From today, pensioners and senior public transport users will no longer have to carry their physical Gold Opal card to access $2.50 capped daily fares or their weekly fare cap, with the Opal 2.0 upgrades now allowing them to tap on with their bank card, phone or smart watch.
Passengers can still use their physical cards if they choose, but can now access the new digital option by opening a Transport Connect account online, adding their Seniors or Pensioner Concession card details and linking it to a credit or debit card.
Impacting up to 800,000 public transport users, the latest Opal upgrade brings senior passengers into line with other concession passengers, who started accessing these upgrades from mid-April when the rollout began with students, apprentices and job seekers.
Over the past three months, almost 8,000 concession holders have signed up, with Transport for NSW modelling predicting between 30-40 per cent of seniors and pensioners will switch to contactless payments over time.
“This is a great win for hundreds of thousands of Gold Opal travellers who can now access their travel discounts with a swipe of their phone,” said Minister for Transport, John Graham.
“Just because someone’s over 60, it doesn’t mean they don’t embrace new technology. Now concession holders of all ages can access cheap transport fares without having to carry their physical Opal card.
“We also know many of our Gold Opal card holders love using the physical card – and we want to assure them that it isn’t going anywhere.
“Our senior public transport passengers are our biggest group of concession holders by far, so it’s great we’ve been able extend this new technology to them.”
This upgrade is the first stage of the rollout of Opal 2.0, an overhaul of the NSW public transport ticketing system, which will display real-time information on public transport services including screens on buses for the first time, real-time bus tracking and patronage, a new improved Opal app, improved integrated event ticketing technology and digital Opal cards that can be added to your device.
“This is about making it easier for them to tap on and tap off like everyone else but still be able to access their seniors concession fares of $2.50 a day, and pay no more than $17.50 per week,” said Minister for Seniors, Jodie Harrison.
“With more Gold Opal passengers using the network than ever before, this exciting upgrade means they now can enjoy the convenience of contactless payments using their bank card, phone, or smart watch and keep their cheap fares.
“I’d encourage seniors to sign up, or ask family or friends to help you, so that even if you don’t have your physical card, you won’t have to forego your discount.”
Opal 2.0 will also see 25,000 new Opal readers installed across rail, metro, bus, light rail and ferries, replacing the familiar machines passengers have “tapped on” to for more than a decade and have now reached their end of life.
With Opal 2.0 contracts now signed, detailed design of the new Opal ticketing and bus technology systems is progressing.
