Buses next to trial Opal Card readers but minister warns "bumpy road ahead" Minister Gladys Berejiklian launches the Opal Card at Chatswood train station last month. Buses will be next but it's a bumpy road ahead. THE first Opal Card readers will be trialled on buses next - but Transport Minister Gladys has played down expectations saying she expects a bumpy ride for the new ticketing system. The trial will begin on the 594 and 594H route running between Hornsby, North Turramurra and Wynyard from Monday. Ms Berejiklian said the rollout on buses would be the most technically challenging part of the Opal installation with each of Sydney's 5000 buses needing two card readers, one at the front and rear doors. "I am expecting a few glitches along the way,"" she said. You're talking up to 10,000 readers. We're making sure that if there's any software glitches or any glitches around those readers they are dealt with now while it's in trial."" Fares will be on the distance travelled and split into three bands, 0-3km, 3-8km and 8km+, similar to the current zone system. The Opal Card readers will be trialled in buses next after it was launched last month for train travel. Bus users who switch to the Opal Card will save 10 cents on compared to using MyBus single tickets, and users will only pay for the first eight journeys of the week. Bus users who catch two or more buses within an hour of first tapping on will have their trip treated as one single journey and will be charged just once depending on the distance travelled. "If you go for bus to bus within an hour you only get charged for the total length of the journey you want get charged for two separate trips,"" she said. But users who switch from bus to train will still be charged for two separate journeys. "We believe that customers should pay for the mode their using and we don't think train and bus customers should subsidise ferry customers for example,"" she said. "There are many systems around the world some do it the way we are doing it (and) others have chosen to have a flat fare for every single mode, but we don't think that is fair."" While there will be two readers on each bus, passengers will only be able to tap on at the front doors, potentially leading to delays as people wait for others to tap off before boarding. "This is a trial so I'm open to seeing what works, I'm open to getting the feedback from our customers, but at this stage we think it's best that everyone taps in at the front."" Ms Berejiklian said the route was chosen because it was operated by a private company and was long enough to cover all three zones. The rollout on buses is expected to be finished by the end of 2014. What's your experience of the Opal Card? Leave a comment below.