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The long awaited and much anticipated trial of the New South Wales Government’s smartcard, electronic ticketing system will commence on Friday Dec. 7, 2012 with the first customer trial on the Neutral Bay Ferry Service.

The opal card is a new, reloadable credit card style system that enables commuters and tourists to tap on the electronic reader at the start of the journey and tap off at the end of the journey, provided by Cubic Transportation Systems. The opal card system replaces the more traditional methods of payment and is designed to eliminate queues for ticketing. By 2015, it is expected that the opal card will be fully in use across 42 ferry wharves, 307 train stations and more than 5,000 bus and light rail stops across Sydney, the Hunter, Central Coast, the Illawarra, Southern Highlands and the Blue Mountains.

For more information about the Opal Card, please visit:
e-Travel Blackboard

Click here for more information about Cubic Transportation Systems