Now you can use your phone to pay for transport in NSW
Sydney commuters can now tap their phone or credit card against an Opal reader to pay for trips on Sydney ferries and the light rail.
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You can now use a phone (linked to your American Express, Visa or Mastercard) to pay for ferries and light rail trips in Sydney.
Being stuck without your Opal is now less of a problem with Transport NSW introducing contactless payments for light rail and ferry trips in Sydney.
From Monday, passengers can tap their Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit card on an Opal card reader to pay for trips on Sydney ferries or the metro light rail. Passengers will also be able to pay using a smartphone or wearable connected to one of these cards through their mobile wallet. Each trip will be charged the same price as an Adult Opal single trip ticket based on the distance travelled.
It's part of a broader trial to introduce more technology into the NSW transport system. The government announced the trial of contactless technology in April 2016, but mobile and card payments were limited to the single Manly-Circular Quay ferry route.
It's not the only part of the network to go more high-tech. Transport NSW now uses real-time Opal trip data to tell commuters how full their bus will be and sends transport delay notifications via Twitter.
Speaking about the rollout, NSW Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said the new technology put NSW among a "handful of transport networks around the world" using the technology.
"Contactless transport payments make purchasing one-off fares quick, easy and seamless," he said.
"Opal remains the most economical way for regular travellers to get around on the public transport network, offering transfer discounts and lower fares than a single-trip journey, however now there is an extra level of convenience for people who don't have an Opal card, have forgotten to top it up or don't travel regularly."
The trial will continue through 2018 with Transport NSW saying it's working with EFTPOS to include more card types in the trial.
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