Sydney’s Opal card to expand to Uber trips and e-bikes in world first

Opal cards are used across Sydney to pay for transport

Commuters in Sydney will now be able to pay for ridesharing trips with companies such as Uber or a micromobility bike with their digital Opal card, which is already used to pay for transport in the Australian city. In addition, commuters could be given credit back when they transfer to public transport from Uber and other rideshare services.

New South Wales Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance announced participants in the Opal digital card trial will be the first people in the world to use the new technology.

“From the middle of this year up to 10,000 Opal digital card users will be able to pay for an Uber, a fixed fare Ingogo taxi trip or a Lime bike journey using their Opal card. If they then catch public transport within 60 minutes they will receive a credit to their Opal account of up to $3,” Constance said.

“We know how convenient using one card is and this is just the beginning. If the trial is successful we will look into rolling it out across the network and we’ll be inviting other providers to get on board too.”

“This is a fantastic example of how government and industry can work together to deliver better ways to move people from A to B. Sydneysiders can already access public transport information via the Uber app. Now they can use Uber to take the stress out of getting to and from a public transport hub and be rewarded for it as well,” Uber Australia’s General Manager Dom Taylor added.

As part of the trial, My Fast Ferry customers will save 10 per cent on their ferry fare during peak times and 25 per cent when travelling off peak.

Transport for New South Wales has partnered with Mastercard, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and EML Payments Limited to deliver the 12 month Opal digital card trial. The trial was launched as part of the Future Transport Technology Summit and id part of Transport for NSW’s Future Transport Technology Roadmap 2021-2024.