THE cost of commuting on trains has jumped an average 13 per cent since the State Governments Opal card was rolled out to all 300 stations on the Sydney Trains network, a spending study shows.

THE cost of commuting on trains has jumped an average 13 per cent since the State Government’s Opal card was rolled out to all 300 stations on the Sydney Train’s network, a spending study shows.

Research into spending trends in April and May found that commuters are spending an extra $100 a year to catch the train.

Pocketbook Consumer Spending found that prior to 28 March, when Opal became available at every station, passengers spent an average $15 a week on rail tickets.

“Based on April and May spending across Sydney commuters, (figures) show a 13 per cent increase in transport spending to an average $17 per week,” the report said.

The report also found that Sydney Opal card users spend 35 per cent more than commuters in Melbourne who use its fare smartcard equivalent, the Myki card.

“Spending on the Opal card for the month of May averages $105 per commuter, while spending on the Melbourne Myki card averages only $77,” the report said.

Since its introduction, the State Government has argued that as well as the added convenience, Opal is cheaper for the overwhelming majority of customers using trains, buses and ferries.

It has daily fare caps, $2.50 fares on Sundays and free travel to anywhere on the network after card holders make eight journeys in a week.

Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said about 90 per cent of customers are the same or better off financially under Opal.

The spending figures come as Ms Berejiklian today announced that Opal has been added to about 100 more buses in Sydney’s north and Northern Beaches.

Ms Berejiklian said there are now more than 300,000 Opal cards registered. They can be used on all Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity services, all Sydney Ferries services and on 47 bus routes across Sydney.

“Opal provides cheaper bus fares and by setting your card to auto-top-up, customers never have to worry about queuing for a ticket again,” she said.

Ms Berejiklian reminded commuters that from September 1, 2014, there will be 14 paper ticket types retired across public transport, giving customers three months to obtain an Opal card or choose to continue to use paper tickets.

More than 20 other paper tickets will still be available.

“Since the start of the Opal rollout 18 months ago we have said that the timing of the retirement of paper tickets would be dependent on how many customers are using the system, and so far we are very happy with the popularity of Opal,” Ms Berejiklian said.

She said retiring old paper tickets will allow the NSW Government to continue to modernise the transport network.

Because of the long lead time required to retire some tickets such as the MyTrain yearly and MyMulti yearly, the first tranche of old paper tickets will be retired from September 1, 2014.

Ms Berejiklian said that to maintain consistency and simplicity for customers, the retirement of periodical tickets will also include all quarterly and monthly tickets. These paper tickets can still be purchased up until September 1, and can still be used until they expire.