Transport for NSW hits 10,000 Opal cards milestone

Transport for NSW's electronic ticketing system Opal has reached its first milestone of 10,000 cards issued.

According to the state's Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian, it has issued over 10,000 cards, 90 percent of which have been ordered online.

Since launching the ticketing system in December, Opal users have made over 100,000 trips. Berejiklian said that the popularity of the system has increased in the past month that it expanded its network to trains running in the City Circle loop.

"We have found that once customers with paper tickets observe how convenient it is to use the Opal card, they have been keen to order one for themselves," Berejiklian said in a statement.

"Under Opal, we are also offering cheaper fares for customers across the train network, and a further discount for people who travel outside of the peak — our message to customers is that is if you use trains on the weekend, or if you can travel outside of the peak on weekdays, you'll save even more."

Customers have noted, however, that when travelling on periodical paper train tickets, such as those purchased for a month, quarter, or year, the old system can still be cheaper during peak periods.