<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> NSW Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian says the rollout of the new Opal electronic ticketing system is proving to be popular since expanding from selected ferry routes to trains on the City Circle and stations to Bondi Junction last month. </span> <p>“Since launching the Opal, we have now had more than 10,000 Opal cards ordered by customers – and that is 10,000 less people who will have to queue up to buy tickets at ferry wharves or train stations on these selected routes,” she said.</p><p>“We are very excited that customers are seeing the benefits of the Opal card and jumping on board to be part of history when it comes to using smart card electronic ticketing in this state, with more than 100,000 trips recorded so far.”</p><p>The Opal website is also proving to be highly popular with more than 95,000 visitors and 480,000 page views since its launch on 2 June.</p><p>“Using the Opal on trains signals the end of fumbling for coins and ticket queues on a Monday morning – customers can link their Opal card to their credit or debit card and never have to worry about buying a ticket again,” Ms Berejiklian said.</p><p>Around 90% of customers are registering for an Opal card online rather than over the telephone, with more than 70% of customers opting for auto top up.</p><p>“Under Opal we are also offering cheaper fares for customers across the train network and a further discount for people who travel outside of the peak – our message to customers is that is if you use trains on the weekend or if you can travel outside of the peak on weekdays, you’ll save even more.”</p><p>The announced Opal fares for trains provide cost savings and rewards for customers and including a discount of up to 8% compared to single paper ticket prices and a further off-peak discount of 30%for all journeys taken before or after the weekday morning and afternoon peaks, as well as all day on weekends.</p><p>The first stages of the Opal card train rollout between now and March 2014 includes:</p><ul><li>City Circle and stations to Bondi Junction (customer trial)</li><li>Stations north of the city to Chatswood (customer trial extension to include stations without gates)</li><li>Stations from Redfern to Strathfield, Strathfield to Hornsby, Epping to Chatswood and north of Chatswood to Wyong on the Central Coast</li><li>Along the Western Line to Emu Plains and Richmond and stations from Strathfield to Liverpool via Regents Park.</li></ul>
