Myki meltdown: Trams, buses hit by glitches linked to end of 3G

An outage that has disabled hundreds of myki readers is believed to be caused by the shutdown of Telstra’s 3G network, even after Victoria spent millions of dollars ensuring they would work with 4G.

Up to 200 trams and 2500 buses could be affected by the outage, which started on Monday and is preventing commuters from validating myki passes, The Age has confirmed.

Myki readers have been glitching.

On Thursday, about half the readers on a route 96 tram were displaying error notices, while commuters have reported not being able to touch on their mykis on buses in Geelong all week.

The transport department would not confirm what is causing the outage but three transport industry sources, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, said they believed it was a result of Telstra switching off its 3G network last week.

Geelong resident Bill Deikos said he had caught eight buses – two each day – since Monday and on each occasion myki readers weren’t working.

“I asked the bus driver and they said it could be 3G,” he said. “They said don’t worry about touching on, just get on.”

The transport department has advised tram and bus operators that customers’ mykis may not be updated with pending transactions, such as online top-ups, because of the outage.

“Customers may also be unable to see a complete travel history for travel on tram and bus services from Monday, November 4 until this issue is resolved,” says a notification from Public Transport Victoria which has been seen by this masthead.

Victorian transport officials have been preparing for the 3G shutdown for years, and in 2022 issued a tender to replace about one-third of the state’s myki readers which still used the outdated technology.

The Guardian reported in August that the state spent $3.3 million on short-term upgrades on those readers in 2023 to ensure they would work on the 4G network.

A Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said some myki readers were not working “due to a connectivity issue on some bus and tram services”, but would not say if it was related to the 3G shutdown.

“We’re working to rectify the situation as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience caused,” the spokesperson said.

Telstra and Optus turned off their 3G networks on October 28, completing a shutdown first announced in 2019 and freeing up radio spectrum for higher-speed 5G networks.

The telcos had intended to switch off 3G at the end of August but delayed the shutdown amid concerns some Australians were not aware some mobile phones, medical devices and other equipment would be disconnected.

US outfit Conduent took over running myki in November last year after winning a $1.7 billion contract to gradually replace all ticket infrastructure across the state, delivering upgrades including being able to touch on with bank cards.

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