HURSTVILLE and Rockdale are among the first train stations where public transport users can get an Opal card without having to register their name and other personal details.
Temporary ‘‘pop-up’’ kiosks began operating on Monday.
A Sydney Trains spokesman said the kiosks would be open on Hurstville station during weekday morning and evening peaks.
At Rockdale station they would operate during peak periods on Mondays and Tuesdays.
He said eftpos had to be used initially to load $20 credit onto an adult card (or $10 onto a child/youth card).
That card could then be ‘‘reloaded’’ with a cash or an eftpos payment at newsagents or other participating retailers.
A thousand more retailers would join the network soon.
Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said the kiosks would provide the first opportunity for people to use an Opal card while also travelling ‘‘anonymously’’.
‘‘Other customers may prefer to go online or call 13OPAL and register their Opal card,’’ she said.
‘‘A registered card has many convenient benefits, such as being able to set an auto top-up so you never have to queue or visit a retailer again, and transferring value to another card if your Opal card is lost or stolen.”
Some train travellers had raised privacy concerns about having to register for Opal Cards.
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Gladys Berejiklian reiterated that from September 1, weekly and other periodical paper tickets would no longer be sold (although single tickets will be).
The government needed to ‘‘modernise the network’’.
‘‘We are behind the rest of the world when it comes to electronic ticketing. Labor promised electronic ticketing before the 2000 Olympics,’’ she said.
Are you happy with this system and the temporary ''pop-up'' kiosks?
