Gladys Berejiklian med rel: Opal cards now available from 1,000 retailers including 7-Eleven and Woolworths

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian today announced customers can get an Opal card on-the-spot from 1,000 retailers, including 7-Eleven stores and a number of Woolworths supermarkets.

Ms Berejiklian said Opal is already available on-line, via the phone, at more than 40 pop-up kiosks at train stations and five Westfield Sydney shopping centres.

“Customers can now visit 1,000 retailers to get their Opal card, including all 200 7-Eleven stores across Greater Sydney, newsagents, petrol stations and local corner stores,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Many of these retailers are located in and near train stations, close to bus stops and ferry wharves, in shopping centres and along main roads. Over the coming months, the number of retailers offering Opal is expected to increase significantly.

“I’m also pleased to announce customers will be able to get an Opal card from their local Woolworths supermarket. Opal cards are now available from three Woolies stores at Bondi Junction, Town Hall and Wynyard, with that number set to grow to 50 stores in the lead up to 1 September.”
The NSW Government will also deliver even more ways to make Opal accessible for customers as part of the rollout, and this will include machines at stations. More than 20 paper tickets continue to be sold.

Customers who get their Opal card from a retailer can use cash or EFTPOS to load a starting of value of $10 for adults and $5 for children. They also have the choice to travel with an unregistered card or to go online or call 13 OPAL to register their card and set it to auto-top-up.

Around two thirds of customers are choosing to link their Opal card to a credit or debit card so it automatically tops up like an e-tag and they never have to worry about queuing or manually topping up their card.

Ms Berejiklian said after broken promises from Labor, public transport customers have been waiting more than a decade for a modern ticketing system.

“The NSW Government is getting on with modernising the transport network and with more than half a million Opal cards ordered, customers are clearly voting with their feet,” she said.

“There’s now three weeks to go until the retirement of 14 paper ticket types, so now is the time to get your Opal card and join 500,000 customers who are taking advantage of daily travel caps and weekly travel rewards.

“Pensioners and seniors can keep buying and using their paper tickets, after September 1, after the Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card is introduced later this year and well into the future.”

Opal can now be used on all suburban and intercity trains, all Sydney Ferries and more than 2,300 buses. Opal will be available on 5,000 buses by the end of the year, with light rail to follow in early 2015.