Opal Discussion and Observations

Sydney / New South Wales Transport Discussion
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Fleet Lists »

Transport Info now has a news item about the contactless changes from today but no mention of buses as yet https://transportnsw.info/news/2019/use ... s#homepage
In https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/ ... l-benefits it specifically excludes Park & Ride from contactless
Living in the Shire.
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Fleet Lists »

The article in the Opal website has not been updated but in the heading of the website it now has the following so I expect the Opal website now to die any day.
Opal now at transportnsw.info

Next time you're on the go, visit transportnsw.info for all your Opal needs
And also on the Opal home page it has a link to contactless on the Transport Info website.
Living in the Shire.
User avatar
swtt
Posts: 5666
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by swtt »

User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Fleet Lists »

which now has had added that buses will be coming soon.
Living in the Shire.
verbatim9
Posts: 229
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:20 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by verbatim9 »

Fleet Lists wrote:The article in the Opal website has not been updated but in the heading of the website it now has the following so I expect the Opal website now to die any day.
Opal now at transportnsw.info

Next time you're on the go, visit transportnsw.info for all your Opal needs
And also on the Opal home page it has a link to contactless on the Transport Info website.
Fleet Lists wrote:which now has had added that buses will be coming soon.
^^Makes more sense to integrate all the information into one domain.
verbatim9
Posts: 229
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2018 12:20 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by verbatim9 »

BeauGiles wrote:https://www.commbank.com.au/guidance/ne ... 01907.html
From tomorrow (Monday, 29 July) commuters using their credit card or mobile device to ‘tap on and off’ Opal enabled train, light rail, Sydney Metro, and ferry services will receive the same Opal travel benefits as they would using their adult Opal card.

This is an extension to the contactless transport payments trial run by Transport for NSW in partnership with the Commonwealth Bank, Cubic and Mastercard. The trial is also extending to the Sydney bus network in a staged roll-out over the coming months.
Does anyone think that Cubic will also be in Partnership with CommBank for the Qld Next Generation Smart Ticketing rollout? Offering the same features and functionalities? Westpac were the provider of EFT and Credit Card transactions through the GO Card top up machines, but maybe this contract could be coming to an end?
User avatar
TheOpalUser
Posts: 902
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by TheOpalUser »

Media release now up; https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/news-a ... s-hit-road

Has the schedule for contactless rollout on buses, between now and end of September.
Posts and comments made here are my own personal opinions, and not on behalf of my employer.
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21567
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by boronia »

HAve seen some comments that bank issued cards can't be used to get free Opal parking.

Saw one comment that a driver had to pay $30 to get out of a car park after using his credit card for travel. So he switched back to Opal, but then lost his weekly cap,
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
mandonov
Posts: 1712
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:34 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by mandonov »

The Transport Info page specifically excludes Park&Ride and On Demand from contactless.
User avatar
boronia
Posts: 21567
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 6:18 am
Favourite Vehicle: Ahrens Fox; GMC PD4107
Location: Sydney NSW

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by boronia »

You expect people to read beyond the headline banner?
Preserving fire service history
@ The Museum of Fire.
kypros1992
Posts: 947
Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 10:14 am

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by kypros1992 »

People catching a Dions bus from this Friday will be the first in the Illawarra - and the state - to be able to pay their fare via credit card.

Transport for NSW has chosen to start the rollout of the new technology in the Illawarra with the 16 buses in the Dions' fleet.

Commuters can use their credit cards to tap on and off the readers on each bus, just as they would with an Opal card.

"Only a handful of transport networks around the world offer similar options in this space and it's exciting to be able to bring this latest ticketing innovation to the Illawarra region first," a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.

Premier Illawarra buses will have the technology installed later in August.

It is part of a Transport for NSW plan to include the ability to tap on with a credit card to all buses in NSW.

Illawarra rail commuters have been able to tap on at train stations with their credit card since late last year.
https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/sto ... ds/?cs=300
User avatar
swtt
Posts: 5666
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by swtt »

BeauGiles wrote:Media release now up; https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/news-a ... s-hit-road

Has the schedule for contactless rollout on buses, between now and end of September.
Tried it myself the other day tapping on. It is quite slow, even when the credit card is out of the wallet!

Whereas my Opal card is inside the wallet and the detection is quite swift.

Sent from my Huawei P30 Pro using Tapatalk
moa999
Posts: 2923
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:12 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by moa999 »

mandonov wrote:The Transport Info page specifically excludes Park&Ride and On Demand from contactless.
Don't most On Demand services accept cards anyway. No point processing transaction through OpalPay when you can do it direct.
matthewg
Posts: 1704
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:11 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by matthewg »

swtt wrote: Tried it myself the other day tapping on. It is quite slow, even when the credit card is out of the wallet!

Whereas my Opal card is inside the wallet and the detection is quite swift.
I've used my phone (Android) several times on Sundays and it wasn't noticeably slower than Opal. For me at least.

However, while there are only two sorts of Opal Card (Mifare Desfire EV2, and MiFare Ultralite), banks use all sorts of weird and wonderful cards, and the different cards are almost certainly going to behave differently and have their own quirks.

Banks get caught by this on their own kit - my wife's new Commbank contactless card doesn't work on Commbank Albert terminals. Works on everyone else's. Eventually, the bank found the pattern and a software update is needed for their own terminals to support their own cards!
mandonov
Posts: 1712
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:34 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by mandonov »

moa999 wrote:Don't most On Demand services accept cards anyway. No point processing transaction through OpalPay when you can do it direct.
That's probably the limitation. At the P&R entries and on Opal Pay services it's just a plain card reader, not one designated for Opal, so there would be no way to tell if you're paying through Opal or through your card.

For the P&R at least, they could delay the charge to the card to see if you subsequently tap at an Opal reader at the station/bus, so that may just take time to figure out. On Demand buses just need plain Opal readers installed.
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Fleet Lists »

That will all depend on what comes out in the Ipart report - interim version due in November, and then what the Government accepts out of that.
They dont want to go in one direction now and then having to change it next year.
Living in the Shire.
matthewg
Posts: 1704
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:11 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by matthewg »

mandonov wrote: For the P&R at least, they could delay the charge to the card to see if you subsequently tap at an Opal reader at the station/bus, so that may just take time to figure out. On Demand buses just need plain Opal readers installed.
Depends on who's processing the transaction - are the car parks using Opal terminals or 3rd party readers?
User avatar
swtt
Posts: 5666
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by swtt »

Opal.com.au on a mobile device now redirects to the TFNSW site.

Sent from my Huawei P30 Pro using Tapatalk
User avatar
swtt
Posts: 5666
Joined: Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:49 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by swtt »

Other contact less payments can now check activity as well.

See the announcement post on the TFNSW site. Image

Sent from my Huawei P30 Pro using Tapatalk
User avatar
Fleet Lists
Administrator
Posts: 23803
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2004 12:49 pm
Location: The Shire

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by Fleet Lists »

The normal link https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/ ... s-payments on Transport Info now also contains the necessary links.
Living in the Shire.
User avatar
TheOpalUser
Posts: 902
Joined: Thu Oct 25, 2012 4:13 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by TheOpalUser »

swtt wrote:Opal.com.au on a mobile device now redirects to the TFNSW site.

Sent from my Huawei P30 Pro using Tapatalk
It has been for some months now.
Posts and comments made here are my own personal opinions, and not on behalf of my employer.
TSE_SecretAni
Posts: 120
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 6:23 pm
Favourite Vehicle: Yutong E12, Bustech VST, Orana

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by TSE_SecretAni »

The contactless payment will available for Hillbus tomorrow.
mandonov
Posts: 1712
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2013 8:34 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by mandonov »

The Opal Travel app has also been updated (on iOS at least) to support viewing contactless trips.
moa999
Posts: 2923
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 3:12 pm

Re: Introducing OPAL Card

Post by moa999 »

As has the Android version.
Also autofills with any card details saved in GooglePay (still requires CVV)
Post Reply

Return to “Discussion - Sydney / NSW”