The Opal card rolled out across New South Wales public transport services from 7 December 2012 until December 2014. Additionally, from December 2017, OpalPay was introduced and can be used as payment on selected third party services. This article contains all the dates of official Opal card and OpalPay rollouts.
Public ferries Sydney Ferries The first stage of the Opal card rollout commenced on 7 December 2012 as a trial on the Neutral Bay to Circular Quay ferry service followed on 8 April 2013 by the Manly to Circular Quay service,"A new voyage for Opal card" Daily Telegraph 25 March 2013Opal card trial extends to Manly Transport for NSW 25 March 2013 and on 12 August 2013 to the Eastern Suburbs, Mosman and Taronga Zoo.Opal card expands to all Sydney Ferries services east of Sydney Harbour Bridge Transport NSW 31 July 2013
From 30 August 2013, Opal was available on all public Sydney Ferries services.Opal card rollout on Sydney Ferries Transport for NSWOpal smartcard comes to more Sydney commuters Sydney Morning Herald 30 August 2013
Newcastle Ferries Opal was rolled out on Newcastle Ferries' Stockton ferry service on 20 November 2014, along with Newcastle Buses' routes.Opal card rolling out as 11 paper tickets in Newcastle retired , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 19 November 2014
Private ferries The Manly Fast Ferry operated by NRMA started using the Opal card system on 1 October 2023.
Trains Sydney Trains The first Opal rollout on train services was in June 2013. The following is the list of rollouts on Sydney Trains: 14 June 2013: Stations on the City Circle and T4 Eastern Suburbs linesOpal roll out begins for train customers Transport for NSW 2 June 2013The end of ticket queues: Minister announces Opal trial Sydney Morning Herald 2 June 2013 30 August 2013: Stations on the T1 North Shore line up to ChatswoodOpal card rollout on trains Transport for NSW 31 January 2014: Stations on the T2 Inner West line up to Strathfield and on T1 North Shore and Northern linesOpal card use to be extended next week Sydney Morning Herald 23 January 2014 14 February 2014: Stations on the T2 South line to Casula via Granville, the T6 Carlingford line, and the T7 Olympic Park lineOpal goes live for Western Sydney train customers: now active at 94 stations NSW Government: Opal 14 February 2014 28 February 2014: Stations on the entire T1 Western line to Emu Plains and to Richmond 28 March 2014: All other Sydney Trains stationsOpal card available on all Sydney trains by next Friday Sydney Morning Herald 20 March 2014
This marks the completed rollout for all Sydney Trains stations.
As of November 2018, the rollout began where commuters can use their credit card & mobile devices to 'tap on' & 'tap off' on the Opal Sydney Trains network.
NSW TrainLink intercity Opal was rolled out on all NSW TrainLink intercity stations within the first 2 weeks of April 2014. However, some stations on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line was rolled out earlier as part of the Sydney Trains T1 rollout: 31 January 2014: Stations on the Central Coast & Newcastle Line up to Wyong 4 April 2014: Stations on the entire Southern Highlands and South Coast lines to Goulburn and Bomaderry 11 April 2014: All other NSW TrainLink Intercity stations. This marks the completed rollout for all NSW TrainLink Intercity stations in New South Wales.
Public buses The first Opal rollout on buses was in September 2013. It was rolled out across all buses on the Sydney Metropolitan Bus System Contracts (MBSC) and Sydney Outer Metropolitan Bus System Contracts (OMBSC).
Public buses in Sydney The following is the list of rollouts for bus routes in Sydney, including school services of any region mentioned: 30 September 2013: Transdev NSW routes 594 and 594HOpal card trial for bus customers begins Transport for NSW 26 September 2013 6 December 2013: Sydney Buses' route 333 from Circular Quay to Bondi Beach, one of Sydney's most heavily used routesOpal Smartcards Transport NSW Retrieved on 2 December 2013 14 April 2014: The rest of Transdev NSW's Region 12 routesOpal available on all trains from today as bus rollout kicks off , Transport for NSW, Retrieved on 11 April 2013 NightRide buses that are Opal enabled.Opal Bus Fare Information, Opal, Retrieved 14 April 2014 At this point this only applies to NightRide routes N80, N90 and N100 which use Region 12 buses. 28 April 2014: Sydney Buses's selected Region 9 Waverley depot routes 326, 327, 355, 361 and L24Opal rollout expands to State Transit buses in Sydney's East, Transport for NSW, Retrieved on 24 April 2013 10 June 2014: All of Forest Coach Lines' Region 14 routes 30 June 2014: All of Hillsbus' NightRide and Region 4 routesOpal extends to all CDC Hillsbus routes from 30 June , Transport Info NSW, Retrieved 23 June 2014 14 July 2014: All of Transit Systems'Region 3 routesLatest Opal rollout hits South West Sydney as new Opal Man campaign launches , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 3 July 2014 16 July 2014: All of Punchbowl Bus Company's NightRide and Region 5 routes 21 July 2014: Rest of Sydney Buses' Eastern Suburbs (Region 9) routes that operate out of Waverley, Randwick and Port Botany depotsMore buses go live with Opal as 400,000 cards issued and customers take 25 million journeys , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 16 July 2014 7 August 2014: Sydney Buses' Northern Beaches (Region 8) routes that operate out of Brookvale depotHalf a million opal cards issued as 520 more buses go live , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 7 August 2014 11 August 2014: All of Busways' Region 1 routes 20 August 2014: Sydney Buses' Northern Beaches (Region 8) routes that operate out of North Sydney depot. The Ministerial release for this also appears to have covered Mona Vale depot by default, but readers were noticed active only about a week later.Opal bus rollout reaches halfway mark as more buses in Western Sydney go live , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 20 August 2014 26 August 2014: All of Transdev NSW's Region 10 and 13 routes including NightRide routes. All NightRide routes now enabled. 11 September 2014: Sydney Buses' Inner West (Region 6) routes that operate out of Burwood and Kingsgrove depotsOpal goes live on more Western Sydney buses , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 12 September 2014 7 October 2014:One million Opal cards issued as Opal rolls out to hundreds more buses in Western Sydney , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 7 October 2014 Sydney Buses' Inner West (Region 6) routes that operate out of Leichhardt and Tempe depots All of Interline Bus Services' Region 2 routes All of Busabout's Region 15 routes 10 November 2014: All of Sydney Buses' North Sydney (Region 7) routes that operate out of Ryde and Willoughby depots.Opal rolls out to more than 450 buses in Northern Sydney as Senior/Pensioner information kiosks start Transport for NSW Retrieved 10 November 2014 20 November 2014: Sydney Buses' routes E32, E35, E36 and E41. These were not rolled out as part of the Region 8 rollout because Opal card users and/or Manly ferry passengers could ride these services for free until the end of 12 month free travel promotion in November 2014.Opal goes live on Manly wharf express buses in 8 weeks , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 25 September 2014 This marks the completed rollout for all Sydney Metropolitan Bus Contracts.
Regional and outer metropolitan public buses The first Opal rollout on outer metropolitan buses was in August 2014. The following is a list of rollouts for regional buses, including school services of any region mentioned: 4 August 2014: All of Blue Mountains Bus Company's Outer Metropolitan Region 8 routesOpal to go live on more Western Sydney buses next week as 450,000 Opal Cards issued, Transport for NSW, Retrieved 31 July 2014 1 September 2014: Hunter Valley Buses' Outer Metropolitan Region 4 routesOpal extends to Transdev, Northern Region and Hunter bus services , Transport NSW Info, Retrieved 1 September 2014 29 September 2014: Hunter Valley Buses' Outer Metropolitan Region 2 routesOn what services can I use the Opal card?, Opal, Retrieved 29 September 2014 13 October 2014: All of Outer Metropolitan Region 6 routes operated by Busways and Coastal Liner.263 Buses go live with Opal on the Central Coast , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 9 October 2014 14 October 2014: All of Rover Coaches' Outer Metropolitan Region 1 routesOpal enabled bus routes, Opal, Retrieved 13 October 2014 15 October 2014: All of Port Stephens Coaches' Outer Metropolitan Region 3 routes. This rollout was never officially announced and was not mentioned on the Opal website until a week later. It is believed that the rollout happened on the date stated on the gazette which was 15 October. 16 October 2014: All of Red Bus' Outer Metropolitan Region 7 routes 3 November 2014: All of Outer Metropolitan Regions 9 and 10 routes operated by Dion's Bus Service, Green's Northern Coaches and Premier IllawarraOpal rolls out to buses in the Illawarra , Transport for NSW, Retrieved 24 October 2014 20 November 2014: All of Newcastle Buses' Outer Metropolitan Region 5 routes. This was rolled out along with Newcastle Ferries' Stockton service. This marks the completed rollout for all outer Sydney Metropolitan Bus Contracts.
Routes stated on the gazette Often, some routes have also progressively become partially Opal-enabled because they are run by different depots. These rollouts are only stated on the New South Wales government gazettes and are not announced through ministerial announcements. It is not compulsory for bus routes to be partially Opal-enabled on the dates stated on the gazettes. However it allows some buses to be Opal enabled even before the ministerial announcements.
By the Order, Opal can be used on gazetted routes if buses carry an "Opal bus" or "Opal on this bus" sticker. In other words, Opal cannot be used on bus routes that are not stated in the gazette, or on a bus without the "Opal bus" or "Opal on this bus", even it is running a gazetted route.
The routes and the dates stated on the gazettes are (excluding those covered by official ministerial announcements): 28 April 2014: Sydney Buses' Waverley depot routes 200, 300–396 (except 341, 392 and those announced by the government), 400, 410, 890–895, L94, M40, X10, X39, X40, X73, X74, X77, X84, X89 (includes routes from Randwick depot and Port Botany depot)NSW Government Gazette 24 April 2014, Retrieved 20 June 2014 23 June 2014: Sydney Buses' Randwick depot routes 341, 392, 399, 418, L09, M50, X09, X92, X96 (includes routes from Port Botany depot and Tempe depot)NSW Government Gazette 20 June 2014, Retrieved 20 June 2014 9 July 2014: Sydney Buses' Port Botany depot routes 397, M10, M20, X03, X94, X97, X99NSW Government Gazette 4 July 2014, Retrieved 4 July 2014 11 July 2014: Sydney Buses' Moore Park special services 1, 3, 32NSW Government Gazette 11 July 2014, Retrieved 11 July 2014 24 July 2014: Sydney Buses' Brookvale depot routes 131–190 (except 187 and 189), 201, 227, 228, 230, 243, 244, 246–249, 253, 263, E32–E88 (except E85 and E87), L60–L90 (except L84, L87) (includes routes from Mona Vale depot, North Sydney depot and Willoughby depot)NSW Government Gazette 18 July 2014, Retrieved 18 July 2014 4 August 2014: All of Busways' Region 1 routesNSW Government Gazette 1 August 2014, Retrieved 1 August 2014 8 August 2014: Sydney Buses' Mona Vale depot routes 130, 187, 189, E85, E87, L84 and L87NSW Government Gazette 8 August 2014, Retrieved 8 August 2014 15 August 2014: Sydney Buses' North Sydney depot routes 202, 204, 225, 229, 236, 238, 245, 257, 265, 269, 273 and M30 (includes routes from Willoughby depot and Tempe depot)NSW Government Gazette 15 August 2014, Retrieved 15 August 2014