Sneaky $2m Opal card loophole allowing commuters to game system shut down

THE loophole which allowed Sydney commuters to “game’ the Opal system so they could cut their weekly travel bill have been permanently closed.

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THE loophole which allowed Sydney commuters to “game” the Opal system so they could cut their weekly travel bill have been permanently closed.

In an effort to stop the two million dollars lost to “Opal runners” each year the NSW Government has made it harder for passengers to run, cycle or skateboard between stops so they can rack up cheap journeys and take advantage of the ticketing card’s free travel bonus.

Opal runners move between stops that are close together to accumulate free travel by tapping on and off multiple times to reach eight cheap journeys early in the week. Once eight journeys are reached, travel for the rest of the week is free.

'Opal Runners' earn card owners free travel after the initial $18 charge. Picture: NSW State Government

There is even an Opal Runner website, which boasts commuters can save up to $1,000 a year, where passengers can “book a runner” to do the hard work for them

Transport for NSW commissioned a video to capture Opal runners operating between two stops on the Inner West Light Rail — Pyrmont Bay and The Star — which are just 300m apart.

It filmed one woman, carrying as many as 15 Opal cards, who charges others to do their Opal tap ons and tap offs for them.

Under the loophole it was possible to reach one “journey” by tapping on and off at the light rail stops three times within 90 minutes.

Figures released by Transport for NSW show that on a Monday more than 63,000 short “trips” are made between Pyrmont Bay and The Star, but on a Friday only 149 trips are recorded.

Now, one journey will include up to seven transfers instead of three, forcing the runners to spend up to six hours to get the free travel bonus.

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The Opal Runner website boasts it can save commuters up to $1000 a year

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said today that the clampdown on Opal runners makes the system fairer for all travellers.

“My message to Opal runners is ‘stop wasting your time, stop wasting your breath”,” Mr Constance said.

“We are now putting changes into the system to stop people using skateboards, scooters, roller blades to travel between Opal readers to game the system.”

Mr Constance said the government has foregone more than $300 million in ticket revenue by giving away 79 million free Opal trips on trains, buses, ferries and light rail per year.

In Novembers the NSW Auditor General found that Opal passengers taking advantage of the free trips contributed to ticket revenues slumping by 3 per cent last financial year.

The Auditor’s report found about 25 per cent of all Opal journeys are free.

Mr Constance said the government needs all the fare revenue it can get.

“I think that everyone would agree that to have more and better services they have to be paid for.

“We have a major challenge here. We are seeing some $300 million-plus of free transport being given away on an annual basis.”

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal, in its review of public transport fares late last year, recommended cutting free travel after eight Opal journeys in a week.

Mr Constance said the government is still preparing its response to the report and would not be drawn on whether the free journeys will be withdrawn altogether.

IPART was set to release a final report on public transport fares by the end of March, but it has been given an extension until the end of May.