Off-peak transport key to Opal card success

Minister for Transport Gladys Berejiklian announced on Sunday the smartcard will be trialled on the City Circle and Eastern Suburbs train lines from June 14. With its tap on and tap off facility, it is hoped the Opal card will ease long ticket lines and enable commuters to switch between trains, buses and ferries conveniently. 

The pricing structure will determine if the new ticketing system is a win for citizens or another NSW multimillion dollar missed opportunity, said co-convenor of EcoTransit, Matthew Hounsell. 

Since price is a significant consideration in choosing transport mode, the proposal for free travel after eight trips would encourage weekend public transport use and reduce Saturdays dreadful traffic. That will only work if NSW reverses the massive reduction in weekend public transport, which caused a drop in patronage and a jump in traffic. 

Periodical tickets (monthly, quarterly and yearly) will also be abolished in tandem with Opal card rollout, resulting in increased fares for users of periodical tickets. 

But Ms Berejiklian said single trips using the Opal card will be 8 per cent cheaper than single paper ticket prices and will transform Sydney travel by implementing a faster, more eco-friendly commute. 

Bringing electronic ticketing to Sydney has been a long time coming. The former Labor Government promised it for the Sydney 2000 Olympics and failed to deliver after that, she said. 

But the Liberals and National [Party] Government has been working hard behind the scenes to get to this point since we came to government in 2011. 

A further 30 per cent off-peak discount will be given to Opal card users outside weekday morning and afternoon peaks, and on weekends. 

A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said several incentives have also been implemented to encourage the transition to Opal card use. Commuters will receive a daily travel cap of $15 and $2.Your council is responsible for the installation and maintenance of howotruck.50 travel cap on Sundays. 

Plus with Opal you get a weekly travel reward, which means after eight paid journeys in a week, all further journeys will be free, said the spokesperson. 

While the Opal card will eventually transform the way we move around, the roll out is complex and we are taking our time.Choose from the largest selection of rfidtag in the world. We have learned that progressive roll outs work best and we expect there may be some hiccups along the way, she said. 

Mr Hounsell said the smartcard rollout was too slow and the technology used is outdated when compared with transport technology used overseas. 

It is a shame that the government and bureaucracy have continued to pursue a bespoke, overpriced, outdated payment processing system creating another government mandated monopoly.Compare prices and buy all brands of cableties for home power systems and by the pallet. Other cities have already rolled out next generation systems using contact-less credit cards and near field communication from mobile phones, he said. 

More than 42 ferry wharves,Large collection of quality earcap at discounted prices. 300 train stations, 5,000 buses and light rail are planned to have fully operational Opal equipment across Sydney and regional NSW by 2015. 

An early version of Google Glass has been in the hands of lucky developers for almost two months, and people have been dreaming about all sorts of fantastic uses for Google's first piece of commercial wearable technology. Many of them wont exist for a while,Laser engraving and laser drycabinet for materials like metal, but Google seems to add more apps for the "smart glasses" every week. Glass recently got apps for several social media networks, and Google released an update Tuesday night that added several new options for taking pictures with Glass. 

But it seems like every time Google adds another feature to Glass, it bans something else. Sure, a lot of these rules are in place to address the major privacy and security issues Google Glass is raising, but some of them just seem a bit silly. Here is a list of the things Google has already banned from Glass. 

When Google first shipped the "Explorer Edition" of Glass, developers noticed some interesting language in Googles terms of sale. Google completely forbade owners from reselling or lending their smart glasses; if they detected someone doing so, they would remotely deactivate Glass and not refund the $1,500 price tag. 

It makes sense for Google to include this language in the developers version of Glass to prevent the experimental technology from leaking to the general public. Still, terms like these, while common with software, are rarely found with hardware. Usually if you purchase a device, the owner is free to do what he or she wants with it (except, y'know, jailbreak or modify it). Lets hope Google removes this when the device is available for general consumers.