Myki contract to end next November, prompting hopes it will be replaced with something more user-friendly
Tim Pallas says Victoria’s public transport ticketing system, myki, is not up to global standards as it’s revealed it could be dumped.
Victoria
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Victoria’s troubled myki public transport system is causing Melbourne to fall behind other global cities, hampered by decades-old technology and a poor customer experience.
The warning comes as myki on Thursday marks its 10-year anniversary as the state’s sole ticketing system for the public transport network.
The myki contract ends next November with hopes it will be replaced or updated with a system similar to user-friendly operations long in use in other world cities, such as London, Sydney and Singapore.
Treasurer Tim Pallas on Thursday acknowledged the myki system wasn’t up to global standards.
“I think we’d have to say they’re not world best practice at the moment,” he said on Thursday in response to the Herald Sun’s report.
“We need to be alive to what more we can do.
“We want to make sure that it’s fit for purpose and it’s a better customer experience than we’ve got at the moment.”
Mr Pallas said the government was in conversations with stakeholders in the lead-up to the contract expiring in November.
But pressed for specific details on what a new-look scheme could involve and whether it could see the end of physical myki cards, Mr Pallas said: “I think we’ll just have to see what comes out of those discussions”.
“We would like to see a scheme that has as broad an application and the capacity to utilise as much technology as possible,” he said.
“We’re very much conscious of the fact that the technology has changed. It’s moved on considerably in the decade since myki has been placed.”
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said myki’s problems meant it was “not quite the world city experience”.
Adelaide and Brisbane are introducing credit card payments, a common request from many passengers, he said.
“Sydney has obviously already got it. So yeah, we are falling behind in terms of fare payment systems.’’
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said myki needed to reflect the state’s standing as a business, tourism and events destination.
At the time of myki’s introduction Victoria was seen to be leading the rest of the country, he said.
“It is now time to upgrade to a modern, technology led and fit for purpose easy-to-use ticketing system that will help boost Melbourne’s credentials as a tourism and events mecca.
Mr Guerra said Victoria did not need to “reinvent the wheel’’ in finding the right system.
“We could adopt one of the many systems that are currently working seamlessly around the globe.
“It is important that it must assimilate into Victorian’s lives unobtrusively and be equally convenient for tourists to navigate.’’
Common myki gripes include the $6 cost for a card, a four-year expiration date on all cards, confusion over how much to load on the card, difficulty for occasional users such as tourists, and card unavailability on trams and buses.
Android phone owners can touch on, but moves for iPhones to be capable of contactless ticketing stalled.
When the Android option was introduced in March 2019, about 100,000 commuters binned their physical cards.
The myki contract with NTT Data, was renewed in 2016 and is worth about $700m.
The tender has gone out for the new ticketing contract.
A key feature will require provision for “account-based ticketing”, allowing travellers
to set up a profile linked to credit cards for contactless tap-on and tap-off.
San Diego-based Cubic, which operates the Oyster card in London and Opal in Sydney, is believed to be submitting a bid but the company would not comment.
Earlier this year, Transport for London’s strategy director Shashi Verma urged Victoria to find a contractor that could provide contactless and smartphone payments.
“The world is littered with failed smartcard projects,” he said.
“The barriers to success are immense. The whole point was to give people the best user experience. That’s the bedrock on which Oyster arrived.’’
Cybersecurity expert Dr Shanaan Cohney said myki was out of date and behind global standards.
“In comparison to systems that we’ve seen in the last decade in the rest of the world, myki tends to be a bit less user friendly from a number of perspectives,’’ Dr Cohney, lecturer in cybersecurity at the University of Melbourne, said.
“Firstly, the touch-on touch-off experience, as many have noted over the past decade, can be slower than competitors in other markets.
“Another issue is the amount of time that it can take to update your myki card, particularly when done through the website.
“In other markets, people are often able to pay with credit cards or pay by both iOS and Android.’’
Myki was behind the times even when it was deployed, he said.
“The current system is an artefact of the technological limitations from the 90s and we’re a few decades on from that.’’
Mr Bowen also said that any upgraded ticketing system should cover the entire V/Line network which myki fails to do.
A Department of Transport spokeswoman said the myki ticketing contract is due to expire in November 2023.
“The priority for public transport ticketing is to ensure users can safely and seamlessly access, use, and pay for public transport,’’ she said.
“We’re planning for the future, working with industry to deliver a better ticketing experience with a system that helps us realise the public transport benefits of the Big Build.’’
Myki was first trialled in 2007, but on December 29, 2012, the old Metcard was switched off, leaving myki as the only ticket to ride on Melbourne public transport.
Millions sitting in myki treasure chest
Almost $185 million of passengers’ money is sitting in the transport department’s bank account, courtesy of myki’s prepaid payment system.
The size of the treasure chest can be revealed as much of the cash will be in rarely-used accounts.
Of the 11.5 million ‘active’ cards in circulation on the network, less than half, or about 5.3 million cards, were used in the past 12 months as people avoided public transport through Covid fears or working from home.
The prepaid system delivers a cash reserve when users top up their cards or have automatic top-up where more money is stored on the card through direct debit. Many travellers have their banking top-up kick in whenever their myki balance drops to $10.
Some of those inactive mykis will have expired, especially during the pandemic, as all cards expire after four years.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said many people will have forgotten they have a card.
“They may or may not know where it is,’’ Mr Bowen said.
“It may have a bunch of money on it and there is a frustration of needing to travel, not knowing where your card is so you give up and go and buy another one. Rinse and repeat.’’