Opal goes live on more Western Sydney buses
Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced Opal is available on another 274 State Transit buses in Western Sydney and the Inner West, with the number of Opal cards issued now more than 850,000.
The latest Opal rollout takes the number of Opal active buses to 3,290 and covers suburbs including Burwood, Bexley, Strathfield, Drummoyne, Campsie, Ashfield, Homebush, Lakemba, Kingsgrove and Five Dock.
Ms Berejiklian said with Opal already live on all suburban and intercity trains and all Sydney Ferries, the NSW Government is on track to have Opal on all 5,000 buses across Sydney and the regions by the end of the year.
“Customers are embracing Opal and more than 850,000 cards have now been issued, including almost 100,000 Opal cards issued last week alone,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Last week was a big test for us as 14 paper ticket types were retired and we saw the biggest jump in the number of customers switching to the Opal system.
“I am pleased with how well the rollout is going and that we’re seeing so many customers choosing to come on-board with Opal every week, putting an end to Sydney’s morning ticket queues.”
Member for Strathfield Charles Casuscelli welcomed the news and encouraged locals to look out for buses with a big ‘Opal Bus’ sign on the front.
“I encourage customers to take advantage of Opal’s benefits, including fare caps and free travel after eight paid journeys in a week. If you travel to work and back Monday to Thursday, you get unlimited free travel on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” he said.
“If you choose to take public transport instead of driving to a meeting or appointment in the middle of the day, you could reach your free weekly travel reward even sooner.”
Member for Drummoyne John Sidoti said customers in the Inner West would be pleased they can now tap onto their local bus with Opal, putting an end to fumbling for coins or queuing for a ticket.
“Now that Opal is available on our local buses, customers can simply load money onto their Opal card and never have to worry about arriving at the bus stop on Monday morning and finding their TravelTen has no rides left,” he said.
“Weekend travel is also more affordable with an Opal card - we’re seeing thousands of customers qualifying for free travel on ferries, trains and buses on the weekend and under Opal everyone gets unlimited travel for no more than $2.50 on Sundays.
“The incentives offered by the Opal card are about making public transport more affordable and more convenient for a greater number of customers.”
Customers can get their Opal card or top it up 24 hours a day seven days a week from the Opal website, or by calling 13 67 25. More than 1,000 Opal retailers are also now operating and pop-up kiosks are in place at major stations.
Most customers are choosing to go on-line to register their Opal card and set it to auto-top-up, like having an e-tag in your pocket.