How Opal fares work
Fares are based on where, when and how you are travelling. Each mode of transport is divided into distance-based fare bands, and your fare depends on:
- Whether you're an adult, child, or eligible to concession fares.
- If you qualify for Daily, Weekly or Friday/Weekend caps, discounts or benefits.
To pay an Adult fare, you can use an Adult Opal card or a contactless card or device. If you are eligible to concession fares, you can use a Concession, Child/Youth Opal card or Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card.
When you tap off at the end of your journey, the system calculates your fare based on your travel distance and applies any discounts or caps. The fare is then automatically deducted from your Opal card or charged to your contactless payment card.
You will never pay more than the Daily, Weekly or Friday/Weekend travel cap. You only pay for the journeys you make and it's cheaper than buying an Opal single ticket.
Opal transactions, like top-ups or single trip tickets, show up on your bank statement as "TfNSW" and "Opal."
Enjoy a 30% discount on metro, train, bus, and light rail services when you travel on Fridays, weekends, public holidays, and outside of peak times Monday to Thursday. See all peak times.
For metro and train services, your fare is based on the distance between the stations where you tap on and tap off.
For trips travelling in or out of the Sydney CBD via Wynyard, Barangaroo, Central, or Kings Cross stations, an additional 3.21km is added to your total trip distance.
In some cases, where multiple routes exist between two stations, the fare may not always be calculated using the shortest track distance.
Sydney airport fares
When travelling to the airport train stations, the Sydney Airport station access fee is added on to the cost of your fare.
For bus, ferry and light rail fares, you will be charged based on the distance between where you tap on and tap off.
Here's a quick look at Opal fares and benefits for different cards and payment methods:
Opal cards
What do I need to do?
Fare options:
- Adult fares
- Child fares
- Concession fares
- Senior and pensioner fares
Opal benefits:
- Travel Caps (including Daily, Weekly and Friday/Weekend caps)
- Trip Advantage
- Transfer discounts
- Transport Park&Ride
Contactless payments
What do I need to do?
- Tap on and tap off at Opal readers with contactless-enabled credit or debit cards or a linked device
Fare options:
- Adult fares only
Opal benefits:
- Travel Caps (including Daily, Weekly and Friday/Weekend caps)
- Transfer Discounts
- Trip Advantage
- Transport Park&Ride
Opal Single Trip Ticket
What do I need to do?
- Buy from Opal ticket machines
- Tap on and tap off at Opal readers
Fare Options:
- Adult single trip ticket fares
- Child single trip ticket fares
No Opal benefits apply
Important notes
- Goods and services tax (GST) is included in the fare for all journeys on the Opal network (GST in Australia is 10%).
- Different terms and conditions apply to non-reloadable Opal cards including School Opal cards and free travel Opal cards which are for eligible customers only.
Fares in the Opal network depend on how far you travel and the transfers you make. A trip involves travel on one route and one service, while a journey includes multiple trips with transfers within 60 minutes.
Transfers happen when you switch transport modes or routes, and if they're within 60 minutes, they count as one journey, except for the Sydney Ferries Manly ferry service, which has a 130-minute transfer time.
Fare calculations, including Daily, Weekly and Friday/Weekend caps, are based on the Opal day starting at 4am and ending at 3.59am the following day. The Opal week starts on a Monday at 4am and ends the following Monday at 3.59am
Your Opal journey has a maximum allowed time, depending on the type of transport and location. Exceeding this time may result in additional charges.