Inflated Opal fares to the Sydney Airport are costing families more than double the price that sharing an Uber would, 9News can reveal.
Private Owners of the Airport Train Stations, Sydney Airport Link, have increased the cost of Opal travel incrementally since the train line was privately built in 2000 for the Olympics.
Just four years ago, an adult fare was just $14.30 to get on or off at the domestic or international airport stations. Now, a single adult fare is $20.68.
Fares were increased again last week as part of the annual opal fare price revisions.
Transport Minister Jo Jaylen said the increases were 'shocking'.
"The expensive arrangement is a hangover from 2000 when the line was privately built for the Olympics," Haylen said.
"It's 23 years after the Olympics and no one's revised it, so I'm just totally shocked."
Commuters told 9News the fare prices were a "big rip off", "disappointing" and "discouraging."
The increased fares have made Transport NSW more than $84 million in the past financial year, based on its 85 per cent revenue share with private owners Sydney Airport Link, a financial report from Transport NSW revealed.
Sydney Airport Link now charges a station access fee of more than $16 on top of the typical Opal fare.
The increase in travel prices has tripled profits from $9.7 million to $20 million in the past financial year for the NSW government.
A family of four travelling from Bondi Junction to the Sydney Airport would pay $78 on the train, while an Uber would cost around $30.
From Strathfield, the Opal fare would be $78 for a family of four, while an Uber would cost about $50.
Families from Sydney's west save money on the train, at $86 for a family of four compared to a $130 Uber ride.
Commuters may be paying expensive fares for the next ten years, as Airport Link has the rights to run the station's operations until 2030, after that it will be handed back into public hands.
Travellers looking to avoid the Opal fares can catch the train to Mascot station and catch a bus the rest of the way.
