Myki meltdown: Millions wasted as Convergint abandons $1.7bn contactless technology upgrade

A company that was part of the troubled $1.7 billion myki upgrade has been paid millions of dollars to walk away from the project in the latest bungle exposed by the Sunday Herald Sun.

Part of the consortium overseeing the state’s $1.7bn myki upgrade has been paid millions to walk away from the project. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

A company that was part of the troubled $1.7 billion myki upgrade has been paid millions of dollars to walk away from the project.

The payout to tech giant Convergint, which was a minor shareholder in the project led by global transport firm Conduent, allows for a new subcontractor to be brought on board to help roll out “contactless” ticketing through credit cards, phones and smart watches.

The Allan government has promised that the use of credit cards and smart devices for tap and go would be on trains “early next year”, as it tries to haul the project — plagued by delays since contracts were inked in 2023 — on to a faster track.

The government has promised full-fare commuters will be able to ditch their plastic myki cards on the train network by early next year.

The Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that the myki upgrade contract is now set to be probed by the state’s financial watchdog, Auditor-General Andrew Greaves.

Last year the project was bogged down by a dispute between the Conduent joint venture and the government over project milestones and costs, triggered when the government was unable to compel previous myki operators to hand over ticketing source code.
It is understood the terms of that dispute’s settlement, which will lead to a hefty bill for taxpayers, is what sparked Convergint’s exit from the project.

The myki upgrade is set to be probed by the state’s financial watchdog. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The new payout to Convergint, which sources said was “several” million dollars, is expected to be absorbed by Conduent under the joint venture model.

Insiders say the exit of Convergint raises questions about whether local content provisions would still be met under the contract, or whether Conduent would look interstate or offshore for workers.

But an Allan government spokesman said while “this is a matter for Conduent, it will not impact local content requirements, the cost or delivery timeline of the ticketing rollout”.

“We are continuing to work closely with our project partners to roll out tap and go technology from early next year — providing passengers more ways to pay for their travel,” he said.

The train network will be first to receive the new technology — meaning commuters will be stuck with plastic myki cards on trams and buses. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

The government promised last month that tap and go technology on parts of the rail network would be in place by “early next year”, but the commitment is likely to be tested by how quickly thousands of new myki readers can be installed and tested.

Conduent must eventually replace all myki readers with brand new open-loop technology for a system-wide upgrade, while ensuring those devices can still be used with the former operator’s closed-loop myki cards.

Transport experts say Conduent would need to do further trials — other than the one currently occurring on regional buses — to ensure cards and open payments would “work seamlessly” before ripping out and replacing existing technology.

One expert said these trials were likely to be going until July, leaving just a few months for the deployment of the new system on sections of the rail network.

Originally published as Myki meltdown: Millions wasted as Convergint abandons $1.7bn contactless technology upgrade