Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Allan Miles, spokesman for Action for Public Transport, said that while the rapid spread of Opal is impressive and welcome, little mention has been made of people who, for whatever reason, are not carrying a valid Opal card.

"A commuter's card might be lost, stolen, damaged, without credit or invalid for some other reason," Mr Miles said. "A person might be fresh off the plane from interstate or overseas," he said, "and not have an Opal card - indeed may never have heard of it." Mr Miles asked how these people will obtain a card, or gain access to the Sydney transport system.

"It is true that some people will pay more, and some less, under Opal," Mr Miles said, "but the same thing happened when MyZone replaced TravelPasses in April 2010. It will always happen". Mr Miles suggested that public transport users live with the new system, study it, and work the system to the best advantage for themselves.

Mr Miles said that the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) gave approval for any fare to be adjusted up or down, so long as the average increase across all fares does not exceed a set percentage. "This is what the government is doing," Mr Miles said, "but the figures have not yet been tested by IPART."

Mr Miles welcomed today's announcement of fare arrangements for regular users of the Airport stations. "Without these special caps, weekly fares for workers would have been excessive," he said, "but this problem has been looming for years." Mr Miles said that he wondered if the Minister was staggering the announcements to avoid confusing customers, or whether they are making it up as they go along,

"Of more concern than the changed ticket prices," Mr Miles said, "are the problems of obtaining a card in the first place. Railway stations that don't sell tickets, either by man or machine, are akin to that hospital shown on Yes, Minister - very well run, but without any patients."

Mr Miles said that the Minister has yet to announce any alternative fare paying method for prospective, but ticketless passengers who front up to a bus or train when all the ticket windows are closed and the machines don't work.

Mr Miles said Sydney also needs a day-tourist ticket for visitors who just lob into town not knowing about Opal.

Contact: Allan Miles   9516-1906