THE Opal card electronic ticketing system has been in place on public transport for less than a month, but it already has a number of locals off-side.
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The 273 bus, which runs from Toronto station to Fassifern station, was put on as a free service to replace the train when the Toronto line was cut in 1990.
That bus journey is now being charged as a separate trip.
It has added up to $15 a week to some commuters' weekly fares.
Toronto resident Peter Barry bought an Opal card for his weekly commute.
He used to catch the 273 bus from Toronto to Fassifern and then take the train into Newcastle.
But since discovering the route is charged as a separate trip he has stopped using the bus and, instead, gets dropped off at Fassifern station by his wife.
He said he is sick of the Department of Transport spruiking the Opal cards as the cheaper option.
"They say the Opal card is cheaper, but they've taken $1 off the train [fare] and added $5 on the bus," Mr Barry said.
Independent Member for Lake Macquarie Greg Piper said his office has been inundated with complaints from commuters about the 273 bus being charged as an extra service.
Mr Piper said he has been trying to get an explanation from the Department of Transport since early July as to why commuters would be charged on this route under the new Opal system.
There was no indication the route would be treated differently until a couple of weeks ago, when the paper ticket phase-out began and commuters started to be charged extra, he said.
Mr Piper wrote to Transport Minister Gladys Berijiklian highlighting the added financial burden placed on users of the 273 route and requested the bus be reinstated as a free service.
"This is a very underhand way of squeezing more revenue out of commuters," Mr Piper wrote.
"This bus was promised as a permanent replacement to the train when the rail line was closed."
Opal cards soon available at Morisset
LOCALS have criticised the lack of Opal card retailers in the Lake Macquarie state electorate, with only one petrol station, in Boolaroo, selling them.
However, Opal cards will soon be available from two Morisset newsagencies – one in Morisset Square and the other at the corner of Dora and Station streets.
Owner of both stores, Sue Stoddard, said she has been pushing to get Opal cards for some time.
She hopes they will be in store by the end of the week.