Child fares
Children aged three years and under travel free.
Child/Youth Opal cards and Opal single trip ticket are for children aged 4–15 years.
Eligible full time NSW/ACT school students aged 16 years or older with their Transport Concession Entitlement Card also pay Child/Youth fares.
Contactless fares are charged at the equivalent of an Adult Opal ticket, no discount applies for any child or youth using a contactless card to travel.
If you forget to tap off you’ll be charged a default fare which is the maximum possible fare for the mode you are travelling on, based on your Opal card type. However, you will never be charged over the Daily Travel Cap.
Find out more about how Opal fares are calculated. You can use the Trip Planner or Opal Travel app to plan your trip and estimate the Opal fares.
With a Child/Youth Opal card you can travel as much as you want on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services within the Opal network and you never pay more than $8.40 a day, $25 a week, or $4.20 on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.
Please note that:
- The Opal week runs from Monday to Sunday.
- The Sydney Airport station access fee isn’t included in the Daily, Weekly or Weekend Travel Caps however there is a separate weekly cap on the station access fee.
- Opal Daily, Weekly and Weekend Caps are also applied to contactless payments, however contactless payments are not available on buses.
When using a Child/Youth Opal card on metro/train services, you receive a 30% discount for off peak travel on metro/train, bus and light rail services.
Note:
- Your fare will be calculated from the time when you tap on.
- Trips that include transfers between Sydney Metro, Sydney Trains and/or NSW TrainLink Intercity services are considered a continuous journey. No need to tap off and on again between services, and you’ll be charged a single fare.
- On weekends and public holidays, all fares are charged as off-peak.
- There is no off-peak discount when using an Opal single ticket.
- You can use the Trip Planner or Opal Travel app to plan your trip and estimate the Opal fares
| Days of the week | Sydney metro and trains peak times |
Intercity trains peak times |
Bus and light rail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday |
6.30am-10am 3pm-7pm |
6am-10am 3pm-7pm |
6.30am-10am 3pm-7pm |
| Distance | Child/Youth Opal fare | Child/Youth Opal off peak fare | Child/Youth Opal single trip fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 10 km | $1.89 | $1.32 | $2.30 |
| 10 - 20 km | $2.35 | $1.64 | $2.80 |
| 20 - 35 km | $2.71 | $1.89 | $3.20 |
| 35 - 65 km | $3.62 | $2.53 | $4.30 |
| 65+ km | $4.65 | $3.25 | $5.60 |
Sydney airport
When travelling to the airport train stations, the Sydney Airport station access fee is added on to the cost of your fare.
| Distance | Child/Youth Opal fare | Child/Youth Opal off peak fare | Child/Youth Opal single trip fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 3 km | $1.60 | $1.12 | $2.00 |
| 3 - 8 km | $1.96 | $1.37 | $2.30 |
| 8+ km | $2.52 | $1.76 | $3.00 |
| Distance | Child/Youth Opal fare | Child/Youth Opal single trip fare |
|---|---|---|
| 0 - 9 km | $3.21 | $3.80 |
| 9+ km | $4.02 | $4.80 |
| Newcastle Stockton ferry 0-3km |
$1.60 | $2.00 |
Private ferries
Opal cards are accepted on some private ferries with OpalPay, wherever you see 'OpalPay accepted here'. With OpalPay, you can use your Opal card to pay your fare.
Note:
- OpalPay fares are not the same as standard Opal fares. Fares and ticket terms and conditions are set by the operator
- Concession fares are not offered on all services. Check with staff before you tap to pay
- OpalPay will not contribute to your Opal travel benefits or discounts
- Opal single trip tickets are not accepted on private ferries
| Distance | Child/Youth Opal fare | Child/Youth Opal off peak fare | Child/Youth Opal single trip fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 3 km | $1.60 | $1.12 | $2.00 |
| 3 - 8 km | $1.96 | $1.37 | $2.30 |
| 8+ km | $2.52 | $1.76 | $3.00 |