A quick comparison of the Opal Card vs periodical tickets.
I'll admit it, I was quick to dismiss the Opal card as a gimmick seeing how it is more expensive than a quarterly ticket over a 90 day period. For example MyTrain 2 costs $32.80/week for Opal, but only $27.22 for a quarterly. It looked like we waited so long to get this ticket-less system and it appeared to be more expensive, and thus useless to those that want maximum value.
I've always espoused the benefit of a quarterly ticket. I mean, what's not to love?
- You get the convenience of being able to plan your holidays around your train ticket (unlike yearly)
- Only difference between a quarterly and yearly is 5 extra free days with a yearly
- Much much cheaper than a monthly and weekly
- Only have to line up 4 times a year (so much win on Mondays or after long weekends)
- Can lock in old prices before announcement of price hikes
- Nice, durable plastic ticket
- Can register the ticket so if it does get lost, can order a replacement one
I find it hard to be friends with those that continue to buy weekly tickets when they work full time. There is simply no reason for it. If you want to hand over money necessarily, I will gladly give you my banking details on where to deposit the money you don't want.
However, I looked deeper into the specifics and conditions of the Opal card and stumbled across something quite interesting. There are a few perks of the Opal system to entice users to adopt this new technology.
Some of them include:
- 30% discount when travelling during off peak (any time outside 7am - 9am and 4.30pm - 6.30pm weekdays)
- After 8 paid trips in a week (Monday to Sunday), all modes of travel is free after that, no matter how far you go or how often, called a weekly bonus. This is the key to maximising value off Opal. Why not catch a free ferry just for kicks on a nice sunny day?
- Sunday all day travel costs only $2.50
- You can do transfers at different stations within 60 minutes and you will only pay one fare, instead of 2.
Eg, Central to Wolli Creek. Meet up with a friend to return their book. Within 60 minutes, Wolli Creek to Rockdale. You will only be charged Central to Rockdale fare and it counts as 1 trip toward your weekly bonus.
One big concern though would be privacy. When you login to your Opal account, every single trip you take, at the precise time you tapped on (and presumably tapped off) is recorded and who knows what the information will be used for. You cannot travel anonymously using Opal. (Update: August/September 2014 - unregistered Opal cards can now be bought at retailer such as convenience stores and news-agencies)
Why is the Weekly reward interesting? Well think of it almost as like a membership card where if you get 8 stamps, you get free coffee or burger the next time you visit. The Opal card counts 8 trips and then after that, your trips are free and it doesn't matter how much each trip costs you. If you make 3 trips in 1 day, that's 3/8 trips taken care of to reach the weekly bonus.
It's easier to see with a few examples. For simplicity sake, I will use MyTrain 2 (10-20km travelling distance). Keep in mind, a quarterly ticket equates to $350 for 90 days or $27.22 a week
Scenario 1: Typical week, travelling during peak hours Monday to Friday
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Morning | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Lunch time | FREE | FREE | FREE | ||||
| Evening | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Total cost $32.80 | |||||||
Scenario 2: We adjust our schedules so that we tap on after 6.30pm when we go home to get the offpeak discount.
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Morning | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Lunch time | FREE | FREE | FREE | ||||
| Evening | 2.87 | 2.87 | 2.87 | 2.87 | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Total cost $27.88 |
Scenario 3: No way you want to stay back at work, even to get the offpeak discounts? What if you had alot of errands to run during your lunch time (offpeak) and needed to travel to a station closeby? *Assuming the station you travel to is within 10km
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Morning | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Lunch time | 2.31 | 2.31 | 2.31 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Evening | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Total cost $27.43 |
Scenario 4: Okay you're on tight budget so you will stay back at work, but you also like to go to nearby stations during lunch because the lunch is better at the other place
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Morning | 4.1 | 4.1 | 4.1 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Lunch time | 2.31 | 2.31 | 2.31 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Evening | 2.87 | 2.87 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Total cost $24.97 |
Scenario 5: Who needs sleep? Travelling only during offpeak and taking some sightseeing trips during lunch
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Morning | 2.87 | 2.87 | 2.87 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Lunch time | 2.31 | 2.31 | 2.31 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Evening | 2.87 | 2.87 | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE | FREE |
| Total cost $21.28 | |||||||
Summary
The main take out of this is not to discount Opal too quickly. If you schedule your travel outside peak hours and take some cheaper trips, it may be worth your while. It may even motivate you to travel and explore Sydney because all the trips are free after your 8 paid trips!!
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