Opal is a contactless smartcard fare collection system for public transport services in New South Wales, Australia. 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, 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.
History
Integration Sydney has used a number of automated ticketing systems since the opening of the Eastern Suburbs railway line in June 1979. The Sydney Automated Fare Collection System (AFC) was rolled out across all government-run CityRail (train) and State Transit Authority (bus and ferry) services in Greater Sydney between 1988 and 1993. The system featured loose integration between the different modes of transport, a complex fare structure and excluded private operators. By being limited to the services provided by the government agencies, most bus services in the outer western, northern and southern parts of Sydney, including all bus services of the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Illawarra regions were excluded from the system.
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.
Tcard A replacement for the AFC based on smart card technology, named Tcard was first announced by the government in 1996, with the aim of having a system in place before the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The contract was awarded to ERG Group, but was delayed until 2002 due to a lawsuit from the losing bidder Cubic, which was labelled dishonest by the presiding Supreme Court of New South Wales judge. News in Brief Railway Digest September 2002 page 12
In 2001, Cubic launched a court action against the government but the case exposed an improper relationship between its 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 Smart card difficulties Railway Gazette International March 2008 page 128 The government sued ERG for $77 million who counter sued for $215m. The claim was settled in February 2012.
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. 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 EDI. How Sydney's smartcard will work Track & Signal issue 15/1 February 2011 page 47 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
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
In June 2022, the New South Wales government committed funding to the Opal Next Gen project. In 2024, the New South Wales government renewed its contract with Cubic to operate the original Opal card system after it had been in place for 14 years and was due to lapse in September. Transport for NSW extended the contract until September 2026.
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.
Mode Rollout commenced Rollout completedFerry (Sydney) Transport for NSW (Newcastle), Transport for NSW, Retrieved 19 November 2014Train Transport for NSW 2 June 2013The end of ticket queues: Minister announces Opal trial Sydney Morning Herald 2 June 2013Gladys Berejiklian says Opal available at all city, intercity stations April 11 Daily Telegraph 26 March 2014BusOpal card trial for bus customers begins Transport for NSW 26 September 2013 Transport for NSW 11 April 2014Light rail Sydney Morning Herald 23 November 2014 Transport for NSW 24 November 2014 Transport Info NSW 25 November 2014Single trip ticket machines were rolled-out during 2016. Opal replaced all pre-existing paper tickets, with these tickets being withdrawn in stages, with the process completed on 1 August 2016: 14 tickets (mostly periodicals) were withdrawn on 1 September 2014. 11 Newcastle-specific tickets were withdrawn on 20 November 2014. 3 November 2014 On 1 January 2016, all other paper tickets were withdrawn except single and return tickets for trains, ferries and light rail and single bus tickets. Transport for NSW 4 August 2015Most paper tickets no longer sold from 1 January 2016 Transport NSW Info 4 August 2015From 1 January 2016 no longer sold Opal Card Retrieved 4 August 2015. The last remaining tickets were withdrawn on 1 August 2016. Single trip Opal tickets serve as their replacement.
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 NSWTypes 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 2014How do I top up my Opal card? Transport for NSW 28 July 2014
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 2014Opal 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 2014Government 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 2015Tertiary 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 2015Opal takes centre stage at Central Transport for NSW 29 June 2015
When originally launched, adult cards were scheduled to expire after nine years.Opal card transition: what you need to know Sydney Morning Herald 29 August 2014 This has since been extended to 14 years.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 Ultralight C cards.
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
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.