Transport NSW storing student data ahead of Opal rollout

Transport NSW storing student data ahead of Opal rollout
Image: Source: Lauren O'Connor

By Georgia Fullerton

Seven tertiary institutions across NSW have joined the Opal card rollout, now thousands of students can apply online for a concession pass.

The University of Sydney, UNSW, Macquarie, and Notre Dame are among the universities that have negiotated with Transport NSW

Transport minister Gladys Berejiklian said the timing was made to coincide with the start of classes.

“I’m delighted we have been able to start the rollout of the Concession Opal card, so students can immediately start taking advantage of Opal’s benefits,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Eventually more than 250,000 tertiary students will be able to apply for the Concession Opal card and get a 50 per cent discount on the already cheaper Adult Opal fares for trains, buses, light rail and Sydney ferries,” she said.

Since their introduction last year, 1.8 million adult and child Opal cards have been issued across the state. Many students believe the concession option is long overdue.

University of Sydney student Kathryn Warton said that students should have the cheaper option, as they did with paper tickets.

“Student concession Opal cards should have been released at the same time as the adult Opal cards,” Ms Warton said.

“I thought I would have to wait less time than I have, and am pretty confused as to why we’ve waited this long.” Ms Warton said. “I got an adult Opal card while I was waiting for the concession card to become available.“

Owner of Henry Dean Plaza Newsagent at Central Station Mark Lowry said customers are often confused about which universities have accepted the scheme and that the delay in its release may be to lessen ticket fraud.

“There’s a lot of frustration at the moment for students, but to my knowledge it hasn’t been made available for tertiary students. There must be some issue…all I know is they want to cut down thirty years of frauds involved with student cards,” he said.

“To my knowledge they won’t be made available over the counter. My understanding is that there are two universities at this stage [who have made it available.]”

Students from the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney among his most frequent customers. The transport minister Ms Berejiklian did not comment on the four month wait for concession passes or the process of negotiating for student data.

“These seven institutions have demonstrated how keen they are to be ready for the first stage of the Concession Opal card rollout,” Ms Berejiklian said. “All tertiary institutions in NSW are able to sign up to Opal, and I look forward to welcoming more institutions on board in the near future.”

”University of Sydney student Sam Yoon said he thinks this is an appealing deal for students.

“[W]hen everything else seems to be getting more expensive its a relief that something will be made easier for us,” he said.

Admin Director of the University of Technology, Sydney told City Hub that they will adopt the scheme but are working through details.

“UTS is likely to adopt student concessions with regard to Opal Card in the second half of 2015. A number of system issues and user support issues are currently being worked through with Transport NSW.  UTS will continue to manage student concessions using the current student concession sticker system previously implement by Transport for NSW,” a spokesperson said.

Science student Phillipa Specker said she hasn’t signed up for an Opal card and will most likely wait until there is no other option.

“I object to the Opal Card system because all of my trips will be unnecessarily GPS recorded and that data will be retained for no ostensible reason,” Ms Specker said. “Particularly considering that the Federal Police, Centrelink and potentially other third parties can access this information without a warrant. Since when did I sign up for a GPS tracker in my wallet?”

“If showing our travel concession sticker on our university student cards is sufficient for Transit Officers on public transport, why is that not enough for the government when purchasing a concession Opal Card?” she said.

A spokesperson for said all student information kept by Transport NSW is stored securely under state privacy regulations and is necessarily provided with the consent from individuals.

“Transport for NSW only collects the minimum amount of personal information necessary to identify students and validate their eligibility to obtain a Concession Opal card. This information includes student’s ID number, name and date of birth, as detailed in their university enrolment information,” they said.

Ms Berejiklian said students who receive the concession will have access to daily cost caps, cheaper fares and a $2.50 travel cap on Sundays which will allow for longer trips outside of the City.

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