Wait for Opal top-ups drags on, Daily Telegraph

MORE than two-thirds of the 350 Opal card top-up machines that the state government promised would be rolled out by the end of 2015 have yet to be installed.

Because the government refuses to allow Opal to be sold or topped up at ticket windows, commuters at hundreds of train stations, light rail stops and bus interchanges have to form lengthy queues to put money on their cards.

But just 88 stations out of 311 on the combined Sydney Trains and Intercity networks have the machines, including just 96 stops of 178 stations on Sydney suburban lines.

Only 35 per cent of the 5.5 million Opal cardholders have opted for an automatic top-up via direct debit. Former transport minister Gladys Berejiklian said in December 2014 that close to 350 machines would be rolled out by the end of 2015.

Daily Telegraph, 7 March 2016