School students to trial Opal frictionless ticketing

High school students from Magdalene Catholic College at Smeaton Grange in Sydney’s south west will be the first in greater Sydney to trial a new frictionless ticketing system on their local buses.

Around 800 students will be given new Opal student bag tags to use on select bus services operated by Busabout with the trial of the new innovative ticketing technology designed to help improve public transport services between home and school.

The new Opal student bag tags eliminate the need to physically tap on and tap off the bus with an Opal card.

The students simply attach the Opal tag to their school bag and when they walk onto the bus, it’s automatically picked up by a reader, delivering a seamless travel experience.

This can lead to improved travel times as students are able to get on and off much quicker as they don’t spend as much time trying to find their Opal card.  

As some students forget to tap on and tap off, this technology will also mean more accurate passenger count data which will help plan services in the future.

The bag tags contain a microchip that transmits data using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), enabling it to communicate with a RFID reader 1-2 metres away.

The students who travel to and from Magdalene Catholic College under the School Student Transport Scheme on select Busabout services will participate in the trial which will run for the entire school year.

More information about the School Student Transport Scheme.