Cubic Corporation has announced that its Cubic Transportation Systems business division and its customer Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) has expanded the Opal smart card ticketing system to the Manly Fast Ferry service in Sydney, Australia, enabling passengers to use the Opal card to pay for trips on the popular tourist route for the first time.
“This is an extremely significant step in the evolution of the Opal card system and we are delighted that the Manly Fast Ferry service is the first in New South Wales to adopt Cubic’s open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), which will pave the way for other third parties to leverage the Opal payments platform,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director of CTS Asia-Pacific. “The Opal card has now evolved into a single payment card for mobility, with potential future applications across other modes of transportation in New South Wales, including rideshare.”
The Manly Fast Ferry — a privately owned fleet operator independent from the TfNSW’s Manly Ferry service that is part of the existing Opal system — will now have an expanded range of ticketing options available to commuters, with the Opal card serving as another form of payment. Opal card holders will be able to simply tap onto the service using the existing smart card ticketing installed on the fast ferry fleet.
Cubic has been working closely with TfNSW to develop interfaces that enable third parties to connect to the Opal system so that journeys can be paid for using the Opal card.
Cubic’s open APIs allow other companies using their own terminals and equipment to connect to the Opal payments system. This allows them to simplify their operations, reduce operating costs and provide a quick and convenient way for commuters to pay for travel across a range of transportation modes.