Can You Share Opal Card between Students?

Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 12:00

Hi guys, looking for someone with some experience with this because transport officers that I’ve asked are clueless.

My uni has gone to opal and I’m wondering if it’s worth getting. Specifically as a student can I share my opal card with my wife who’s also a student, or does it have a specific name and ID that comes up when the transport officers check on the tappy thing?

At the moment I buy a student weekly paper ticket, use it for the 4 days I go to uni then she uses it the one day she goes to uni and on the weekend. So we can share the one ticket for ~$30/week between us. But if I go opal then we each pay for individual trips and it becomes much more expensive.

Travel

Related Stores

Opal Card - NSW Government
Opal Card - NSW Government

Comments

  • scrimshaw on 21/05/2015 - 12:17
    +1

    You cannot share one opal card between 2 persons on the same journey. I.e. if you are travelling together, each person must have his or her own card, one cannot cross the gate and then hand the card over to his partner to tap the card.

    But if you're going on your own journeys then yes, you can share the card. I recommend you get 2 cards — on days you travel together, you must have your own card.

  • retiredfeline on 21/05/2015 - 12:25
    +1

    Since unregistered Opal cards exist, it's then not possible to link such cards to a user, even assuming the transport officers have terminals that could do an online lookup. I believe all they are checking for is if the card is tapped on, and if a concession card, you're entitled to it.

    So go ahead and timeshare the card. Obviously when you are travelling together, you need two cards like scrimshaw says.

    • mskeggs on 22/05/2015 - 21:39

      Can you get unregistered student Opals? I understood they were verified by the institution, so I assumed they were all registered.

      • retiredfeline on 22/05/2015 - 22:31

        I think my point was that I think the inspectors are not equipped to make identity checks.

        • mskeggs on 23/05/2015 - 12:53

          I'm not a concession holder. I presume they demand to see the concession card if they check the opal. Does the electronic reader not display registration data? I know it displays a Green circle if it shows a valid card, but don't know what it shows for concession or invalid tickets.

        • retiredfeline on 23/05/2015 - 13:51

          @mskeggs: I'm guessing they definitely can check eligibility by demanding to see a student ID but wouldn't match the ID.

        • aim54x on 23/09/2015 - 12:09

          @greenpossum: I have scanned my Student Opal using the MyOpal (ToastedMint) app and it does not show any information about me other than the card number (which they can look up) but the app apparently reads the locally stored data just like the scanners the inspectors used.

          I would not share my card at the end of the day, it is registered to me (had to be registered due to the procedure that was followed to get an Student Opal).

        • retiredfeline on 25/09/2015 - 21:24

          @aim54x: Yes but that number would be cross referenced to your student ID in their database.

        • aim54x on 25/09/2015 - 22:40

          @greenpossum:

          That is my reasoning behind not sharing my card. Even though the card does not appear to store your ID locally they can cross reference it if htey wanted to.

  • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 12:33

    Thanks guys hopefully that's the case. yes we don't want to use them at the same time (as you cant do that for the paper tickets either).

    One transport officer said you can't share student ones but I have no idea why…

    • retiredfeline on 21/05/2015 - 12:36
      +1

      Maybe he meant you can't share a student card with a non-student, that would be abusing a concession.

    • scrimshaw on 21/05/2015 - 12:36

      You just need proof that you are a student, there is nothing wrong if the card is not registered under you name.

      Basic rule is — if you are caught carrying a student Opal without a student ID with a NSW concession ^Hologram sticker on it then it's insta-fine.

      ^ Not sure if they still use a hologram sticker though — could be just printed on your card that you're a domestic student. Remember international students don't get to use concession cards.

      • Lysander on 21/05/2015 - 17:28

        Because Australia is so "friendly" to international students who make up a significant chunk of visitors in Australia (and also of work and travel crowd) while Australian students get to enjoy all the discounts in Europe with an ISIC. Crazy world.

      • watty on 21/05/2015 - 20:22

        The holo sticker is not used anymore (only rural regions still have it). Even a cop questioned me about it and when I told her she was like wuh? and walked off. To get a concession opal card you need to be in a uni data base as a student (not sure about international) and during registration, one wrong letter or typo (which makes your typed details not matching the info provided by your uni) causes the system to deny your registration (I guess that's how they try to validate a legit student).

        • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 20:23

          Hmm we still have the holo sticker at ours. Had to get my new 2015 sticker a couple of months ago :(

        • watty on 21/05/2015 - 20:24

          @Greenspoon: Is it the silver one?

        • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 20:25

          @watty:

          Yeh the shiny silvery rainbow in certain light hologram one.

        • watty on 21/05/2015 - 20:28

          @Greenspoon: Yup that's the rural areas one (well according to my uni it is). I usually travel to the city via Granville hence they didn't give me a sticker saying the opal card and student ID is sufficient. But out of the 50 times I have been inspected, probably twice I have been asked for my student id and 5 times i voluntarily showed it to them in which they were like "nah it's fine mate".

        • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 20:30

          @watty:
          Weird - I'm only at Campbelltown, it's not THAT rural… maybe it's just because we only got Opal this week so everyone needed stickers up til then?

        • watty on 21/05/2015 - 20:32

          @Greenspoon: Yup that's probably why.

        • FirstWizard on 22/09/2015 - 10:25

          I live in city limits, therefore the Uni denied to give me a 2015 holo sticker too. I had to tell them that I have a bundle of concession my bus 10 tickets I got last year to convince them to give me one (I just had 2 tickets, but I didn't want even that to goto waste).

        • aim54x on 23/09/2015 - 12:11

          I have a sticker, I live in inner city Sydney and had no issues with getting one from UNSW.

        • kenneth88 on 25/09/2015 - 21:30

          @FirstWizard: insert your MyBus ticket twice in the machine and will cost the same as adult, thats how I use up mine.

    • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 12:42

      Yeh I was pretty specific with one transport dude. He said Adults can share but not between students but he also seemed confused.

  • swiggity swag on 21/05/2015 - 18:31
    +5

    From the terms of use:

    If an Opal Card allowing concessional fares or free travel has been issued specifically to you, you must not permit any other person to use that Opal Card. You may not use an Opal Card allowing concessional fares or free travel that has been issued specifically to another person.

    Considering the concession cards are issued directly through the tertiary institutions they will be specifically issue for a particular person,

    • Hoju on 21/05/2015 - 18:39

      Damn thanks. Wonder how they can actually tell when they check, assuming you have the student ID. Thought this more applied to someone using who wasn't also entitled to a concession (/hoped)

      • grasstown on 21/05/2015 - 19:24
        +1

        I have upvoted you, but once the bearer produces a valid student card then they will probably avoid penalty. I would think the rule exists so it's not used by non students. That would be consistent with the rule not prohibiting adults sharing. Couples can mix up cards not realising they have their partners card. And people knowingly swap cards so railcorp and the government do not have accurate records of their movements. but the rule you quote above prohibiting concessions sharing exists and is clear, but I believe it's not meant to restrict its use by someone entitled to the concession.

  • pointless martyr on 21/05/2015 - 18:44
    -1

    Only if you are prepared to share a cell too, once you get caught.

  • Forenti on 21/05/2015 - 21:26
    -1

    Why don't you both get your own student Opal cards? I don't think you would be able to share them. Since you're essentially getting tickets at half price, each student Opal has an entitlement number which relates to your personal student ID - only that person is entitled to the discounts that the card provides. Transport officers would be able to look up the student ID attached to the Opal (you can even see it when you log into your account) and then cross check it with your student card.

    • Hoju on 22/05/2015 - 06:22

      The problem is that if we both have our own cards, we'll never reach the journey cap and get the most out of what the opal is for - giving free trips later in the week.

      • retiredfeline on 22/05/2015 - 22:46

        Why not get separate cards anyway so that you have the plausible excuse that you mixed up the cards if there really is an id comparison, which I don't think there is in reality.

        • Hoju on 23/05/2015 - 06:28

          Hmm not a bad idea. I don't think her uni has signed up for it yet though

        • aim54x on 23/09/2015 - 12:14

          @Hoju: then she wont be able to use your card, if the uni is not signed up then her student card will not get her off the hook with a determined transport officer (some of them are more thorough than others).

        • Hoju on 24/09/2015 - 08:33
          +1

          @aim54x:
          Zombie threads are useful when the problem is resolved!

          Her Uni does have opal now so all good. Saving a fortune…

  • Hoju on 22/09/2015 - 11:14

    An update to this. I've asked two transport officers on separate occasions when checking my opal card. They specified that there's NO identifying information when they tap the Opal card.

    One of them told me I had to write my name on the back of the card in the given space as that was the only way they could prove I was the student that the card was allocated to.

    Tldr my wife and I are both students and I regularly give her my card as I max it out by tue or wed most weeks.

    • aim54x on 23/09/2015 - 12:15

      ….and now I realise I have been adding replies to a zombie thread…..

    • Ultramup on 25/02/2018 - 23:42

      is this still true?

      • Hoju on 26/02/2018 - 07:52
        +1

        The zombie thread? Yes.

        The sharing cards. Not sure. Haven’t been a student for a while

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