Sydney’s new smartcard ticketing system continues to roll its way across the city – whether Sydneysiders want it or not. Opal – not to be confused with the disastrous Tcard – now covers travel on all Sydney Ferries services, and on all Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity services.
The rollout on Sydney’s buses is taking slightly longer, mainly due to the fact that having to install readers on each and every Sydney bus would no doubt take longer than installing them at the entrance and exit of each of the city’s train stations.
However, the Opal card has now gone live on Eastern suburbs bus routes 333, 326, 327, 355, 361 and L24, and on all buses operating in the Mount Kuring-Gai Transdev bus network (routes 556-599).
Transport for NSW predict that the Opal rollout will be completed by the end of 2014, covering all ferry, bus and train services within Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter Region, the Blue Mountains, the Southern Highlands and Illawarra.
In April, NSW Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian said, “More than 185,000 people have now signed up for Opal cards. Now that we have finalised the train rollout, as customers hear about the benefits of using Opal, we are seeing more and more people applying for a card.”
Back in August last year, Berejiklian emphasised her enthusiasm for the system. “It’s a really exciting time for our customers,” she said. “If you catch ferries or if you catch trains in those areas where we’ve got the Opal card, I really do encourage you to take it up.”
But how has the Opal card actually been received since its launch?
NSW Transport workers may not be the card’s biggest fan. According to the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union, a number of ticket windows at suburban train stations have been closed to force commuters to use the Opal card.
Secretary Alex Claassens said this meant the loss of almost 50 ticket-sellers’ positions, with more on the chopping block, as the government reviews more stations this month.
“Tickets-sellers have been removed from Lidcombe, Wynyard and Martin Place, four have gone from Central and three from Town Hall,” he said. “Commuters have to wait in longer lines to buy tickets. Many find the Opal card too expensive.”
And the general public? According to a recent forum conversation on Reddit, most people who have an Opal card seem to like it. Gripes seem to centre around the fact that for some commuters, a quarterly or monthly ticket works out cheaper than Opal, and occasionally the readers don’t work.
Similar to the Oyster card in London and Myki in Melbourne, the Opal card is a smartcard ticketing system designed for travelling on public transport. Instead of using paper tickets, Opal cardholders pre-load their card with credit, and each time they take a trip, credit is taken off the card, depending on the length of the trip
The cardholder orders their card online (from here) or phones up Opal (cards will be available to buy instore later this year). Once they have their card, they can top it up online or at certain vendors, or can alternatively set up an auto top-up, so the card is automatically topped up from their credit card when credit falls below a certain amount.
Eventually, there will be five different types of Opal card – Adult (black), Concession (silver), Senior/Pensioner (gold), Child/Youth (green) and Student (blue). However, at this stage, only Adult cards and Child/Youth cards are available. Non-reloadable Opal cards will also apparently be introduced in the future.
Benefits of the Opal card
Opal card promoters are quick to talk of the system’s benefits, which include a $2.50 daily cap for all travel on Sundays, and a daily travel cap of $15 from Monday to Saturday. Cardholders are only charged for eight rides per week, so a commuter travelling two trips a day from Monday to Thursday can get unlimited free travel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The card also offers a further discount of 30% to all train journeys taken outside of peak travel times Monday to Friday, and all day on weekends. Using the card will also cut down on queues; it should cut down on paper; and it could be make public transport more accessible for visitors to Sydney.
And its Downfalls
Some problems should iron themselves out as people get used to the system. Problems such as forgetting to tap on and off. When this happens, the default maximum fare is deducted from the card. Some cardholders also complain of having to take their card out of their wallet to scan it, and would prefer to tap and go with the card still in their wallet.
Others complain that the system doesn’t offer weekly, monthly or yearly options that could save regular commuters money. There is also the issue of higher travel costs. Despite the various travel discounts, some commuters are complaining that they will have to pay more under the Opal system.
Commuters travelling from Wollongong to the city, for example, pay $218 for a monthly ticket on the current system. When Opal is introduced on that line, commuters will have to pay an extra $22 for the same number of trips. In other areas, quarterly ticket holders will lose out on $46-$120, while yearly ticket holders will have to pay $292-$720 more.
Opposition transport spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said, “The O’Farrell Government should come clean and admit that they are hiking public transport fares by stealth.”
Perhaps she could get that printed on a t-shirt. Berejiklian recently announced plans to launch a range of Sydney transport merchandise, similar to that of New York and London. Perfect for a transport system that is so lovingly referred to by its users as CityFail and Sh*ttyRail.
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