Opal card implanted in skin: Sydney transport bosses threaten to deactivate card

A COMMUTER who had his travel smartcard implanted under his skin has ben warned the extreme procedure could be for nothing.

A SYDNEY biohacker who had his travel smartcard implanted beneath his skin may find his extreme method of making his commute more convenient was all for nowt.

Transport bosses are threatening to deactivate his Opal card that currently resides in a biocompatible plastic sleeve somewhere in his hand.

Meow-Ludo Disco Gamma Meow-Meow, for that is his legal name, cut down the Opal chip, had it encased in plastic and implanted just under the skin on his left hand by a piercing expert.

That means rather than rummaging through his wallet or bag and tapping the travel card against the machine, he waves his hand over the scanner.

Mr Meow-Meow had the 10mm by 6mm chip inserted under the skin of his hand and said it meant he always had the card on him, the ABC reported.

“It gives me an ability that not everyone else has, so if someone stole my wallet I could still get home,” he said.

He told the ABC he can even top up his “card” using his smartphone.

The Sydney biohacker admits having a chip isn’t for everyone. Picture: ABC News

But Transport for NSW, who administer the Opal card system, have said it “does not support the tampering or damaging of Opal cards which would be a breach of the terms of use”.

“Changing the physical attributes of the card may impact the reliability of the Opal card,” it added.

On Facebook, Mr Meow-Meow said instead of pointing out what someone is doing wrong, Transport for NSW should fix the “tonnes” of transport problems. He suggested the Opal Card’s sensitivity be increased like overhead toll readers on roads, reported AAP.

“Passengers could easily just walk straight through and decrease the quantity of time needed to go and walk up to a scanner and stand in queue,” he said. “This is one of thousands of reasons people don’t use public transport.”

The chip was inserted by a piercing expert and took around an hour. Picture: ABC News

While having a travel card implanted within the body may sound convenient, he admitted it does have a downside which includes having to be just a centimetre from the reader.

Mr Meow-Meow, said the decision to do what he has shouldn’t be taken lightly and can lead to infection if not done correctly.

This is how the Sydney man taps on and off. Picture: ABC News

And he admitted there was another issue at hand — as his actions breached Opal’s terms of service, which prohibit tampering.

“It will be really interesting to see what happens when the first transit officer scans my arm,” he said.

This is how most people who travel in NSW tap on and off.