From next week, the only way you can catch a bus, train or ferry in NSW is with an Opal card or by buying a Single Trip Opal ticket, which is more expensive.

Opal ambassador Ita Buttrose was in Wollongong on Friday as part of a tour to spread the word about the end of paper tickets.

“If you haven’t switched over to Opal, you won’t be able to buy a paper ticket and they’re not going to be accepted on Monday, so you have to get cracking,” Ms Buttrose said

“If you haven’t got your card and you need a single trip, you can get a single trip ticket, but the Opal card is much cheaper it’s more economical.”

While adult and child Opal cards can be bought at Opal retailers in Wollongong, the Seniors Gold Opal must be ordered online or over the phone as they will need to provide their concession card details.

Ms Buttrose said making a change like moving from paper tickers to an Opal card can be hard for some to get their head around.

But she said, once they did, they would see the benefits it provides.

“It’s a bit like internet banking,” she said.

“I was sure I wasn’t the only person who said ‘no, I want a teller, I want to deal with a person’.

“But now I think internet banking is so easy, why wouldn’t you do it? Once you make the first step [with Opal]  you realise this is such a breeze.”

For more information visit opal.com.au