Claire Reilly writes:
August 1, 2016. The day I’d been dreading. Sydney had finally abolished paper train tickets and I was getting ready to erase my identity.
The Australian state of New South Wales had been gradually transitioning away from paper tickets for more than two years. In the interests of entering the digital era, Transport NSW introduced the new ‘tap-on, tap-off’ Opal card. A contactless travel card, named after Australia’s distinctive rainbow-hued Opal gemstone, it’s similar to London’s Oyster card and San Francisco’s Clipper.
Welcome to the future! No more paper tickets! Top up your Opal card online! Set up a direct debit, download the accompanying app and track your spending, you mouth-breathing luddite — this is the 21st century!
But if this was my ticket to the future, I was not on board.
Read more on CNET.
h/t, @fanCRTCProfling