The stupidity of the numbering of the Sydney train lines means that they have to use the old names for all announcements for T1 and T2 because both cover more than one line, as noted in other comments.
I was in Sydney today and noticed lots of Opal card top up machines at Domestic Airport station where paper ticket vending machines used to be. Then I saw a notice that paper tickets would not be sold or accepted on public transport across Sydney from August 1. From then on you will need an Opal card to travel to and from the airport. The airport access fee will be deducted from your card when you tap on or tap off at Domestic or International Airport train stations.
At least in Sydney the cards are free.
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There are also single trip paper Opal tickets available if, for whatever reason, they do not have their Opal card.
These however, are priced at a premium.
Glad Iāve got an Opal card even though Iāve never used it. Got to remember to top up when I land in Sydney next month.
Good news, the Victorian Government will extend the trial of the Night Network (all night public transport on weekends) for another six months, until June 2017. Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said the Night Network had been popular especially with shift workers, who were among the 35,000 people who travelled on the overnight services each week.
If only the NSW Government would do the same and get rid of the damaging lock out laws. 
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At Town Hall station on Saturday afternoon there were long queues for the few Opal top-up machines, but there are far more old paper machines they havenāt removed just making them unusable my putting a big red sticker across the front. They should get rid of the old ticket machines taking up valuable space and replace them with more Opal machines.
Town Hall station is a mess at the moment, with major renovations underway on the concourse level and on the street above itās all fenced off for the light rail construction.
public transport to my uni in brisbane is shot to hell at the moment with the filming of the new thor movie n the brisbane CBD. had a girl with a broken leg having to limp 2 blocks to get on campus as the busses canāt get close
I did notice similar stickers at Central over their machines, although I only exited one of the concourses rather than the main entrance. Theyāve also closed all the manned ticket booths at Circular Quay for the ferries which can be an annoyance for tourists.
The only ticket booth I know that still exist is the one on the Intercity concourse at Central. There is a bus info centre in Railway Square but I donāt know if it sells Opal Cards.
Iāve heard that Brisbane commuters pay more than anyone else in Australia for PT .Not a big issue for me because I drive but itās unfair for those whom donāt drive and rely on Public transport
Iāve now got an Opal and a Myki from my travels. Didnāt end up getting an AT Hop card when I was in Auckland earlier this year. Stuck to paper tickets other than when going to the One Dayer and the Auckland Nines as they included free public transport.
I found that PT in Perth was much better value than Brisbane when I was over there about 4 years ago .I bought a Dayrider ticket for about $8 that gives you unlimited travel all day on PT,great for tourists.Brisbane Pt doesnāt offer that same value
*Standard 2 zone fare is $4.60ā¦ which is $3.45 with an autoloading smartrider. It increased a whopping 10 cents this year. Still very cheap comparatively speaking with Brisbane/SEQ.
Do you not use a concession fare, since youāre a student?
The Smartrider system is very weird - sometimes I get charged from the CBD to home, other times I donāt (live in the inner city).
I am still getting used to the BusPort configuration, not sure if I like it or not!
The new busport is not going to run at 100% efficiency until another part of the project (Charles St Bus Bridge) is completed, but it was not like they were going to let it sit empty for another year before opening it just because of that. At the moment the buses donāt have a place within close range of the busport to lay-over/wait, and the current temporary configuration that snakes back into James St, onto Fitzgerald St and back around to Charles St/Newcastle St is a total mess. Iāll reserve my judgement on how it works for another year or so.
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I noticed that when I was up there. What surprised me was the lack of ācappingā the fare after a bunch of trips, and the unavailability of daily passes.
I.e. if you go from Brisbane to the Gold Coast for work, then back to Brisbane, then go for to a friendās place for a barbecue at Caloundra, then back home again, you get charged separately for each leg of that trip. So it would cost close to $40 for one dayās travel. An equivalent trip in Melbourne (to Geelong) would be capped at $24.40, in Sydney (to Gosford) it would cost $15. One thing I will say about Brisbaneās public transport is that itās damn good. Not good enough to justify the price, but the busways were an excellent way to get around and the trains seem to run pretty quick.
Most other cities at least offer an unlimited trip daily pass. Brisbane offers the āSEEQā card, but they are really damn expensive and difficult to justify the cost, even as a tourist going from place to place - $79 for 3 days.