Myki


Myki is a reloadable credit card-sized contactless smart card ticketing system used for electronic payment of fares on most public transport services in Melbourne and regional Victoria, Australia. Myki replaced the Metcard ticketing system and became fully operational at the end of 2012.
The system was developed by Kamco and is promoted by Public Transport Victoria. The initial 10-year contract was worth approximately A$1.5 billion, described by The Age as "the biggest for a smartcard ticketing system". The Myki contract was extended in July 2016 for a further seven years.
Ticketing requirements for trains, trams and buses in Melbourne are mainly contained in the Transport Regulations 2006 and the Victorian Fares and Ticketing Manual.

Usage

Operation

Passengers need to purchase a rechargeable Myki card at Hundreds of shops including all 7-Elevens that displaying the myki sign, myki machine at most major bus and tram interchanges and at most Railway Stations, staffed railway station, on buses except on routes 401 and 601, the PTV Hub, online on the Myki website or by calling Public Transport Victoria cards cannot be bought on a tram A Myki card costs $6, with concession cards costing $3.
After acquiring a Myki card, the passenger needs to add value onto the card, in a process called "topping up". The value stored on the card is called "Myki money". You can top up on a bus with a maximum value of $20 on board Except on routes 401 and 601,Hundreds of shops including all 7-Elevens that displaying the myki sign, myki machine at most major bus and tram interchanges and at most Railway Stations, staffed railway station, on buses except on routes 401 and 601, the PTV Hub, online on the Myki website or by calling Public Transport Victoria
At the start of a trip, the passenger must "touch on" the card at a Myki reader, and at the completion of a trip, a passenger must "touch off" the Myki card again, at which point the appropriate fare is assessed and deducted from the stored value on the card. The Myki card, if placed correctly in a wallet, does not need to be removed to be validated. However, because wallets often contain multiple cards with smart chips capable of being interpreted by the reader system in place by Myki, regardless of their applicability to transport, simply placing a wallet containing a Myki card against a reader can prove problematic as the card-reading technology is incapable of consistently distinguishing between Myki and non-Myki smart card chips. Passengers do not need to touch on or off in the “free tram zone”, which covers essentially the Melbourne CBD, but need to do so if they will continue to travel beyond the zone. Official Myki pouches can be acquired for free at railway stations.

Services available

A Myki card can be used for travel on:
There are Myki cards for full-fare, concession, child and Victorian seniors passengers.
Prior to January 2015, Myki cards were issued with a green front, with various designs on the back of the card. Since then issued Myki card have had a uniform predominantly black design. The change allowed concession Myki cards to be sold at ticket vending machines for the first time, but it is not possible to readily distinguish between full-fare and concessional cards.
A "Myki Visitor pack" is available, intended for use by interstate and overseas visitors, as well as for users from outside metropolitan Melbourne. Full-fare packs cost $14 and child, concession and seniors packs cost $7. The pack includes a Myki card pre-loaded with one day's worth of travel in Zone 1, vouchers for discounts at 15 tourist attractions, ranging from Puffing Billy to the Melbourne Aquarium, instructions on how to use Myki, and a protective Myki wallet. Users can reclaim any unused money on their Myki when they no longer need it, but the $6 or $3 purchase price isn't refundable. The pack is sold from locations such as Tullamarine Airport, hotel concierge desks, backpacker and bed & breakfast accommodation facilities, tourist information centres, Station Pier, Melbourne, Southern Cross station and other outlets.

Mobile Myki

Android users are able to touch on with their phones as part of Mobile Myki the technology uses NFC and Google Pay.

Card registration

A Myki card can be "registered" with Public Transport Victoria, which protects the card holder against loss of the card and enables passengers to view their travel history online. It also enables “auto top up” to be set up, enables the card holder to view the card expiry date online and enables PTV to contact the registered card holder of an imminent card expiry date.

Topping up

After purchasing a Myki card, passengers need to add value onto the card, in a process called "topping up". This can be done:
A registered Myki account can be linked to a bank account or credit card to automatically transfer top-up funds onto the Myki card when the stored value on the card drops to a level nominated by the cardholder. This is known as “auto top-up”. However, a top-up can take up to 48 hours before the card is updated. The inability to top-up or purchase a card does not excuse the traveler from the need to travel with a valid ticket.

Fare calculation and default fares

The Myki system calculates the cheapest fare for a passenger based on the time and zones travelled in on a given day. Fares are assessed on the basis of a two-hour fare or a daily fare. Longer periods, of 7 days or 28–365 days, can be pre-loaded into the card as a Myki pass prior to travel. If a 365-day pass is purchased, the days above 325 are free of charge. Myki fares are based on the time and zone fares used under the previous Metcard system, with the exception of the single trip "City Saver" fare which was not made available under the Myki system.
Myki is a multi-modal fare and ticketing system based on zones. Metropolitan Melbourne is divided into two zones. Outside of Metropolitan Melbourne, there are ten zones. Zones overlap on the borders of the zones.
If a Myki card is not touched off at the completion of a journey the system will charge a default fare, which is usually equal to the most expensive journey that could have been undertaken by a passenger, based on the location of touch on. Passengers need not touch off when alighting a tram unless they're in zone 2
Prior to the introduction of Myki a separate fare and ticketing system existed for V/Line services. However, since April 2006 holders of V/Line tickets to Melbourne have had access to both Zone 1 and 2 without needing to purchase another ticket. V/Line tickets to Zone 2 stations are valid for Zone 2 only. Fares in most towns just outside Melbourne were also aligned to Zone 2 prices. This system still operates on V/Line services that run outside of the commuter belt area.

Card expiry

A Myki card has a limited validity period, but the expiry date is not imprinted on the card. The card expires four years after the date on which it is first loaded with money. If the card is registered, the holder can see online the date on which the card expires. PTV also contacts the registered card holder shortly before the expiry date to remind them of the card's imminent expiry. Holders of anonymous cards must use a card vending machine or Myki Check machine to find out when their card will expire.
An expired or expiring Myki card can be replaced for free at staffed metropolitan railway stations, Myki-enabled V/Line stations, or a PTV Hub, with any balance from the expired/expiring card being transferred to the new card instantly. Alternatively, users can mail their expired/expiring Myki card to PTV and wait up to 10 working days for a new card to be posted to them. If the expired/expiring card was registered, the replacement card will be automatically registered. Auto top-up will not be transferred to the new Myki and, if required, needs to be set up again. To obtain a replacement for a personalised Myki card, users must mail their card to PTV.
An expired card cannot be reused and, to avoid misuse, can be destroyed and disposed.
It's also necessary to ensure that an expired card isn't used. There's a hefty $270 fine if one is inadvertently used.

History

Myki replaced the Metcard ticketing system in metropolitan Melbourne, and various ticketing systems used by buses in some major regional cities. Work on the new public transport ticketing system for Victoria commenced in late 2002. In June 2003, the Transport Ticketing Authority was established to procure and manage the new system. On 12 July 2005, the Kamco consortium was awarded the $494 million contract to develop the system, with the completion date being 2007. The consortium was made up of Keane Inc, Ascom, ERG, and Giesecke & Devrient Australasia.
A pilot program was due to begin in early 2007, but was delayed by approximately a year. In February 2008, Public Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, announced that the full roll-out of the system would not begin until the end of the year. By March the same year, the minister said that the system would not be operational until 2010. In April 2008, the TTA announced that it had stopped making service payments to the Kamco consortium after April 2007, because the project had not been delivered on schedule.
The first field trial of the new Myki system was held on the Geelong bus network in late 2007, which identified problems. In August 2008 testing began on the Melbourne suburban train and tram networks.
On 12 December 2008, Myki went on sale to the general public on four bus routes in Geelong, and on 2 March 2009 all bus routes in the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula area were completely switched to Myki. In April 2009, all bus services in Ballarat, Bendigo and Seymour were converted to Myki. In May 2009, all bus services in the Latrobe Valley towns of Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Warragul were operating with Myki equipment, making it the last regional bus system to be converted.

Melbourne roll-out

The Melbourne roll-out began in July 2007 with the installation of Myki readers. Myki became valid for travel on all metropolitan train services, but not trams and buses, from 29 December 2009, though system of purchasing cards was still cumbersome. On 25 July 2010, Myki coverage was extended to Melbourne metropolitan bus and tram services.
During 2012 the government progressively shut down the Metcard system:
All Metcard ticket vending machines on railway stations were removed or switched off. The only Metcard vending machines still in operation were on trams. The limited remaining range of Metcards could only be purchased from staff at Premium stations, from bus drivers, or from a PTV Hub. The sale of Metcards at Premium Metro railway stations was progressively phased out, and ceased entirely during October. The removal of Metcard validators from railway stations started on 12 November 2012. Also from November, passengers with unused Metcards were able to transfer the value onto a Myki card as Myki money at premium Metro railway stations.
On 29 December 2012, Metcard was switched off, and Myki became the only form of ticket valid on Melbourne public transport. On the same day, all Metcard equipment remaining on the system became inoperative.
It was intended that the Skybus Melbourne Airport shuttle bus service would also accept Myki once the system was fully operational, but that did not eventuate.
In May 2014, the first Myki electronic gates with a touch screen became operational.

Regional implementation

Myki came into use on regional "commuter" rail services in July 2013, in a staged process: between Melbourne and Seymour on 24 June, on the Traralgon line on 8 July, the Bendigo line on 17 July, the Ballarat line on 24 July, and the Geelong-Marshall line on 29 July. Paper family tickets are available to families travelling within the Myki zone with children below 17 years of age. On 10 November 2013, Myki was introduced on Wallan and Kilmore town buses.
On 25 February 2014, paper tickets for passengers on V/Line commuter services were abolished, and passengers were required to use Myki. Paper tickets remain for travel outside the Myki zone, such as to Warrnambool, Bairnsdale, Swan Hill, Shepparton or Albury. Passengers with Myki Pass who want to travel beyond the Myki area can purchase paper "extension tickets" to cover the rest of their journey.

Issues and criticisms

The Myki ticketing system has been criticised on a number of grounds:
In November 2012, the Public Transport Users Association launched an online petition calling on the state government to reverse its decision not to make any form of short-term ticket available under Myki.