And commuters who change between modes of transport in the one journey – for example, switch from a bus to a train – would get a $2 rebate against the cost of paying twice.

The state government will decide whether or not to implement the proposals by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal in the coming weeks.

Other changes proposed by IPART include:

• Raising the daily cap for seniors using the Gold Opal Card from $2.50 to $3.60.
• Increasing overall public transport fares by an average of 4.2 per cent annually, well over the current rate of inflation, for the next three years.
• Increasing the off-peak discount for train fares from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
• Increasing the Adult Opal daily cap on transport fare from $15 to $18 for travel on Monday to Friday. A $7.20 daily cap would apply on weekends.

In its final report released on Tuesday, IPART backed away from a previous recommendation for the government to end free travel after eight journeys in a week for the state's ticketing system.

Instead, IPART has proposed a 50 per cent discount apply for journeys after the first eight, after Transport for NSW told it that major changes to the Opal ticketing system would require "significant lead times".

The difficulty of changing the Opal system is also a reason IPART has dropped its previous proposal to calculate fares based on the overall length of a journey – no matter how many modes of transport were used.

NSW Labor leader Luke Foley said train commuters who travelled long distances five days a week would be hardest hit as they faced a rise in fares of up to 39 per cent – or more than $1000 annually – over the next two years if the proposals were adopted.

"These increases are just wildly over the top. Such a massive hike in public transport costs is just another added cost making it harder to balance the family budget," he said.

"It's not a sensible policy to be increasing public transport fares for people in the outer suburbs ... when public policy says we should be ... getting people off congested roads."

Despite concerns from community groups, the pricing regulator said the rise in the daily cap for Gold Opal card users was affordable, noting that it had not increased for 11 years while pensions had risen by 74 per cent over the same period.

The regulator has also recommended the government review the eligibility for the Seniors Card to ensure that "the benefits are better targeted towards people who most need them".

Greens transport spokeswoman Mehreen Faruqi described the 44 per cent increase to $3.60 in the daily cap for Gold Opal as "harsh and excessive".

She also called on the government to commit to keeping travel free after eight journeys in a week because it encouraged people to use public transport.

"A 50 per cent discount is not good enough," she said.

IPART chairman Peter Boxall said the final recommendations would result in a more efficient and integrated transport system but with a smaller impact on passengers than what it had proposed in its draft report released just before Christmas.

"Some fare increases are needed to ensure the additional costs are not borne entirely by taxpayers, but also by those who use public transport the most," he said.

The regulator calculated that $150 million of free journeys were taken in the past year under the scheme whereby commuters paid for the first eight trips in a week, and then travelled for free.

The new determination for the maximum allowable increase in average fares of 4.2 per cent annually will take effect from July 1.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the government was committed to implementing a fare system that encouraged greater use of public transport and was fair to customers.

The government would respond to the final recommendations from the regulator in "due course", he said.

The release of the final report had been delayed by about six weeks because the government wanted to give the regulator "sufficient time" to complete the review.

In a sign of the deep level of community concern about fare increases, IPART received 1256 submissions on its draft report.

Seniors groups such as the Joint Council on the Ageing have voiced their opposition to a toughening of the criteria for the electronic smartcard or an increase in the daily cap.

The Gold Opal card represents one of the state's few concessions based on age that is universally available.

IPART has recommended that the Gold Opal continue to be available to all holders of a Seniors Card. However, it wants the eligibility requirements tightened for the Seniors Card.

With James Robertson