NSW Opal Card's "Ingenious Little Buggers" - CH7 News Report "First on 7: Opal 'free Rides' to End Soon"

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Opal Card - NSW Government

• 

  suti on 30/06/2015 - 10:50

  +4

  Best way for the government to get rid of the hack is to make all CBD to CBD journeys free and not count for the 8 trips. This will make a lot of people including tourists happy (look at all the people who clamber for the free bus) as well so i imagine more people would win than lose and the government would recoup some revenue.

  • 

    djones145 on 30/06/2015 - 11:21

    +1

    indeed
    this is wat they do in Melbourne (for the trams) and its awesome

    • 

      spychiatrist on 30/06/2015 - 11:38

      +1

      Perth city buses are free (within CBD boundaries). Don't even have the need for a bus card. Just hop on and off.

      • 

        garmibear on 30/06/2015 - 11:46

        +1

        yup, as Suti said, we have a free CBD bus too, but it only runs weekdays 9-3.30 (except Thursday late night shopping, ends at 9) and weekends 9.30 to 6.

        It used to run in a huge loop (both ways) but now it only runs back and forth along the busiest street which is George St…

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 30/06/2015 - 14:37

    Free inner city trips subsidised by public transport users from the outer suburbs who "rort" the system? Genius!

• 

  cypher67 on 30/06/2015 - 11:07

  I don't see why they should close the loophole, the government is rewarding people for getting out and being active. How about enforcing all the people that don't pay for travel at all, instead of punishing the people following the rules, however bent they may be.

• 

  pao2x on 30/06/2015 - 11:57

  Too much sensationalism going in there as it was there since Opal was implemented.

  The Transport minister herself even told the public to give it a go. http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/transport-minister-backs-commuters…

• 

  djones145 on 30/06/2015 - 12:01

  +3

  I think once someone creates a service that collects opal cards in the morning to do this for people or sell cards with cap already done, they might close it ( after you see some guy with hundreds of cards tapping on and off)

• 

  [Deactivated] on 30/06/2015 - 12:17

  The Opal system is stupidly complicated.

  Melbourne is incredibly simple, 2 hour ticket for the whole system or a daily ticket for the whole system.

  • 

    endotherm on 30/06/2015 - 17:35

    Really? Care to explain it (Myki) to me then? I'm reasonably intelligent, but the first and only time I went to use it, I couldn't follow it at all. I simply wanted to make a once-off, short trip into the city one way, a couple of bucks for the journey. No problem, but they impose a minimum spend of something like $10 credit. Angry, I am ready to cough up the tenner when I am told by another commuter trying to explain it to me that I have to buy a card first at around $6 before I can put the credit on it. No instructions anywhere explaining this process to me. I left in disgust.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 30/06/2015 - 14:38

  +2

  Lez be honest, when did they ever re-invest any money in public transport anyway?

  • 

    RockyRaccoon on 30/06/2015 - 19:14

    Are u serious? What about the newly opened southwest rail link and the already being built northwest rail link, and the new harbour crossing?

    Although that comes out of general funds, so technically you may be right.

    However its much more invested than is earned.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 01/07/2015 - 09:00

      +3

      Both of those rail links should have been opened 20 years ago. Thus my point. Public spending on public transport over the last 50 years has been disgustingly neglected. But you're right, we should congratulate the incompetents for what they've finally achieved! And be grateful for more toll roads!

      • 

        RockyRaccoon on 01/07/2015 - 11:15

        Well regardless of when they should be opened, they weren't - Who's fault was that?

        Likewise many things should have been done many years ago. 😋

        The point you made is they never invest. Reality is they never invest enough and at the right time!! 🚂🚅

        And losing revenue isnt going to speed anything up. The money has to come from somewhere. The Askins and Obieds to name a few arent going to pay anything more are they?

      • 

        [Deactivated] on 01/07/2015 - 11:19

        @RockyRaccoon: Yes, the point I make is that successive governments have not invested in public transport. Their terms in power were over years ago, they will never invest.

  • 

    shortgum on 03/07/2015 - 02:14

    listen to transport minister on this ridiculous. we just trying to save money and he use the word ripping taxpayers. Calling us buggers is inconsiderate.

    once we top-up into the card, the money already into the opal system. Seriously about $20/wk travel cost is appropriate. How much more you want us to pay to fund your public transport. So you want commuters to pay $60 advertised unlimited travel to fund this

    price for public travel no near Sydney cost than where we from. compare almost half

    • 

      HN Professional on 03/07/2015 - 20:11

      … he was quoting directly from the Gerry Harvey Handbook of Adjectives.

• 

  carwashhair on 30/06/2015 - 15:08

  +2

  Ideas to close the loophole are to - change the software at the polls

  If there's going to be any system change by the government, it will be this kind of measure. A simple bit of software coding in the right hands, rolled out by simply being uploaded - minimal government cost and instant effect. Having transport officers crack down on this one area is a higher-cost solution, and creating barriers is the same - plus the time taken to enact it.

  Basically, two of the bigger incentives for the state government Opal rollout is that once everyone is on the new system, the system can be tweaked to maximise value (for the government) very easily. 10 trips before a travel reward/ higher sector fares/ etc etc - push a button and it's done.

  Also, by making Opal tickets available for sale everywhere (but the stations themselves), the gov't could afford to lose a portion of Public sector transport workers manning ticket offices. That's why when opal rolled out they sold online first, then had casual ticket sellers at opal booths. Then sell at all retail outlets around the state. Last of all, they update ticket machines at stations.

  It's all sneaky and pretty insidious of them, but these all saved the gov't a LOT of money. The 'loopholes' we are discussing would have been costed in, and would cost (in real, or even fare value terms) far less than the savings from 500 less public service jobs.

  It's also easy for the government to extrapolate from these loopholes the $ value of money being 'lost', and to say they would 'normally reinvest that in public transport'. That's just another excuse for a fare hike. Be afraid of this State Gov't, it's getting meaner and meaner…

• 

  countmein on 01/07/2015 - 14:59

  well.. a man at 1:38 still doing it even the TV camera and the reporter are there.
  Its not illegal so why should they having transit officers watching…

• 

  DarkOz on 02/07/2015 - 06:59

  Tapping on, not catching the transport and then tapping off at another station should be considered a rort. Had they caught the light rail each time and do this to save money I have no problem with that. It seems the government can't tell the difference between using the system to abusing the system. Abusers caught should be fined on the spot under a different rule to fare evasion.

  • 

    zappy32 on 02/07/2015 - 10:01

    +1

    The fare structure is ridiculous - you can't blame people for finding the cheapest way.

    • 

      DarkOz on 02/07/2015 - 11:03

      The fare structure is perfectly fine as it is. I can't fault it as I have been using it since day one. It's easier and cheaper than the old system.

      They took the time it takes for each genuine trip into consideration that it'll be highly unlikely to tap on and tap off 4 times within an hour. Had these rorters waited for the light rail, got off the next stop to tap off and repeat it would be perfectly fine. They can save some money by wasting their own time. Walking, running or riding to the next stop to tap off is an abuse because the system is not designed to be used that way.

      I heard people are doing the same thing between Erskinville and Mcdonaldtown stations.

      • 

        zappy32 on 02/07/2015 - 13:43

        +1

        So the fare structure fine because in encourages people to make needless trips to save money? What sort of logic is that?

        These people are paying the cheapest legitimate fare, they may not be catching the rail and getting in people's way but they're still paying a valid fare.

        What's the bet if they make people have to complete an actual trip you'll see people taking in turns doing the run for the office each week with 4/5 cards. Are they going to get in trouble for overpaying on that journey?

      • 

        carwashhair on 02/07/2015 - 15:53

        @zappy_32:

        So the fare structure fine because in encourages people to make needless trips to save money? What sort of logic is that?

        If you look at it from the state gov't cost perspective, they really wouldn't care if people make needless trips. It's better than people travelling without paying a fare, because they then have to police that with transit officers (wages=high cost). If you want to sweat other costs, the cost of additional trips being taken is also negligible to the gov't - the same services already run, they just get an extra few passengers. There might be a (negligible, when spread over the network) cost of overcrowding, but the passengers bear that (until new services are put on).

        Ultimately, they have people paying upfront in advance for travel. THEY ALREADY HAVE OUR MONEY. They're laughing! If you're making a valid journey with credit on your card, it's fine for them and fine for the traveller.

• 

  shortgum on 03/07/2015 - 00:40

  how can they say these are opal buggers. fair say about $20 /week is right. why the minister think say lets make travel affordable then implement changes

  travel cost is no way as pricy than sydney where we from