Huge $113m myki credit surplus sitting in state government coffers

The Allan government has been accused of not doing enough to return $113m sitting on unused myki cards to its rightful owners.

Public transport users are being urged to claw back their share of tens of millions of dollars sitting on expired or inactive Myki cards. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Public transport users are being urged to claw back their share of tens of millions of dollars sitting on expired or inactive myki cards, with the Allan government accused of not doing enough to get the money back to its rightful owners.

As at the end of last month, almost $113m of train, tram and bus commuters’ money was sitting in state coffers earning interest for the government.

In January last year, there was $104.7m of unused credit sitting in a government back account. At the time, the government vowed to find a way to return the money.

But more than a year later, that bank account has grown by more than $8m.

While commuters are able to claim back their money or transfer to a new card at any time, there are calls for a publicity campaign to ensure commuters are aware of their entitled funds to avoid the government continuing to accumulate money.

Almost $113m of train, tram and bus commuters’ money was sitting in state coffers at the end of March, earning interest for the government. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“They certainly don’t seem to be going out of their way to be getting that money back to people,” said Daniel Bowen, spokesman of the Public Transport Users Association.

“Ultimately this money belongs to Victorian public transport users – not the government, so they should make it as easy as possible to claim their money back. It needs to be a straightforward process.

“It should be as easy as possible. The government should be promoting those options. They should be doing it proactively.”

Most of the unused funds are held on cards that have not been used for four years, meaning they are now expired and are likely to have been lost or thrown out.

The funds are not used by government and are drawn down only when a customer actively seeks a refund.

Victoria’s flawed myki system has been criticised, with the government still yet to digitise the cards on Apple phones. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Paul Jeffers

But several commuters have told the Herald Sun the process to claim the money back was difficult and they eventually decided to give up.

Opposition public transport spokesman Matthew Guy said the Allan government had been aware of the issue for some time.

“This credit must be returned to commuters wherever the person can be identified,” he said.

“If the owner of the credit cannot be identified, the funds should be put directly back into improving services and fixing dilapidated train stations.

“Labor cannot manage money so they must guarantee the funds will be returned to Victorians and not raided to prop up its budget.”

Victoria’s flawed myki system has been criticised, with the government still yet to digitise the cards on Apple phones. Android users are able to download the technology.

Physical myki cards cost $6 and expire after four years, but cards about to expire can be extended by another two years.

A Victorian government spokesman can reclaim money through the Public Transport Victoria app.

“Victorians can rest assured that any unclaimed myki money will not expire alongside any ticketing system upgrades and that they will still be able claim a refund at any time,” he said.

“We encourage everyone to check for expired mykis and have any outstanding balances refunded or transferred to their current myki.”