Do you want the good news or the bad news? Let’s get the bad part out of the way… An annual Opal card fare price rise is around the corner – the NSW Government has announced that fares will jump up by 3.7 per cent.
While that may only mean an additional dollar per week on your travel costs, any price increase is a bit hard to swallow at the moment, as people are counting cents right now to deal with the high cost of living.
But, alas, as Barbie once said, “I don’t control the railways or the flow of commerce” – not much any of us can do about this one, apart from decide to walk or ride instead of public transporting.
To help make up for the price rise, for those who travel about the city using the train, bus or light rail services, Opal fares are going to get a little cheaper on Fridays. As of Monday October 16, TGIF vibes are going to extend to your wallet, with a 30 per cent discount on all fares through the whole weekend.
The other good bit: there will also be a cap on travel costs – passengers won’t pay any more than $8.90 all day (child total fares will be capped at $4.45 per day).
In further Opal related news, there will be no increase on the weekly travel cap, meaning adults will still be able to do all their public transport rides fares for the week for $50 or under ($25 for concession card holders). Seniors and pensioners are still able to cruise around the city at a cool $2.50 daily cap.
If you’re heading out to the airport, train fares will jump up by $0.94 for those travelling to the domestic terminal and $0.84 if you’re jetting out from the international terminal.