Each Opal card costs the state more than $2 to produce and distribute.Credit:James Alcock
But Transport Minister Andrew Constance said there were “no plans to introduce any fee for new Opal cards”,and Opal was “here to stay” as the foundation of the state's public transport system.
“Contactless payments are available as a convenience to customers but it is still an Opal system and always will be,” he said,describing the leaked documents as outdated.
The documents show Transport for NSW considered introducing the $10 fee for new Opal cards as a way to encourage a rapid take-up of contactless payments.
It had aimed for 90 per cent of people who use reloadable Opal cards to have switched to credit and debit cards,and mobile devices,within two years of the full rollout of the contactless payment system across the train,bus,tram and ferry networks.
The state loses revenue from customers disposing of Opal cards with negative balances.Credit:Janie Barrett
Contactless payment technology was extended across the ferry network and to the inner west light rail in March,and the government wants toexpand it to trains by the end of this year and to buses in early 2019.
Part of the justification outlined in the documents for a switch to contactless payments was that it would help cut the cost to taxpayers of using retailers to distribute and reload Opal cards,as well as call centres to deal with customer enquiries about top-ups.