*Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Fleet Lists »

I think the previous post shows the wrong links as it links to locations with top up mchines which shows only 93 locations
Link should be https://www.opal.com.au/en/get-an-opal- ... p-tickets/
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Mike M
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Mike M »

Pardon my ignorance but can anyone explain why some stations only have machines which accept credit cards while others have machines which accept both cash & credit cards? Is there any logic to this because looking at the two lists of locations on the Opal website I can't see any.

Just for the record all Myki machines here in Melbourne accept cash & cards.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by simonl »

And in Qld too - every railway station up to Gympie has a cash/card top up which also allows balance/history enquiry.

Some others also dispense go cards.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by crimsontide »

Mike M wrote:Pardon my ignorance but can anyone explain why some stations only have machines which accept credit cards while others have machines which accept both cash & credit cards? Is there any logic to this because looking at the two lists of locations on the Opal website I can't see any.

Just for the record all Myki machines here in Melbourne accept cash & cards.
A combination of Station patronage, and nearby Opal retailers seems to be a rough criteria in deciding who gets what.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by boxythingy »

New readers up at Central LR Stop, most people still stick with the original readers rather than use the new ones and quickly walk into Central(i)
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by matthewg »

crimsontide wrote:
Mike M wrote:Pardon my ignorance but can anyone explain why some stations only have machines which accept credit cards while others have machines which accept both cash & credit cards? Is there any logic to this because looking at the two lists of locations on the Opal website I can't see any.

Just for the record all Myki machines here in Melbourne accept cash & cards.
A combination of Station patronage, and nearby Opal retailers seems to be a rough criteria in deciding who gets what.
The card only machines are probably much cheaper. No note/coin acceptors, no change mechanisms and no need of a 'cash safe'. The machine just needs to be kept supplied with low-value consumables, so the ongoing maintenance would only require normal delivery contractors instead of Chubb armoured delivery contractors.
So there will be an incentive to put as many card-only machines in as possible.

My station has card only Opal next to a full cash/card accepting mag ticket machine. It's possible on the stage 2 rollout, this machine will get replaced with a cash+card Opal machine. (It's also possible, and more likely I expect, they will just rip the machine out and pave over the hole left behind).
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by sunnyyan »

Campsie has a full size mag ticket machine and 2 card only Opal machines, one being able to dispense single trips. There used to be another mag ticket machine, but they removed it and covered the hole with a sheet of metal that isn't even fastened on.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by MLVD »

Top up machine installed at Toongabbie yesterday in the middle of platform 1/2.
Image
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by moa999 »

Fleet Lists wrote:I think the previous post shows the wrong links as it links to locations with top up mchines which shows only 93 locations
Link should be https://www.opal.com.au/en/get-an-opal- ... p-tickets/
Link has changed completely throwing out my Update Scanner plugin - current count is now:
182 cash and card (+2) and 65 card only (--) -- Total 247 (+2)
Toongabbie would appear to be one of the additions, Central (Light Rail) might be the other

New link is now:
https://www.opal.com.au/en/get-an-opal- ... e-tickets/
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Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by moa999 »

Caught a couple of W buses tonight with green machines removed and replaced with a light grey coverplate
(silly choice of colour, should be much darker to match) but good to see they are getting rid of machines pronto
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Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

actually, one bus i caught today, the green machines were still intact and turned on (judging by the green hand-symbol), I wonder what would happen if you then tried dipping in a travel 10, ignoring the fact the driver usually doesnt care about whether or not people use a valid ticket
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Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by eBlog42 »

moa999 wrote:Caught a couple of W buses tonight with green machines removed and replaced with a light grey coverplate
(silly choice of colour, should be much darker to match) but good to see they are getting rid of machines pronto
It's a slow process to remove those green machines Image
Image
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by moa999 »

That's them. Having caught a few more buses today it matches well on the Custom builds, just the newer Bustechs where the colour stands out, due to their greater use of dark plastics
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Mark »

I wonder why the STA went to the trouble & expense of installing these panels to cover the mounting brackets. I would've thought it would make more sense to remove the mounting brackets while removing the green machines. It's not like the brackets are going to be used for anything ever again. And particularly on the VSTs, it frees up room in the storage area on the near side.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by matthewg »

Mark wrote:I wonder why the STA went to the trouble & expense of installing these panels to cover the mounting brackets. I would've thought it would make more sense to remove the mounting brackets while removing the green machines. It's not like the brackets are going to be used for anything ever again. And particularly on the VSTs, it frees up room in the storage area on the near side.
The machines can be pulled out quickly (they repair by swap). Removing the brackets and associated wiring would take some time. Much quicker just to put a cover over the bracket and pretend it isn't there anymore.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Geo101 »

Mark wrote:I wonder why the STA went to the trouble & expense of installing these panels to cover the mounting brackets.
Possibly a public liability issue? Do the brackets have sharp edges perhaps.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by boronia »

They have been running many of the newer VSTs without machines, but with the brackets exposed, for some months now.

These covers look much neater
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by crimsontide »

mandonov wrote:After August 1 I suspect the removal of paper ticket machines will be quite swift.
Not so Swift, plenty of places still have them a Week later.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Jurassic_Joke »

Mark wrote:I wonder why the STA went to the trouble & expense of installing these panels to cover the mounting brackets.
You know what, I'm going to haphazard a guess and say that perhaps, on these white covers at the front of the bus, they'll cover them with a plastic sticker showing the Opal Single Trip ticket prices.

Thats the only thing I can imagine why theres something put there in place of the green machines. But otherwise, yes, I agree with other posters, the covers are camouflaged very well on the Custom Coaches 0405NH / CNG buses, but on other types they stand out a bit more.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by Stu »

The entire mounting for the tr2 on the Bustech bodies should have been removed altogether. There is a small horizontal bar that extends away from the main support arch, this small pole should have been cut off and then the side of the arch could have been sealed very discreetly. Instead, what remains is a dormant piece of metal sitting in the luggage rack area thus continuing to make it very difficult for people to successfully load large luggage bags into the luggage rack which is what that area is intended for. The tr machine should never have been located on this side of the arch in the first place.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by moa999 »

Noticed all three old ticket machines removed at Kings Cross this afternoon and sitting near the escalators.
Assume this will be repeated at most stations
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by boronia »

Jurassic_Joke wrote:
Mark wrote:I wonder why the STA went to the trouble & expense of installing these panels to cover the mounting brackets.
You know what, I'm going to haphazard a guess and say that perhaps, on these white covers at the front of the bus, they'll cover them with a plastic sticker showing the Opal Single Trip ticket prices.

Thats the only thing I can imagine why theres something put there in place of the green machines. But otherwise, yes, I agree with other posters, the covers are camouflaged very well on the Custom Coaches 0405NH / CNG buses, but on other types they stand out a bit more.
They would want to remove the TRs as quickly as possible. to discourage people from attempting to use them. As removal of the bases and wiring would take some time, the covers seem to be a good safety measure.

They probably want to discourage people from buying "opal" tickets on board buses, so not advertising they are available might be the way to help.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by matthewg »

I noticed this afternoon that the last of the mag ticket readers have been removed from the barriers at Redfern. Including the platform 10 barriers which now display 'Opal cards only', yet don't have Opal readers. or magnetic readers now. Sitting there with no actual ticket readers at all. Not sure why the bothered to rip the mag ticket readers out and update them to read 'Opal Only' when the barriers are completely inoperable now. Might as well have pulled em out.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by matthewg »

The country's (world's ?) most useless fare gate.
Snapped a picture on the way though this morning.
Redfern Platform 10 fare gates.
Redfern Platform 10 fare gates.
Last edited by matthewg on Sat Aug 20, 2016 11:30 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: *Opal Card INFRASTRUCTURE roll-out progress ONLY*

Post by rogf24 »

County? Could that be Cumberland County?
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