Opal card loophole costing taxpayers more than $4.2m
TAXPAYERS are millions of dollars out of pocket as freeloading travellers exploit an Opal loophole, tapping off with a negative balance then ditching their cards — saving up to $15 a trip.
NSW
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TAXPAYERS are millions of dollars out of pocket as freeloading travellers exploit an Opal loophole, tapping off with a negative balance then ditching their cards — saving up to $15 a trip.
And despite the government being previously warned about the problem, the rort has only worsened with the number of Opal cards with negative balances ballooning from 363,000 during the 2015-16 financial year to 776,771.
Opal cards can go into a negative balance if they are not linked to an account and so far losses have reached at least $4.2 million.
Users can rip off the system by catching a $15.24 free ride from Parramatta to the Domestic Airport during peak hour, as the fare is $18.62, but only a minimum of $3.38 is needed to tap on.
And revenue losses generally, caused by an estimated 9.7 million train fare evaders and 9.4 million bus fare evaders came to $81 million.
The alarming figures were revealed by NSW Auditor-General Margaret Crawford in the Transport 2017 report released yesterday. She said an estimated 22 million trips were being taken by fare-dodging bus and train travellers.
Unless Transport NSW implemented “measures to prevent loss of revenue from passengers tapping off with negative balance Opal cards”, lost revenue would “continue to grow over time”, Ms Crawford warned.
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“Revenues from unregistered Opal cards with negative balances cannot be recovered unless the passenger tops up the card,” Ms Crawford said.
While the state government last year closed the loophole allowing commuters free trips after eight journeys a week, acting opposition transport spokesman Michael Daley said Transport Minister Andrew Constance needed to act immediately on fraudsters exploiting the system.
A NSW Transport spokeswoman said it was aware of customers exiting public transport with a negative balance on their cards and “we are continually working on solutions to reduce revenue loss”.
Since the introduction of the Opal system, fare evasion had dropped from 11 per cent to 6.2 per cent, she said.