Opal Fares Set for Modest July Increase on July 14 – Weekly Caps Remain Unchanged

Sydney, NSW – July 11, 2025 – Sydney commuters will see a slight adjustment to their Opal fares from Monday, July 14, as Transport for NSW implements its annual fare variations. While individual fares and daily caps will experience a modest increase, the popular weekly and daily caps for seniors and pensioners will remain unchanged, a welcome relief amidst ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

The overall average increase across the Opal network is approximately 2.5 per cent. This adjustment is aligned with new parameters set by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), which pegs Opal fare increases to the average annual Sydney Consumer Price Index (CPI) as of December 2024. Individual Opal fares and daily caps will see a 3.2 per cent rise. However, the retention of existing discounts and benefits, particularly the weekly travel cap and the Senior/Pensioner Gold daily cap, brings the effective average increase down for most passengers.

Transport for NSW Secretary Josh Murray stated that a small increase is necessary to help offset the costs of running the extensive public transport network. “We’ve done our best to minimise the impact on passengers,” Mr Murray said. “The 14 July changes will see average weekly adult travel costs go up by an average of just $0.50, and less than $1 for 99 per cent of passengers.”

Crucially, the adult weekly travel cap will remain at $50, and the concession cardholder and child weekly cap at $25, for the seventh consecutive year. Seniors and pensioners will continue to enjoy their long-standing $2.50 daily cap, a rate that has not changed since the inception of the Opal system in 2012. This commitment to maintaining caps aims to provide budgeting certainty for regular commuters and those most reliant on public transport.

New daily caps for adults will be $19.30 for Monday to Thursday travel, and $9.65 for Friday to Sunday travel. Concession Opal cardholders will see daily caps of $9.65 and $4.80 for the same periods, respectively.

One area seeing a more significant rise is the Station Access Fee for using the Domestic and International Airport train stations. This fee will increase to $17.92 for adults and $16.03 for child/youth, concession, and senior fares.

While the fare adjustments are a perennial occurrence, Transport for NSW emphasizes the continued value offered by the Opal system’s various benefits, including the $2 transfer discount for intermodal journeys within 60 minutes and the half-price travel after eight paid journeys in a week.

Commuters are encouraged to visit transportnsw.info/opal for detailed information on the new fare structure and to calculate fare estimates for their journeys.