Public transport Victoria: Less than half of myki cards registered

A number of public transport locations have been identified as exposure sites, but experts have an idea that could make your commute safer.

A leading public health expert is calling for QR codes to be used across Victoria’s public transport network to help with contact tracing.

More than 20 public transport sites — including bus and train services in Melbourne’s west and north — have been listed as tier 1 and 2 ­exposure sites during the latest outbreak.

Currently, only registered myki cards and station CCTV footage are used to help identify commuters who may have been exposed to coronavirus. An extra 445,000 myki cards have been registered since January, with a total of 2.28 million registered on the network. But only 44 per cent of all mykis being used across the network are registered.

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Mark Stevenson, a professor of Urban Transport and Public Health, said that using myki data for contact tracing was a “good measure”, but there were limitations in relying on commuters to provide their details.

“As we roll out of this lockdown, we will see greater use of public transport,’’ he said.

“We’re going to need to ensure that those casual users must provide a level of contact for tracing — and that would need to be a QR code.

A buss is deep cleaned after a popular bus route was listed as an exposure site. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Wayne Taylor

“Given we’ve standardised that, it shouldn’t be a hassle.”

Prof Stevenson said QR codes gave contact tracers more detailed information than myki alone. “Just tapping on at a station doesn’t indicate what train you actually caught,’’ Prof Stevenson said.

QR codes are used on public transport in Western Australia and NSW where data from cards can’t be gathered.

Both states, along with Queensland and South Australia, rely on passenger travel data from registered cards as their main method for contact tracing.

Nick Foa, of Victoria’s Transport Department, urged passengers to register their myki cards.

“The easiest way for us to identify passengers’ exact movements across our public transport network is through the myki system,” he said.

“That’s why it’s so important everyone has their myki registered so contact tracers can get in touch if public transport becomes an exposure site”.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the use of registered myki cards was “practical” and they could become more widely used if authorities promoted them.

“For those concerned about the privacy implications, there’s nothing stopping you from registering your card now and later switching to a non-registered card,” he said.

Rail, Tram and Bus Union state secretary Luba Grigorovitch said members at stations could help commuters register myki cards if they needed help.