Millions of dollars left on unused Myki cards in Melbourne
Melburnians have nearly $80 million sitting on unused Myki cards, but they might not ever be able to recover their funds unless they remembered to do one thing.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Nearly $80 million is sitting on unused Myki cards as commuter dollars are lost on expired or missing accounts.
New figures show that at the end of last year, there was $79.6 million left on cards that had not been used for at least 12 months.
Of this, $25 million remains on cards that haven’t been touched since 2016.
The Department of Transport does not spend the money but collects interest that is then used on the wider transport network.
Millions of dollars locked in the system may be lost for good because the cash cannot be recovered unless Victorians still have the card or have it registered to an account.
A department spokesman said the Myki system processed more than a million public transport trips every day.
“Myki is one of the biggest smart card ticketing systems in the world,” he said.
“The best way to know if you have any unused money on your Myki, or if it’s about to expire, is by registering it at the PTV website.
“If a registered Myki card is damaged, lost or stolen, passengers can obtain a replacement card and request a balance transfer to a new Myki card or apply for a refund.”
The department does not have contact details for cardholders that have not registered, with 31.7 million cards activated since the system began.
Mykis expire after four years to ensure that cards remain up to date with technology changes.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said it was likely many tourists load up their cards and never spend the full amount.
MORE NEWS
DUSTY’S MANAGER FACING COURT OVER COMPANY COLLAPSE
GOBBO ADMITS INFORMING ON CLIENTS WAS WRONG
HOW ELITE SCHOOL IS TRACKING ITS STUDENTS
“The refund system is not well understood and I suspect many tourists don’t use it,” he said.
The Andrews Government has also introduced mobile Myki for Android users but is still working to introduce a similar initiative to Apple products.
Mr Bowen said the figures were an example of why contactless card payments were useful.
“There’s no single use ticket option so people have to put money on the card,” he said.
“The fact iPhone users miss out is a real issue and the sooner they can get that working the better.”