The NSW Liberal Government will put up Opal fares by 3% on July 1 of this year, breaking a promise made just weeks ago by NSW Transport Minister David Elliott.
 
Minister Elliott promised passengers in early June that ticket prices for the next 12 months would be considered with “their hip pocket in mind’, but the Minister has since broken his promise to passengers with Opal fares that increased by 1.5% last year now going up by 3%.
 
The NSW Liberal government has increased Opal fares even though the Transport portfolio has been rocked by a series of massive procurement failures and by the government’s attempt to shut down the rail network earlier this year.
 
Last year, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) recommended a 5% Opal fare increase but the Government made the decision to only increase fares by 1.5% instead.
 
Shadow Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said: “Just weeks ago David Elliott promised that he would keep any increase in Transport fares to a minimum. Instead, the fare increase has doubled from 1.5% last year to 3% this year.
 
“David Elliott’s fare increase is an insult to passengers. This year the government shut down the entire train network, played politics with passengers and has failed to deliver a service that people can rely on. Why should passengers pay more for a service that fails to get them to work or their kids to school on time?
 
“The cost of everything is going up and real wages are going backwards – now is the worst possible time to hit passengers with a fare increase.”

JO HAYLEN MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT