The final transition towards a single electronic ticketing system will see the phasing out of concession paper tickets on August 1.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tony Braxton-Smith, Deputy Secretary for Customer Services at Transport for NSW said with less than a week to go before concession paper tickets are phased out, those remaining eligible customers still using them need to apply for an Opal card in preparation for the change.
“Because of the ongoing misuse of concession paper tickets by people not entitled to the discounts, they’ll no longer be sold from ticket machines, ticket retailers or on board buses from 1 August,” Mr Braxton-Smith said.
Around 1.1 million Gold Opal cards have already been issued to seniors and pensioners, plus 285,000 Concession Opal cards issued to tertiary students, apprentices and job seekers.
“Concession paper ticket misuse is a major source of fare evasion, costing taxpayers $22 million a year and we cannot let that continue when that money is needed for improving transport services for everyone.”
Gold Opal Ambassador Ita Buttrose has been visiting parts of NSW like Goulburn, Bowral, Lithgow, Wollongong and Kiama to ensure people are aware of the coming changes.
“Getting a Gold or Concession Opal card is easy and people need to get onto that straight away if they haven’t got one,” Ita Buttrose said.
“I love travelling to our great towns outside of metro Sydney – whether it’s walking along the main street, or inside a local library or coffee shop I find people are keen to show me their Opal card or ask me what the easiest way to get one is,” Ita Buttrose said.
Any adult customer travelling without a Gold or Concession Opal card from 1 August 2016 will need to buy an Adult Opal single trip ticket from Opal machines or on board the bus – there will not be any concession tickets available.