What I Spend In A Month In Sydney

Why is public transport so cheap in Sydney?

Sydney’s public-transport system uses a tap-on, tap-off card called the Opal card. The card has a weekly cap: once a rider has paid for a set number of trips in a single week (eight, on adult fares), all further travel that week is free. Sundays also have a special $2.50 day cap (or $3.20 in some periods), so a full Sunday of trains, buses, ferries, and light rail across Sydney costs about the price of a coffee. Tourists and budget-conscious locals plan whole weekends around it.

In this clip, a Sydney-based day trader breaks down monthly expenses and notes “public transport was $15”, a number only possible thanks to the Opal cap.