Skip to main content

New South Wales scraps paper tickets

New South Wales, Australia will move towards a modern integrated electronic ticketing system on public transport on 1 August, when the last of the old paper tickets will no longer be sold or accepted. Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said that customers have embraced Opal, with two million customers taking 13 million journeys a week. “Opal is being used for 95 per cent of all public transport trips,” Constance said. “Given the enormous success, it’s now time to stop running t
July 5, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
New South Wales, Australia will move towards a modern integrated electronic ticketing system on public transport on 1 August, when the last of the old paper tickets will no longer be sold or accepted.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said that customers have embraced Opal, with two million customers taking 13 million journeys a week. “Opal is being used for 95 per cent of all public transport trips,” Constance said.

“Given the enormous success, it’s now time to stop running two ticketing systems and move to one convenient system that enables future innovation.

“With the single electronic system we can move to the next stage in ticketing, with a customer trial in 2017 for tapping on with credit and debit cards.”

Since the roll-out of Opal began in December 2012 customers have taken 800 million trips and more than 7.5 million cards have been issued, including one million Gold Senior/Pensioner cards, 700,000 Child/Youth cards, and 350,000 School Opal cards.

A comprehensive information campaign will remind the remaining customers who don’t have Opal that it’s time to make the switch.

Related Content

  • Sharing resources, reducing traffic management costs
    January 25, 2012
    Telematics Technology’s Peter Billington, Chair of the UTMC ANPR Working Group, on how common protocols can enhance local agency cooperation and significantly reduce costs
  • British Columbia's highway corridors show it’s good to share
    June 6, 2025
    The Canadian province is advocating harmony along its major roads, setting aside major funding for projects to allow vehicles and other modes to operate safely side by side, reports David Arminas
  • TransCore wins Scats deployment contract
    April 27, 2012
    TransCore has been selected by Cobb County Department of Transportation, Atlanta, to expand its Scats (Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System) adaptive traffic signal control technology with an additional 75 intersections, nearly doubling its use of the technology and making it the second largest deployment in the United States. The first phase of 26 intersections in the town centre area are now in operation with the remaining intersections expected to be fully operational by October 2012.
  • IBTTA: ‘The only way to keep up is to stay ahead’
    March 4, 2019
    The focus of the IBTTA’s Annual Technology Summit is changing. The tolling organisation’s Bill Cramer explains why this is good news for ITS professionals looking to embrace new technologies For a decade or more, the technology summits hosted by the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) have helped drive the tolling industry’s embrace of the systems, services and breakthrough concepts that are building a 21st century transportation sector. Now, the summit itself is adjusting its