Under the Passenger Transport Act 2014, the Minister of Transport and Roads can ask IPART to determine or recommend maximum fares for public transport services.

We have determined:

  • Maximum Opal fares that can be charged for all rail, bus, ferry and light rail fares used in Sydney and surrounds that apply between July 2020 and June 2024. In our most recent 2020 Opal fares review, we determined that fares for a single trip could increase by an average of 5% per year between July 2020 and June 2024.
  • Maximum fares for rural and regional buses between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2025.
  • Maximum fares for 7 private ferry services operating in the Sydney, Central Coast, and North Coast areas of NSW between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2025. 

The NSW Government sets other terms and conditions of travel, such as discounts for off-peak travel, frequent travel, and concession users.  

In setting fares, IPART undertakes extensive public consultation through our review processes to understand the range of stakeholder views, and consider these views alongside the findings of our economic modelling and analysis. The law requires us to consider:

  • the cost of providing the services
  • the need for greater efficiency in the supply of services so as to reduce costs for the benefit of consumers and taxpayers
  • the protection of consumers from abuses of monopoly power in terms of prices, pricing policies and standards of service
  • the social impact of the determination or recommendation
  • the impact of the determination or recommendation on the use of the public passenger transport network and the need to increase the proportion of travel undertaken by sustainable modes such as public transport
  • standards of quality, reliability and safety of the services (whether those standards are specified by legislation, agreement or otherwise)
  • the effect of the determination or recommendation on the level of Government funding
  • any matter specified in the referral to IPART
  • any other matter IPART considers relevant.
  • We undertake extensive public consultation through our review processes to understand the range of stakeholder views, and consider these views alongside the findings of our economic modelling and analysis.