Opal ticketing system
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| Location |
Sydney Central Coast Hunter Region Blue Mountains Southern Highlands Illawarra |
|---|---|
| Launched | Trial: 7 December 2012 Child cards: 6 April 2014 Senior/Pensioner cards: 3 November 2014 Concession Cards: 2 February 2015 Top Up Machines: 11 March 2015 School Student cards: January 2016 |
| Technology | |
| Manager | Transport for NSW |
| Currency | AUD |
| Stored-value | Pay as you go |
| Credit expiry | 9 years |
| Auto recharge | Available for registered cards |
| Validity |
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| Retailed |
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| Variants |
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| Website | www.opal.com.au |
Opal is a contactless smartcard ticketing system for public transport services in the greater Sydney area of New South Wales, Australia. Operation of the Opal system is managed by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW. Opal is valid on Transport for NSW's bus, rail, light rail and ferry services that operate in Sydney and the neighbouring Central Coast, Hunter Region, Blue Mountains and Illawarra areas. It is also accepted on train services in the Southern Highlands.
Sydney has used a number of automated ticketing systems since the opening of the Eastern Suburbs Railway in June 1979. The Sydney Automated Fare Collection System (AFC) was rolled out across all government-run train, 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, plus 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.
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 Transportation Systems, which was labelled 'dishonest' by the presiding Supreme Court of New South Wales judge.
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