Contactless Transport Payments case study

Contactless payments now allow customers to conveniently tap on and off ferries, light rail and trains using a credit or debit card, or linked/wearable smart device.

In July 2017, the Contactless Transport Payments (CTP) trial was launched with Mastercard on the Manly to Circular Quay ferry services, signalling another innovative and collaborative approach to removing barriers to public transport use.

Following the highly successful launch with Visa, American Express and Mastercard joined the trial in March 2018, coinciding with the inclusion of all Sydney Ferries and L1 Dulwich Hill light rail services. The pilot has now been extended on trains and has included some Opal fare features in order to make it more appealing to regular public transport users. The plan is to then introduce CTP on all buses in 2019.

CTP offers numerous benefits to customers across the state. It provides a convenient backup or alternative for anyone who does not have, has lost, or hasn’t topped-up their Opal card. It also reduces ticket machine queues, makes the public transport system more accessible to tourists and infrequent public transport users, and virtually eliminates excuses for ‘accidental fare evasion’ among adult passengers at locations where there are no ticket machines.

The partnership Transport for NSW has formed with Visa, American Express and Mastercard is a successful one. We have worked together to create a secure and reliable technical interface with the existing Opal infrastructure providing the people of NSW with a better return on the Opal platform investment, as well as the flexibility of using their everyday payment cards.