Around 300,000 students will collect their School Opal card when they go back to school next week, delivering a record number of new Opal users to the public transport network.
Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said while most students will automatically receive their School Opal card, there’s up to 100,000 parents who still need to apply because their child’s circumstances have changed.
“This is the time of year where parents tick off their ‘back to school’ list and it’s vital the School Opal card is on that list,” Mr Constance said.
“If your child is starting Kindergarten, going into Year 3 or Year 7, moved house, or changed schools or campuses – you need to apply for a School Opal card. For everyone else, the card will be ready to be picked up at school for the start of term.
“So far around 35,000 applications have been received and processed online, however there’s up to 100,000 parents who still need to apply.
“For families where there is shared parental responsibility, a single School Opal card can be set to work for both parents’ homes ensuring convenience and peace of mind.”
The School Opal card enables free travel for eligible students from more than 2,000 schools travelling on public transport across Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Hunter, Illawarra and Southern Highlands. The card replaces the old paper School Student Transport Scheme (SSTS) travel pass.
Eligibility criteria and information about the School Opal card can be found together with the application form online at transportnsw.info/school-students.
