New Opal cards for students & kids launched, but still no Pensioner/Concession Opal card availability

The NSW Transport Minister earlier this week launched the availability of Opal cards for Students & Kids, which can now be used as of yesterday (Friday 10th April 2014), but the question remained, what about the Pensioner/Concessioner Opal Card?

Well thats where a totally seperate press release was made a few hours later from Transport for NSW, in which the Transport Minister, (who in our own opinion is totally incompetent) Gladys Berejiklian stated that:

“I am pleased to confirm the Gold Opal Senior/Pensioner card will be available before the end of the year and fares for seniors and pensioners will remain capped at $2.50 for the day. I want seniors and pensioners to know that they will never pay more with a Gold Opal Senior/Pensioner card. They will have the same entitlements as the current $2.50 Pensioner Excursion Ticket.”

But it gets more interesting, the Minister then states this:

Customers will need to buy their Pensioner Excursion Tickets before they travel on buses from more than 1,600 ticket sellers across Sydney, including news agencies, 7-11 convenience stores, Australia Post and selected Woolworths stores.

It certainly seems that the Transport Minister doesn't live in Western Sydney or South Western Sydney, where most of these shops are far away from most bus stops and in deed most people with disabilities. Currently Pensioner Excursion tickets are valid from the day they are purchased and run out at 2am that night. Therefore the idea of pre-purchasing bus tickets is ludicrous and utter major stuff up from her office & Transport for NSW to say the most!

This certainly seems that little has been done to really think how this may impact and have operational issues for people who require and are entitled to the Pensioner Excursion Ticket/Fare, especially people with disabilities or the elderly who cannot walk or travel great distances to get these pre-pay tickets before trying to even board their bus service.

TfANSW has sought comment from the Ministers office and still awaiting any feedback regarding this matter, but also if the Pensioner Excursion ticket maybe be effected for all train travel on both Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity services.

You can read the full press release regarding the pensioner/concession Opal card availability here. You can also read about the Student & Kids Opal Card press release here.

Do you think the Transport Minister has through this out properly or do you think she should consult the disability and mature aged community regarding this change? Do you think the Concessioner/Pensioner Opal card should have been rolled out before now?

Opal card now active on all Sydney Trains lines - NSW TrainLink by the end of next week but not ETA for Concession or Students cards

Opal Card certainly has been successful in its rollout, with the new ticketing system now available and operational on all Sydney Ferry routes and all Sydney Trains suburban lines, with NSW Trainlink availability to become fully operational by the end of next week (11 April 2014). However one question yet remains to be answered - when will concession card holders and students get their own cards?

Now whilst most people might see this as a petty move, it actually isn't. For example, since October last year, the Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink, Transport for NSW and the Transport Minister, Gladys Berijiklian announced that anyone needing to get concessional fares from the stations ticket windows after 9am, on weekends and public holidays, this caused major frustration and anger within the disability community, as this would make things a little more harder for people with disabilities.

For example, someone in a wheelchair, walker, or using walking sticks has to travel from Blacktown to Richmond or to Cambelltown cannot get a ticket from the Richmond line concourse, they need to head over to the main concourse to get their ticket, then travel all the way back to Richmond Line concourse to get on their services.

Now whilst Blacktown is only one "minor" case according to the Transport for NSW, there are similar issues at NSW TrainLink Stations such at Tuggerah, Wyong, Morisset on the Newcastle & Central Coast line, Mt Victoria on the Blue Mountains Line, Mittagong, Moss Vale, Bowral, Bundanoon on the Southern Highlands Line with Dapto, Albion Park, Dunmore, & Thirroul on the South Coast/Illawarra Line having similar issues.


Transport for All NSW has sought comment from TfNSW and the Transport Ministers office along with Cubic who run the Opal Card system on behalf of the NSW Government and we are so far still awaiting to hear or be given a reply in regards to this matter.

Transport Minister obviously doesn't get accessibility

It was over the weekend when I got a couple of tweets from the Shadow Transport Minister, Penny Sharpe about a couple of issues that I had raised about accessible issues around the Cityrail network.

To be honest, I would have expected much better answers from the current transport minister, Gladys Berjiklian, but then again what should we expect, from a minister who doesn't listen to the people!!

For example, this was the response from the transport minister regarding only one blacktown lift being replaced currently whilst the other have been approved but are still "pending":

Considering the lift that was replaced is only used for the new carpark and has been available for full public service since early April and being it is now early June, that's a full two months to get something placed into cation if you ask me!!

The next issue was regarding the MLAK key (Master Lock Access Key) and the issue with oenrith's disabled toilet MLAK lock being higher and out of access for someone with a disability:

It's obvious from the above answer that the minister, nor her minions have actually been out to penrith to inspect this issue and I would hold my breath on it ever happening.

By far the biggest slap in the face so to speak would be about the incoming OPAL card and the lack of ability or support nor function ability for someone with a disability, who could tap on and tap off at an opal card reader point:

I think considering that the disability master plan she is referring too had little input nor word from anyone outside with a disability, albeit only members who are part of the organisations listed (and even then their submissions where anywhere between about 1-4 pages long) does not consider it to be any value to anyone.

The minster must be held accountable for her lack of support and understanding to us disabled rail commuters and should meet with us to actually have a discussion which is meaningful and have this and many other issues resolved, well in a utopian world it would happen but we wouldn't hold our breath for it to occur now would we.