Don’t shoot the messenger: That’s the plea from the owners of Springwood Newsagency, who have been dealing with all and any issues about the Opal card.
Owners Chris Johnson and Vikki Moss have even set up a powerpoint presentation which flashes behind the counter.
“Please note that if you choose to abuse anyone over any issue to do with the Opal card, it should not be us,” it says. “If you choose to abuse us you will simply not be served. We still love the rest of youse.”
We still love the rest of youse.
- Chris Johnson
It was meant to be a light-hearted message to the “very few” who take out their Opal frustrations on staff, Mr Johnson said.
Paper train tickets ceased from August 1, forcing many people to buy Opal cards and leading to some difficult moments.
“We charge a 1 per cent fee for people who used credit cards for top ups,” Mr Johnson said. This was to cover the 2.5 per cent he is charged by the bank for such cards.
There was already very little profit margin in Opal business, he said.
“We’re making only 2.5 per cent. So for every $1000 on Opal, we make $25. We really do it as a service to the community.”
Some people became frustrated after rushing in to top up and finding themselves in a queue. The other major issue was with seniors who wanted to buy an Opal card over the counter. Seniors cards can only be bought online or via a phone line.
“If anybody should be able to use a person-to-person transaction, it’s that clientele,” Mr Johnson said.
He had even tried to organise for Opal to set up a kiosk outside the newsagency to make it easier for seniors to come and buy their cards.
“But they said they only go to train stations.”
At Wentworth Falls, newsagent Kevin Lynch has been experiencing similar problems, mostly from seniors.
When he has to knock them back “they just turn around say it’s ridiculous. The other problem is people who are infrequent travellers or tourists – they get caught.”
While there are single day trip cards, they can only be bought from machines at certain stations. In the Mountains, machines are at Glenbrook, Blaxland, Springwood, Hazelbrook, Leura and Katoomba.
Mr Lynch also warned people about automatic online top-ups. If the card is not used within a certain period, the money is credited back to your bank account and suddenly there’s nothing left on the Opal.
Hazelbrook and Leura newsagents reported no issues with the Opal card.
