Commuters will have to wait until May to learn whether they are likely to pay higher Opal fares for using the state's public transport after the Baird government sought more time to consider proposals from the pricing regulator.

The delay has sparked accusations from Labor's new transport spokeswoman, Jodi McKay, that the government is "buying time" to work on a "sales pitch to try to soften the blow of steep fare rises".

In a draft report released just before Christmas, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal proposed sweeping changes to fares, including an end to free travel after eight journeys in a week and a tightening of eligibility for the Gold Opal card.

The regulator was scheduled to release a final report by the end of March.