged after exceeding the maximum journey time (5 hours for most train trips) or when tapping on at a gated station for the next journey. Users do not need to tap off on the F1 Manly Ferry, as the fare is charged when tapping on.
An off-peak discount applies to encourage travel outside of peak times. This discount originally only applied to train trips only, but from 6 July 2020, it was enabled on bus and light rail as well. The discount is currently set at its original level of 30%. It was temporarily increased to 50% between 6 July and 5 October 2020. Peak times were originally between 07:00 to 09:00 (for Sydney Trains stations), 06:00 to 08:00 (for most intercity stations) and 16:00 to 18:30 (for all stations) on weekdays. Even earlier peak times applied at certain intercity stations located very far from Sydney. Peak times were widened to (6:00 for intercity stations) 6:30 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 19:00 on weekdays on 6 July 2020. Opal fare changes from 5 Octobery Transport for NSW 29 September 2020
Transport Officers and NSW Police, who randomly patrol services, are equipped with portable card readers and mobile phone based readers.
In 2014, the government stated that when the CBD and South East Light Rail opened in 2019, passengers would pay a single fare for a journey involving the use of both light rail and buses, however this was before the introduction of the transfer discount and ultimately not implemented.
Previously once a journey count of eight was reached during the week (Monday to Sunday), travel was free for the remainder of the week. This discount was changed to half-price travel on 5 September 2016 and removed altogether on 16 October 2023. When an Opal customer completes eight trips on the same mode of transport (even within the 1-hour transfer), a new journey commences. The number of trips required to force the creation of a new journey was increased from four trips to eight trips in March 2016 to reduce the number of short trips made simply to complete a journey and reach the journey limit.
All hours on both weekend days were originally nominated as being off-peak; that was extended to include all of Friday as well—recognising changes to travel pattern due to increased Working From Home, in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—on 16 October 2023.
Beginning in January 2018, an Opal Park & Ride trial scheme was introduced at selected commuter car parks. Passengers are able to park their cars for free for up to 18 hours if they take public transport and use the carpark using the same Opal card. The scheme is intended to reduce the number of spaces used by those who aren't catching public transport.
Transport for NSW also used to sell a number of mobile phone case accessories that incorporate a pocket for the Opal card.
Non-adult Opal cards have their own distinct 'ding' when tapping on or off, in addition to having a light mounted atop a train station or ferry wharf barrier lit up, allowing for Transport Officers and police to identify and enforce correct fares.
The design of the cigar-shaped Opal poles won the Transport category of the Sydney Design Awards, the Australian International Design Award and the Powerhouse Museum Design Award.
Two billion trips had been taken on the Opal network by May 2018. An average of 13 million trips were taken each week and there were more than 3.7 million Opal cards in active use.
Transport for NSW has stated that customers forget to tap off after about 3% of journeys, so they are charged the default fare.
The Opal electronic ticketing system has won a range of awards reflecting excellence in design for its unique card reader poles used at ungated ferry wharves, light rail stops and railway stations. In addition, the project and its implementation were recognised for excellence by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. On 12 March 2014, Opal was awarded Australia's 2014 Smart Infrastructure Project of the Year.
In addition, the initial lack of transfer benefits was criticised. Corinne Mulley, the chair of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies, described the launch of the card as a "missed opportunity" since, at the time, Opal retained many of the "interchange penalties" of paying for transfers, and Opal was more expensive than MyMulti for some multi-modal commuters. Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian rejected the criticism, stating that "we believe that customers should pay for the mode they are using".
During the Opal card customer trial period, all Opal cards were required to be registered with the customer's personal information. This allowed for feedback and issues to be recorded against an individual's account. Registered cards offer the ability to protect the balance and transfer it to a new card, if a card is lost, stolen or damaged. Data is made available to other NSW government departments and law enforcement agencies. Concerns about privacy have been repeatedly raised in the mainstream media, with commentators questioning the extent to which user data can be accessed by authorities. Since July 2014, unregistered adult and child/youth Opal cards have been available. In December 2014, University of Sydney delayed collaboration with the new Opal card system, citing privacy concerns, whereas Macquarie University, University of New South Wales and Australian Catholic University had already agreed to provide the "student data" to the card network.
Opal
After terminating the Tcard contract, the government quickly moved to reset the smartcard project. It called for expressions of interest for the second attempt at the project in August 2008. "NSW revives failed Tcard project" ABC News 3 July 2008 In April 2010 the government awarded the contract to the Pearl Consortium, whose members are the Commonwealth Bank, Cubic and Downer Group. The initial contract ran until September 2024. Commuters get reprieve from Opal fare rises as changes considered Sydney Morning Herald 28 June 2023 It was later extended until September 2026. What's next Opal Gen: Operator tapped to stay on longer as $568m upgrade hits hurdles Sydney Morning Herald 10 June 2024
Rollout
The initial Opal rollout commenced on the Neutral Bay to Circular Quay ferry service in late 2012 and was completed two years later when the Inner West Light Rail was added to the network. During this period, Opal was progressively rolled out to all ferry services operating under a New South Wales Government service contract, Sydney suburban and intercity train services, all bus services operating under a Metropolitan or Outer Metropolitan service contract and on Sydney's light rail line.
Payment types
Opal
Reusable Opal cards come in five different types, each with their own colour. These are: Adult (black), Child/Youth (green), Senior/Pensioner (gold), Concession (silver), Employee (blue) and School (light blue)., Transport for NSW Types of Opal cards Opal Reusable Opal cards can be ordered online or over the phone. Adult and Child/Youth cards are also available from retail outlets, such as convenience stores, newsagents, supermarkets and at Service NSW centres. Opal Cards now available from 1,000 retailers including 7-Eleven and Woolworths Transport for NSW 10 August 2014 How do I top up my Opal card? Transport for NSW 28 July 2014
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Opal card transition: what you need to know Sydney Morning Herald 29 August 2014 This has since been extended to 12 years.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Opal Terms of Use Transport for NSW
Free travel cards
There are a number of cards that do not have any stored value for individuals with free travel entitlements. These cards are plastic MIFARE cards.
Single trip tickets
Non-reusable (single trip) Opal tickets were introduced on 1 August 2016, replacing all remaining paper tickets. These are only valid on the day of purchase for a single trip only, and only two ticket types are available: Adult and Child/Youth. Single ticket prices are significantly higher than the applicable fare on a reloadable card to discourage their use.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> More Sydney buses moving to Opal only services Transport for NSW 18 November 2018 Most buses in the North West of Sydney are moving to Opal only services Transport for NSW 16 June 2019 All remaining routes became Opal only on 25 March 2020 due to COVID concerns.
Contactless payments
A trial supporting direct contactless payments from debit and credit cards was introduced on 6 July 2017. This allows passengers to tap on or off using their card or a mobile device linked to their card's account, thereby removing the need to use an Opal card or ticket. The trial began on the F1 Manly ferry service, initially only for holders of Mastercard contactless cards. All passengers were charged the price of an adult Opal single trip ticket. On 12 March 2018, the trial was expanded to include all Sydney Ferries and Sydney light rail services, and support for Visa and American Express cards was also added. On 26 November 2018, it was further expanded to cover all Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink intercity services.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> More ways to pay on trains, ferries and light rail Transport for NSW The contactless fare structure was also changed to charge normal Opal peak hour fares, and support for the daily, weekly and Sunday caps was introduced. However contactless payments could not be used to benefit from or pay for Weekly Travel Rewards, Transfer Discounts, Off-peak train fare discounts, Trip Advantage and free access to Opal park & ride carparks. Cubic and Transport for New South Wales Extend Contactless Payment to Sydney’s Trains Cubic Corporation On 29 July 2019, all Opal benefits except park & ride and on demand services, were extended to contactless payments. Contactless payments Transport for NSW Savings for commuters using contactless payments Commonwealth Bank 28 July 2019 The rollout of contactless payment to Opal controlled buses commenced on 2 August 2019 and was complete by the end of September 2019. Sydney buses to allow payment by credit card Sydney Morning Herald 28 July 2019 Contactless transport payments hit the road Transport for NSW 28 July 2019 Contactless payments on bus services Transport for NSW 15 August 2019 For detailed rollout information see Contactless rollout on buses.
Opal digital
On 8 December 2020, registrations opened to trial an Opal digital card where the Opal card was loaded onto mobile devices such as phones and watches, which could then be used to tap on/tap off, instead of using a physical card. This was available for Adult Opal fares only, initially on Apple and Samsung devices with Android 8.0 or later, with Google devices added at a later date. The trial which ran for 12 months, was limited to 10,000 users. It could not be used on OpalPay services or park & ride. Opal digital card: convenience for customers Transport for NSW 8 December 2020 Opal digital card trial now open Transport for NSW 8 December 2020 Opal digital card: Where it can be used Transport for NSW 16 June 2021 The trial ended, with all trial cards disabled and refunded, on 12 December 2021.
Fares
Fare types
Opal integrates ticketing on all modes of public transport; however, it does not fully integrate fares. The fare types for reusable cards and contactless payments are metro/train, bus/light rail and ferry. All modes except ferries offer separate peak period and off-peak fares. All fares are calculated based on the distance travelled and are for single trips only. Opal's non-reusable single trip tickets use the same mode groupings as the standard fares but offer no off-peak fares and are more expensive than the equivalent standard fare.
Trips, journeys and transfers
Fares are categorised in two ways: a trip is a single unit of travel, from tap on to tap off; a journey is a collection of at least 1 trip taken within a short space of time of each other. Trips will be counted as one journey if a passenger taps on for a new trip within 1 hour of tapping off from their previous trip (on the Manly ferry the time limit is 130 minutes from tap on). Trips are used to calculate fares. Fares for consecutive trips involving the same mode of transport are combined so the passenger is charged as if they have taken just one trip, from its origin to ultimate destination – this is known as Trip Advantage. Opal card benefits Transport for NSW Journeys involving transfers between modes generally attract separate fares for each mode. The exception is the Stockton ferry in Newcastle, which is classified as a bus. A journey can consist of a maximum of eight trips.
Changes to fare calculation
Since 5 September 2016, a discount has applied when changing modes during a journey, other than metro/train which are treated as the same mode.
Topping up
Placing money onto an Opal card is known as topping up. As of January 2016, there are over 2,000 Opal card retailers that provide top up services across New South Wales. Opal card retailer list Opal There are also top up machines at railway stations, light rail stops, and ferry wharves. Opal cards may also be linked to a credit or debit card, allowing users to top up their balance online or by phone. When linked to a credit or debit card, Opal cards can be configured to automatically top up the balance when it falls below a pre-set amount (auto top up), currently $10.
+Top up limits
! rowspan="3" Card type
! colspan="3" Minimum top up amount
! rowspan="3" Maximum card balance Adult $20 $20 $10 $250 Senior/Pensioner $2.50 $5 $5 $250 All others $10 $10 $5 $150
Operation
Network
The Opal network comprises:
Transport for NSW operates the Opal website and a phone hotline for customer service, card top ups, orders and inquiries. It provides an "Opal Travel" Mobile app for Android and iOS devices. The app includes a trip planning facility, allows Opal card top ups and provides access to Opal card data. Android devices that include near field communication hardware can scan an Opal card to access live data, including the card's balance, tap status (tapped on/off), weekly travel reward status, top up status and card number.
OpalPay
First introduced in December 2017, OpalPay is a facility allowing Opal cards to be used to pay fares on a number of privately owned services that operate independently from Transport for NSW's contracted services, and on on-demand minibus services. Fares on these services are set by the owner of the service and Opal's regular discounts do not apply. Concession fares are accepted on some services. OpalPay can be accepted on some private ferry services and On Demand bus services.
Infrastructure
Opal machines
Over 350 top up machines are installed at railway stations, light rail stops and ferry wharves throughout the Opal area. Opal top up machines to be rolled out from early 2015 Transport for NSW 10 December 2014 Opal top up machines coming to NSW train stations, ferry wharves, light rail stops Sydney Morning Herald 10 December 2014 The first generation machines can only provide top ups with a debit or credit card. Second generation machines provide top ups and can also sell single trip tickets. There are two types of second-generation machines – the difference between the types is the ability to accept cash in addition to electronic payment. On 11 March 2015, the first top up machines became available at the recently opened Edmondson Park and Leppington railway stations. Top up machines now available Opal website retrieved 11 March 2015 This had been extended to nearly 100 stations and wharves by July 2015. Transport NSW Information Retrieved 4 May 2016 In 2016, the second generation machines are being installed with 58 of the credit card only and 118 of the cash and credit card machines installed as at 23 June 2016. Opal single trip tickets – Customer trial Transport NSW Information Retrieved 4 May 2016
Opal readers
Opal readers are used to tap on or off. They are installed atop existing ticket barriers, or mounted on a stand-alone pole at railway stations, light rail stops or ferry wharves, or integrated into light or power poles. Buses are the exception, with readers installed on the bus itself. The rollout of Opal technology has seen a new style of gates introduced at a number of major stations. Transport for New South Wales 27 August 2015 When tapping on or off, all readers display the current balance of the card or an error message if the tap failed to work. Tap offs also display the fare deducted for the trip. A trip that is part of an existing journey will display "transfer" when tapping on. For contactless cards and school cards a green tick is shown.
Reception
By June 2016, 7.7 million cards had been issued. The most widely used card types (in descending order) were Adult, Senior/Pensioner, Child/Youth and Concession.
Criticism
Fare structure
The introduction of Opal caused debate over the different fare structures of Opal and the former MyZone paper tickets. Despite being cheaper than single cash fares, Opal single fares were more expensive than the bus and ferry TravelTens, and Opal provides no equivalent to the all-you-can-use MyTrain or MyMulti periodical tickets. An unofficial fare comparison site called Opal or Not claimed that more than half of all the public transport trips it compared were more expensive using Opal than with paper tickets. Opal or Not website Retrieved 7 November 2014 Transport for NSW disputes the site's findings, calling it "riddled with errors" and stating that only 7% would "potentially" pay more, but refused to release the analysis behind that figure.
Privacy concerns
Significant privacy issues have been raised, as Opal travel information is available to government departments without a warrant. Student Opal card privacy concerns limit university participation Sydney Morning Herald 29 December 2014 Among those who have expressed concerns have been New South Wales Privacy Commissioner Elizabeth Coomb, the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association of NSW, and the University of Sydney.
See also
External links
|
|
