Sydney to trial contactless transport payments

The NSW government has announced that passengers will be able to use their credit or debit cards to pay for transport from 2017. Much like the current Opal card, users will be able to tap on or off the train or bus easily but without having to top up.

In NSW, approximately 92% of trips on the state’s transport system are paid with Opal cards and the Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance says that this can be improved by the ease of using a credit or debit card directly.

“Contactless payment with credit and debit cards would offer customers another easy to use and convenient option for travelling,” Mr Constance said. He also suggests that it will increase tourism to simplify transport payments. It seems to be a point of pride with the Transport Minister that NSW is the first Australian state to consider this technological milestone.

“Only a few major mass transit systems, similar in scale and complexity to Sydney’s, have introduced contactless payments,” Mr Constance said. The Minister told the Future of Transport Summit that he wanted NSW to be at the forefront of technological innovation.

The contactless system has already been implemented in London alongside the existing system, which mirrors the Opal card. It has been a huge success, with a quarter of commuters making the change to credit or debit cards.