How Opal fares work

Learn how metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail fares are charged on the Opal network.

Overview

Fares are determined by where, when, and how you travel. Each mode of transport is divided into distance-based fare bands.

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.

For Adult fares, 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. Get an Opal card.

How your fare is calculated

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.

Payment details

Opal transactions, including top-ups or purchasing single trip tickets, show up on your bank statement as "TfNSW" and "Opal."
You will never pay more than the Daily, Weekly or Friday/Weekend travel cap.
Using an Opal card is always cheaper than buying an Opal single ticket. You only pay for the journeys you make.

Peak and off-peak times

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.

Metro and train fares

Your fare corresponds to the distance between the stations where you tap on and tap off.
If your train trip goes in or out of Sydney CBD and via Wynyard, Kings Cross, or Central, an extra 3.21km is charged and added to your total trip distance.
In some cases, where there are multiple ways to travel between two stations, the shortest track distance may not always be used to calculate the fare.

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.

Bus, ferry and light rail fares

For bus, ferry and light rail fares, you will be charged based on the distance between where you tap on and tap off.

Trips, journeys and transfers

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.

Start and end times for the Opal day and week

Fare calculations, including Daily, Weekly and Friday/Weekend travel 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.

Maximum journey time

Your Opal journey has a maximum allowed time, depending on the type of transport and location. Exceeding this time may result in additional charges.

Find out more about maximum journey times

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.