Opal Discussion and Observations

[boronia]

Sydney Trains and bus operators don't get revenue from Opal cards, it goes straight to TfNSW. TfNSW pays the operators for the services, regardless.

Yes, there is a loss of revenue from systematic fare evasion, but there doesn't seem to be much concern from the government to police it aggressively.

Yes I know. I think what it seems to be to me, is that during this Covid thing, they're turning a blind eye. Two years ago I'd see ticket inspectors on a regular basis. Now I rarely see them.

Possibly during lockdowns, they weren't classified as "essential". Also it would be bad OHS practice to have them mingling or interacting with the public, with social distancing limits in place.

[boxythingy]

Yet they are still out and about as extra people who may transmit the virus

[boronia]

Social distancing requirements in trains seem to have been lifted for passengers, guess it applies to staff as well.

[RayW]

Huzzah! I actually saw three inspectors on Wednesday. Oh but they weren't checking cards, no they were lounging about in the lower deck of my carriage, eating burgers.

[ScaniaGrenda]

Had TransportNSW inspectors on my Thursday morning train, before that the last time I ever saw any form of inspectors was on Transdevs Sydney L2 Light rail service back in December just before the new year.

As for police inspecting, personally I can't recall the last time I've seen them doing opal card inspecting but I do indeed see them at the Newcastle Interchange on most afternoons standing around the opal barrier gates.

[Aurora]

Police do sometimes do Opal checks on a platform or train, but don’t see them do it very often. Although I was surprised seeing a group do a check for masks on a train in the late evening a few weeks back, which was a pleasant surprise.

[BroadGauge]

Although I was surprised seeing a group do a check for masks on a train in the late evening a few weeks back, which was a pleasant surprise.

There's nothing more productive than enforcing that people sitting far away from others in near empty carriages late at night are wearing masks?

Hopefully the government hurries up and eliminates that mandate sooner than later, in line with other countries, so that policing resources can be focused on real crimes again.

[boronia]

There is a need for police to be regularly patrolling trains for general public behaviour; not only for masks.

[Aurora]

Who said the carriage was near empty? There were around 25-30 in my one, with multiple people seen moving a mask up or being spoken to. Shows you it is necessary and a welcome sight.

[BroadGauge]

If they're so concerned about face masks, they should try enforcing that rule with school children, who don't practice social distancing at all, spend all day long in one of the highest risk environments, and rarely seem to wear masks on trains or buses in many parts of Sydney.

The only times that I've ever seen that rule being enforced has been at quiet open air station platforms in the middle of the day, or one time on a train between Glenfield and Campbelltown at 10pm on a Sunday night. Nothing more than a mixture of harassment and revenue raising.

[RayW]

I have the unfortunate need to use Sefton station in the afternoon around 1500, its packed deep with kids from Sefton High School and I'd say only one in ten are wearing masks and these kids are virtually cheek to cheek away from each other. It doesn't change when they get on the train either. (Their noise is a subject for another topic).

Back to the card. Opal needs to get their act together as far as top ups are concerned. Only a very few top up machines take cash; the majority are by card only. This is simply dumb and stupid. Which brings another question, with so many outlets often being far away from stations, why can't we go back to the proper days when you went to the ticket window. I've spoken with many station staff and they'd love nothing more than to serve the public. All they're doing now is cleaning the toilets, platforms and waving the odd flag. Oh and answering inane questions such as 'when is the next train to leppington?" Even though that information is right in front of them on the board.

[Merc1107]

It's similar to self-service checkouts not accepting cash... There's this paranoia (relatively unfounded if we believe the WHO) around cash during the pandemic, yet you have to used a manned checkout to pay with cash.

With public transport modes increasingly not accepting cash, it's rather user-unfriendly, particularly at manned stations if the guards aren't even serving customers.

[Swift]

Reading the last two posts makes me long for the 1980s.

[RayW]

Reading the last two posts makes me long for the 1980s.

Mate, my wife and I are still trying to get back to the 70s!

[sunnyyan]

Back to the card. Opal needs to get their act together as far as top ups are concerned. Only a very few top up machines take cash; the majority are by card only. This is simply dumb and stupid. Which brings another question, with so many outlets often being far away from stations, why can't we go back to the proper days when you went to the ticket window. I've spoken with many station staff and they'd love nothing more than to serve the public. All they're doing now is cleaning the toilets, platforms and waving the odd flag. Oh and answering inane questions such as 'when is the next train to leppington?" Even though that information is right in front of them on the board.

I think the cost of handling cash caused most ticket windows to be replaced by topup machines. It also allows them to reduce the number of station staff they need. I find most train stations still have cash+card machines, only the ones with nearby retailers are card only. Not sure about light rail or ferry though.

[boronia]

The ticket windows closed because they didn't want station staff to be handling tickets or Opal cards.

Card only machines don't make much sense, except for concession holders, when passengers can used their cards to tap on/off.

[Linto63]

Cash is expensive to handle. COVID-19 was a convenient reason for many organisations that had long wanted to do away with cash to do so.

[Merc1107]

... and yet it's EFTPOS transactions that typically attract a surcharge. Mutli-trillion dollar industry in fees to run that payment system - only increased due to COVID (as reported in the news as COVID got going).

[Linto63]

Merchant fees are often less than the cost of having to manage cash.

[Swift]

I just hope buses have removed it altogether. Way too many people insisting on that method and holding up the bus, mainly women, when there were prepay options that saved money.

It also eliminates the problem of large notes for sub $5.00 fares which was a real common issue.

Funny how people wanted to go cashless with credit cards at the checkout where it caused the most delays but were very resistant to compulsory tags for tolls and for buses which save time for everyone. Australia is a very strange society in many ways.

[RayW]

And yet, by trying to manipulate society into going cashless, the large money handling businesses screw us over and over. Opal is one of them.

Ticket windows closed before Opal; that occurred during the previous ticketing mode when the first ticket machines were installed. Cash is the goto for the majority of older people and the not so well off; also the smart folks who don't want to pay the fees on every transaction. Its worth noting that our local Woolworths store has more cash machines at the auto checkouts than card only machines because of the demand; and those folks are not all older people.

[Aurora]

You still can pay cash, just at a retail outlet or the odd cash-enabled station machine to top up your card rather than at the station counter.

[RayW]

You still can pay cash, just at a retail outlet or the odd cash-enabled station machine to top up your card rather than at the station counter.

While that is fine in theory it doesn’t work for many. Quite a number of metropolitan stations have neither cash machines, or no machine at all and no nearby shops from which to top up or purchase an Opal card.

If you are a worker and traveling on early morning services (before 5am) and return later than 6pm, even if there were retail outlets, many of them will be closed by the time you get home. A number of newsagents I had been able to top up at, are now closed (Regents Park- 2 closed), so that makes it even harder for you.

[boronia]

If you are a worker and traveling on early morning services (before 5am) and return later than 6pm, even if there were retail outlets, many of them will be closed by the time you get home. A number of newsagents I had been able to top up at, are now closed (Regents Park- 2 closed), so that makes it even harder for you.

So how do these people get cash, as the banks would be closed too?

[RayW]

So how do these people get cash, as the banks would be closed too?

I don't know about single people in my position, but for me, the Missus takes care of that on Friday after my pay goes through.