New Opal card $35 minimum top-up amount to get Sydney Airport travellers paying full fare

A new minimum Opal card top-up amount could make travelling to and from Sydney’s airport by train more expensive than using a taxi service for the same trip.

The $35 minimum top-up amount was introduced by Transport for NSW on September 24 in the hope of eliminating a fare loophole being used by commuters.

The loophole involves travellers being able to tap off with a negative balance on unregistered cards when they travel to or from airport train stations and then throwing it away.

While that fare dodge now provides no use for regular commuters who would throw away their cards - and now be forced to buy a new one with the $35 minimum - it presents an easy win for tourists and people not coming back to Sydney.

Currently passengers who access the Sydney International Airport and Domestic Airport train stations need to pay fees of $14.30 for adults and $12.80 for children, concessions and seniors or pensioners.

“This new policy… is to prevent the practice of people buying an Opal card with $10 balance at the airport, tapping off in negative balance, throwing out the card and buying a new one for the trip back to the airport,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said.

Transport for NSW has also confirmed that the loophole has cost NSW taxpayers more than $7 million in lost fare amounts due to cards being misused.

The new minimum top-up amount only affects new cards bought at airport stations and caters for a return trip, therefore eliminating the option for passengers to skip-out on the whole fare.

With the $35 amount, travellers and families arriving in Sydney would pay less by using a taxi service to transport them elsewhere. 

A cab ride from the airport to Central Station costs between an estimated $30 and $40 per ride, while new Opal cards for a family of four would cost $140, according to 13CABS.

Travellers looking to only make a one-way trip from the airport can still buy a single-use ticket, however the price would be bumped up once the access fee is added to the trip cost (from $14.30 to $18.70 for adults from the airport to Central Station). 

Opal top-up values for existing cards through auto top-up, the Opal mobile app, website and machines also remain the same, with the minimum machine top-up amount still $10.