Thousands of Sydney commuters will soon be able to access a subscription-style service for transport through an all-in-one Transport for NSW app as part of an upcoming trial.
The trial with 10,000 participants is expected to begin in the New Year, following on from the 12-month trial of the state’s digital Opal card that will wrap up in the coming weeks.
Digital Opal card testers who have added the virtual card to their digital wallets will be cut off at this time, with TfNSW opting not to continue the trial beyond the initial period.
Customer strategy and technology deputy secretary Joost de Kock thanked the 10,000 users that took part in the digital Opal card trial.
More than 300,000 trips were taken using the digital Opal card over the last year despite the four-month lockdown between June and October.
“We received feedback from our customers that they loved the convenience of a digital wallet and this will be a key feature of our new trial,” de Kock said in a statement.
The new trial is expected to give 10,000 users access to a TfNSW app that can be used to plan, book and pay for both public and private modes of transport.
The app will have an “integrated journey planer and choice of a selection of multi-modal subscription style bundles”, though it is not clear which transport modes will be bundled.
TfNSW last week revealed a 12-month contract with Israeli-based transit planning app provider Moovit to upgrade the Opal digital application.
Former Transport Minister Andrew Constance first flagged the prospect of a subscription service offering in 2019 where commuters would pay a weekly or monthly fee.
At the time, he said the service could have different pricing for public or private providers, with commuters able to book an Uber or ride the Sydney North West Metro all on the same subscription.
Further details on the trial are expected to be made available in early 2022.
TfNSW also released new data on Tuesday showing that contactless payments have doubled from 17 percent before the pandemic to 34 percent.
More than half of all contactless payments are also now being made using a digital wallet.
