Bus and Tram Express
Bus and Tram Express

Frustrating ‘farce’

Mar 9, 2017Uncategorized

Published in Newcastle Herald Letters

Can the Minister for Transport or anyone in Transport for NSW tell me why I and many other pension concession Opal card holders have had to apply for a new card after losing our Centrelink entitlement?

A majority of us are still entitled to the concession as NSW seniors card holders. The online re-application procedure requires us to provide our seniors card number which is verified “before our very eyes” as we proceed through the application and that should be the end of the story. Yes, you are still entitled, carry on as before. But no. They kindly send you a new card with a lovely letter welcoming you to Opal card and they enclose an elaborate publication telling us how to use our new card. An expensive unnecessary process. But that is not the finish to the farce.

After activating the new card I tried to transfer the funds from my existing card to it. Can’t be done online – please phone us. I went through three minutes of preamble and then I was told there were 75 calls in front of me. Surely a continuation of the concession after confirming my entitlement would have been simpler and less costly to the taxpayers of NSW. I’ll try phoning at 3am, when they may be less busy.

Phil Hamilton, Lambton

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