Opal.com.au, 19 April 2016

Customers will be using their credit and debit cards in 2017 to trial a new way of paying for public transport fares.

The NSW Government has committed to a customer trial in 2017 with the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance saying NSW is proud to be leading this Australian first.

“Contactless payment with credit and debit cards would offer customers another easy to use and convenient option for travelling,” Mr Constance said.

Only a few major mass transit systems, similar in scale and complexity to Sydney’s, have introduced contactless payments. London’s Oyster card system is a well-known example, where they only finalised their rollout in late 2014.

Contactless payments are a major advancement in ticketing technology. It gives customers another option for paying fares whether they are regular commuters or visitors to Sydney.

Critical work needs to be undertaken in the first stage of this project such as finalising partnerships, working with the finance and contactless payments sector, developing the software and then in 2017, undertaking a customer trial.

Further detail on the project will be announced as plans progress.

Opal.com.au, 18 April 2016

Opal customers will be able to top up on the go thanks to the new and improved Opal Travel app version 2.0.

In addition to being able to top up on the move, the new version has a number of other improvements that will make it even easier for Opal customers.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said it is clear customers are keen to use their mobile phone as part of the transport experience, with over 300,000 downloads of the older Opal Travel 1.3 version app.

“With this new app, travelling with Opal just got even easier. With a few presses on the screen, customers can check their balance, top up and plan their travels for the day,” Mr Constance said.

The new features of the Opal Travel 2.0 app enable customers to:

• Set their Opal card to auto top up and never queue or manually top up again
• Top up through the app and within 60 minutes collect the value at the next tap on
• Find the nearest Opal retailer if they want to acquire an Opal card or top up
• Plan the quickest and most convenient trip and estimate what the fare will be
• Easily check those additional Opal cards linked to a single profile so the kids or family members are ready to go

The new app, developed by Transport for NSW in partnership with Outware Mobile, also improves the experience for special access customers by offering a voice screen reader compatible feature, as well as information on wheelchair accessible services.

Customers can download the free Opal Travel app via the Apple App and Google Play stores.