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.