Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Opal Card's Concern's By Kylie Stevens - St Marys-Druitt Star



OPINION: Opal Card's loose ends causing concern




DESPITE not being fully convinced, I bought an Opal card at a Westfield pop-up kiosk on Saturday after being told by Sydney Trains staff that the MyMulti3 weekly ticket was being phased out (despite the website saying otherwise).

Being someone who pays mostly with cash and uses my credit card infrequently, it was the only place I could get one because the kiosk at my train station was open only from 9am to 5pm. Not convenient for someone who commutes by bus to Sydney's north-west for work.

While I will benefit from the free travel for the rest of the week after eight journeys, it's clear that the state government should have put more thought into the implementation.

The Opal system is rolled out on only half of the buses across Sydney, and on those in western Sydney that do have it, the card reader is often out of order.

Nor is the system available on special event buses to Moore Park. I thought the aim of Opal was so that people won't have to worry about queueing for a ticket or fumbling for coins.

The pensioner Opal card isn't yet available, which will be difficult for those who don't have a credit, debit or even an ATM card.

It leaves many unanswered questions, since the Transport NSW response failed to comment on many of the issues raised by the Star.

 From the Editor of this blogspot:
Guess what? My hand is there!



 

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