Union concern as passengers take risks to tap off their Opals.
More than 16,000 passengers each day forget to tap off their Opal cards when they get off public transport, adding an additional $10 million to State Government coffers each year.
Failing to tap off means that the full cost of the route is charged to passengers, even if they only travel one stop.
This could mean up to $2.40 per trip for buses, or $4 on trains.
RTBU Assistant Branch Secretary Dave Woollams spoke to Ch7 about the issue.
“People are literally diving back in the doors so they can tap off with their card, causing safety issues,” Mr Woollams said.
“After failing to hear the beep the first time, passengers are taking extreme risks to tap off, and are slowing down the system.
Dave Woollams said malfunctioning Opal card readers are still also a serious concern for passengers and drivers.
“We’ve been telling the State Government that it needs to fix these malfunctioning machines since they were first introduced.
“Machines are breaking down on a daily basis, causing a headache for drivers and costing commuters money.”