Gladys Berejiklian med rel: Half a million Opal cards issued as 520 more buses go live

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced 500,000 Opal cards have now been issued as Opal goes live on another 520 buses, benefiting thousands of customers across suburbs in Western Sydney and the Northern Beaches.

From today customers catching 220 State Transit buses in Brookvale and the Northern Beaches can use an Opal card to access cheaper fares and more convenient travel.

And starting next Monday 11 August, 300 Busways buses will go live in Penrith, Blacktown, St Marys, Mt Druitt, Kellyville, Quakers Hill, Riverstone, Windsor, Richmond and Kurrajong – taking the total number of Opal buses to 2,300.

Ms Berejiklian said Opal is already available on all suburban and intercity trains, all Sydney Ferries, and will be live on around 5,000 buses by the end of the year, with light rail to follow early next year.

“I am pleased customers have now ordered 500,000 Opal cards – a huge 32,000 were issued last week alone,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“The take-up of Opal has been extraordinary and I am just delighted customers are embracing Sydney’s modern new ticketing system.

“With 14 paper ticket types being retired on 1 September, now is the time for customers to get their Opal card online, over the phone, at pop-up kiosks at more than 40 stations and shopping centres, and as of Sunday – from more than 1,000 retailers.”

Opal fares for buses provide the following benefits for customers:

· Cheaper adult single bus fares of between two and nine per cent compared to MyBus paper tickets;
Opal Weekly Travel Reward, earned after 8 paid journeys, makes it cheaper than a TravelTen for customers travelling to and from work Monday to Friday;
A more customer-friendly bus-to-bus transfer fare system – if your transfer is within 60 minutes you will only be charged one fare corresponding to your whole journey;
· Never queue for a ticket again or realise your TravelTen has run out.