Charities and other not-for-profit organisations May 2018 Opal One Day Travel Pass Questions and Answers Overview 1. What is the Opal One Day Travel Pass? The Opal One Day Travel Pass is a new type of Opal ticket that is valid for unlimited travel on a given day from first tap on until 4am the next day. 2. What services can customers use the Opal One Day Travel Pass on? The Opal One Day Travel Pass is valid in the Opal network on trains, buses, ferries and light rail services. This includes public transport in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter, Illawarra and Southern Highlands. It is not valid on private ferries such as the Manly Fast Ferry or at Sydney Airport train stations. 3. Who is eligible to buy and use the Opal One Day Travel Pass? The Opal One Day Travel Pass is not available directly to the public. It is available to approved charities and other not-for-profit organisations to provide emergency travel assistance to people in their care. 4. Can customers obtain the Opal One Day Travel Pass at Opal retailers or Opal top up and ticket machines? No. The Opal One Day Travel Pass is not available at Opal retailers or any ticket machine (including train stations, light rail stops or ferry wharves). It is not available on buses. 5. Why was the Opal One Day Travel Pass developed? The Opal One Day Travel Pass was developed in response to requests from a range of government and non-government organisations that required a more convenient way to provide emergency travel assistance to people in their care, including vulnerable clients and young people. 6. How is the Opal One Day Travel Pass similar to the Opal single trip ticket? The Opal One Day Travel Pass is disposable and does not have stored value. 7. What types of Opal One Day Travel Passes are available? The Opal One Day Travel Pass is available as an Adult or Child/Youth ticket. To be eligible for the Child/Youth ticket, children must be: aged 4-15 years inclusive; or full time NSW school students aged 16 years and older with a NSW/ACT Senior Secondary Student Concession Card issued by their school as proof of entitlement.
8. If children or young people aged 15 years or under appear or look older, do authorised officers ask them for identification? Children or young people aged 15 years or under are not required to carry identification. Our authorised officers are trained to work with young people however they may ask some questions to help confirm the person s age. 9. Does the Opal One Day Travel Pass have an expiry date? Charities and other not-for-profit organisations should not accumulate large stocks because unused Opal One Day Travel Passes will expire after 12 months. The expiry date will be advised to the organisation purchasing the passes but will not be printed on the passes themselves. Therefore Transport for NSW recommends that organisations distribute passes to clients for use as soon as possible. Please remember that the Opal One Day Travel Pass is valid from the time of first tap on until 4am the next day. 10. How does the Opal One Day Travel Pass fit with the current suite of Opal cards? Opal cards are the primary travel cards for public transport in the Opal network. The Opal One Day Travel Pass is not intended to replace the current suite of Opal cards. Where relevant, Transport for NSW encourages charities and other not-for-profit organisations to assist their clients with acquiring the appropriate Opal card for their circumstances. Below: Ticket design
Order Fulfilment 11. How do charities and other not-for-profit organisations order the Opal One Day Travel Pass? Application process Charities and other not-for-profit organisations must complete an application form to demonstrate their eligibility to obtain the Opal One Day Travel Pass. Transport for NSW will then undertake an eligibility assessment and confirm whether the organisation is approved to purchase Opal One Day Travel Passes. Once the organisation is approved to purchase Opal One Day Travel Passes, they will be accepted as an Opal One Day Travel Pass purchaser. Order process Eligible Opal One Day Travel Pass purchasers will be supplied with login credentials to the online order portal, together with instructions on how to place an order. 12. What quantities can be ordered? Opal One Day Travel Passes are available for purchase in multiples of 20, 50, 100 and 200 per type of card. 13. How do charities and other not-for-profit organisations pay for the Opal One Day Travel Pass? When the organisation places an order through the online order portal, they will be directed to a payment web page, where they can pay with a credit or debit card. Merchant fees may also apply, depending on the type of card being used to make the payment. Payment must be confirmed before any passes are dispatched. 14. If charities and other not-for-profit organisations have purchased the Opal One Day Travel Pass before a price increase, will the passes be valid for use? Yes, unused passes will be valid for use as long as they have not exceeded the expiry date. Using the Opal One Day Travel Pass 15. Do customers have to tap on and tap off with an Opal One Day Travel Pass? Yes, customers travelling with the Opal One Day Travel Pass are required to tap on and tap off at Opal readers. If they do not tap on and tap off they may be fined for fare evasion. 16. How does the validity timing from first tap on work? Below are some examples of times that customers can tap on and when the pass will expire:
Tap on at 10.00am on a particular day the pass will be valid until 4am the next day. For example, if the tap on was at 10.00am on a Monday, the pass will be valid until 4am on the Tuesday. Tap on at 11.59pm on a particular day the pass will be valid for four hours later until 4am. For example, if the tap on was at 11.59pm on a Monday, the pass will be valid until 4am on the Tuesday. Tap on at 12.01am on a particular day the pass will be valid until 4am the next day. For example, if the tap on was at 12.01am on a Monday, the pass will be valid until 4am on the Tuesday. 17. What should pass holders do if they travel to Sydney Airport train stations? If customers travel to Sydney Airport train stations they will need to pay the full Station Access Fee at the gate ticket window. When the customer gets the receipt they will need to ask station staff to manually open one of the gates to let them through. Alternatively, customers can use an Opal card with sufficient value to cover the Station Access Fee or buy an Opal single trip ticket to one of the airport stations. 18. Can customers interrupt their trip? Yes, the Opal One Day Travel Pass can be used for a range of journeys throughout the Opal network. It is not accepted at Sydney Airport train stations or on private ferries. 19. What are the travel arrangements for rural and regional NSW (outside the Opal network)? There is no change to arrangements for rural and regional travel. For example, staff may need to book NSW TrainLink Regional reserved seat services for their clients. People travelling from rural and regional NSW into the Opal network can be given an Opal One Day Travel Pass in addition to the usual tickets for their regional travel. 20. Who do charities and other not-for-profit organisations contact if a client has an issue with the pass and returns it to the organisation? If there are any issues with an Opal One Day Travel Pass, you could undertake a simple assessment including: Confirm with the client that the pass was not used before 4am that day. If so, the pass is used and no longer valid for travel. Confirm the pass given to the client has not expired after 12 months. You may wish to keep a record of which passes were distributed to which clients. Ask where the client tapped the pass. The Opal One Day Travel Pass will not work on non-opal rural and regional buses and trains, private ferries or at Sydney Airport train stations. Ask if the client saw an error message on the Opal reader. Ask if the pass was in their wallet when they tapped on. If so, the Opal reader may not have been able to read the pass. Check if the pass was damaged, for example, whether it was folded or torn.
More information Contact the Transport for NSW Opal One Day Travel Pass team at tickets@transport.nsw.gov.au for more information.