Ang Kalatas Volume IV September 2014 Issue | Page 9

THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 4 Number 12 | September 2014

STATE

09

USE OPAL, COMMUTERS URGED
‘TAP ON’ and say goodbye to paper tickets. The best way to travel by public transport
now is with the new Opal card as the government phases out 14 public transport ticket
types, including MyTrain weekly, starting September 1.
MORE than 580,000 Opal cards
have now been issued and customers have taken over 37 million journeys using Opal on all
suburban and intercity trains,
all Sydney Ferries and more
than 2,000 buses.
“Opal is transforming the
way people travel and helping
to bring the state’s public transport network into the 21st century, but I accept it is a major
change for customers,” said
Minister for Transport Gladys
Berejiklian.
The minister said that the
NSW Government rolled out
a major marketing and education campaign worth around $5

million, part of the $1.2 billion
Opal electronic ticketing project, to help people get acquainted with the new transport ticket system.
The massive campaign includes printing of more than 2
million information brochures
and flyers; 110,000 tap on/tap
off stickers on trains, stations,
buses, bus stops and ferries;
400,000 window stickers and
pocket guides for Opal retailers;
6,500 posters for train stations,
bus stops and ferry wharves;
and ads for television, radio,
newspaper and social media,
featuring ‘Opal Man’.
The minister earlier called

on commuters to secure their
Opal cards to avoid a last-minute rush and expected queues in
the first days of this month.
“We’re encouraging customers to take advantage of

the benefits of Opal, including cheaper fares for the overwhelming majority, free travel
rewards, daily caps and the convenience of never queuing for a
ticket again.”

Smarter planning locks in jobs around
second Sydney airport
THE NSW Liberal and Nationals Government is planning for
the future by expanding the Western Sydney Employment
Area (WSEA) to take advantage of the second Sydney airport
announced by the Commonwealth.
THE Western Sydney Employment Area is the area set aside
for industrial and commercial purposes that is serviced by
strong road links and infrastructure. The proposed expansion of
WSEA will lock in land for more
than 57,000 jobs. 
The proposed extension will
increase the employment area
boundary south to Elizabeth
Drive and to include land west of
the planned second Sydney airport, providing more than 4,500
additional hectares for economic growth in Western Sydney.
“The land identified by the
Government recently – which
extends the existing Western
Sydney Employment Area to
the southwest from the junction
of the M4 and M7 motorways
at Eastern Creek – is expected
to deliver 36,000 industrial jobs
and 21,000 office jobs over the
next 30 years,” Planning Minister Pru Goward said.
“Western Sydney is already
an economic powerhouse, with
an economy the size of Tasmania, the Northern Territory
and the ACT combined. We are
planning for the future by locking in land for jobs between major roads and the new airport the
Commonwealth has announced
for Badgerys Creek.
“Expanding the Western
Sydney Employment Area will
safeguard the land to provide
the jobs we will need in coming
decades and ensure we make
the best use of the land around
a new Western Sydney airport.
Ms Goward said the NSW
Government had released a

Customers can order their
Opal card 24 hours a day from
opal.com.au or by calling 13 67
25 (13 OPAL). It can take five
to seven working days to get an
Opal card if you’re ordering online or over the phone so you
should act now.
Ms Berejiklian said customers can also now get an Opal
card on-the-spot at 1,000 retailers including 7-Eleven and
Woolworths, and 50 pop-up-kiosks at train stations and selected Westfield Shopping Centres.
Once they have their Opal
card, customers can go on-line
or ring up to set their card to a ]