Myki - articles and discussion

[SurfRail]

If there is one thing I did agree with Annastacia about, it is that myki's business rules are far too complicated.  Ours are easier to deal with, significantly so.

[ozbob]

PTUA --> PT Problem of the Day: No short term tickets already causing problems at #Myki-only stations

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Fewer dodgers, but fines to rise

Fewer dodgers, but fines to rise
Adam Carey
June 25, 2012

FINES for fare evasion on public transport are set to jump 15 per cent next month - just as the number of people caught without a ticket has fallen.

The rise in penalties from $180 to $207, which will take effect on July 1, follows a Public Transport Victoria survey that found the level of fare evasion had increased on Melbourne's trains in the past year, but declined by about 2 per cent overall.

A total of 11.6 per cent of people on public transport were found to be fare evaders last month, down from 13.5 per cent in May last year.

But the level of fare evasion on trains rose from 9.8 per cent to 11.7 per cent in the same time.

PTV chief executive Ian Dobbs said the rise was caused in part by the mass transition to myki, which led to unanticipated peak-hour crushes at ticket barriers at some stations.

''There is no doubt this has been a period of transition and education for everyone," Mr Dobbs said.

''Intensive work had been undertaken to install extra myki barriers and myki readers, as well as increased customer education, so we would expect the rate of fare evasion on trains to reduce in the next survey.''

The overall drop in fare evasion, which is estimated to cost about $80 million a year, appears to have been largely caused by a steep drop in fare dodging on trams.

It has declined from 20.3 per cent, or one in five passengers, in May last year, to 13.3 per cent last month.

Fare evasion on buses decreased from 9.2 per cent to 8.3 per cent.

Mr Dobbs said 154,000 fines were handed out in the past year, and 9.3 million tickets checked.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fewer-dodgers-but-fines-to-rise-20120624-20wlp.html

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Warning myki cuts would cause transport chaos

Warning myki cuts would cause transport chaos

    Anne Wright and Ashley Gardiner
    From: Herald Sun
    July 16, 2012 11:08PM

A GREENS plan to ditch state government funding to fix myki would send the train system into chaos, the Public Transport Users Association has warned.
myki

The Greens yesterday launched an ambitious $116 million suite of policies that would be financed by slashing the embattled myki ticketing system.

While Greens MP Greg Barber claimed the $150 million funding was not justified, the Government said it would go towards more myki readers and vending machines, and fix problems with the system.

PTUA president Daniel Bowen said the Greens would be better off funding policies through cutting road spending. "If getting funds means not having enough readers (that) would cause a lot of pain for commuters," he said.

Greens candidate Dr Cathy Oke has announced nine key policies in her campaign for the Melbourne by-election on Saturday, incurring one-off costs of $69 million, and $48 million in recurring spending.

Policies announced during the campaign include: delivering a $1 bet limit on all Victorian pokie machines, advocating a Doncaster rail link, restoring the Education Maintenance Allowance, ensuring every primary school has a school welfare officer and establishing a public housing commissioner. If elected, Dr Oke would have to secure votes from the rest of Parliament to effect any of her policies, because she would hold the only Greens Lower House seat in the Victorian Parliament.

"A new voice isn't necessarily a lone voice when you're representing the views of the electorate," she said yesterday.

Deputy Opposition Leader James Merlino said the Greens' promises would cost at least $370 million over four years to implement.

"They are making promises they know they'll never have to deliver," Mr Merlino said.

Punters are expecting a Greens victory, with sportingbet.com.au offering just $1.25 for a Greens win, compared with $3 for Labor.

[ozbob]

Daniel Bowen Blog --> Showdown: Perth's #SmartRider vs Melbourne's #Myki

[ozbob]

myki Visitor Pack

The myki Visitor Pack includes: * A myki smart card pre-loaded with enough value for one day's Zone 1 travel * Instructions on how to use myki * An inner Melbourne tram map * myki protective wallet designed by renowned cartoonist Mark Knight * Discounts at 15 attractions across the city, with savings up to $130

[ozbob]

Twitter

Nine News Melbourne ‏@9newsmelb

More problems for Myki with the operator forced to refund tens of thousands of dollars after commuters were overcharged #9newsmelb

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Fare go: myki forks out $620,000 in refunds

Fare go: myki forks out $620,000 in refunds

THE Transport Ticketing Authority has refunded more than $620,000 in the past 2½ years to people who have been overcharged while using myki to travel on Melbourne's public transport.

Most of the overcharging was caused by an error in which the system incorrectly calculated the fare. On a small number of occasions, passengers have been reimbursed after failing to touch off properly.

Between January 2010 and April this year, malfunctioning myki readers that overcharged people accounted for $284,500 in reimbursements, while system and human error led to $343,300 worth of refunds.

The refunds equal 0.1 per cent of myki's $282 million total fare box in that period.
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Ticketing authority chief executive Bernie Carolan said much of the overcharging was caused by error that stemmed from running myki concurrently with the old Metcard system. He said that myki's technical operator, Kamco, identified the error in September, and overcharging had since dropped off.

"In June 2012, the percentage of reimbursements due to fare calculation error was just 0.06 per cent of the total myki fare box and it is expected that this will continue to decline as more refinements are made," Mr Carolan said.

"We certainly don't want passengers to be paying more for their fare than required, but we have to be realistic, this is a large and complex fare calculation and collection system and from time to time there will be glitches."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fare-go-myki-forks-out-620000-in-refunds-20120730-23agj.html

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Myki flaw risks credit card security

Myki flaw risks credit card security
August 8, 2012
Adam Carey

FEARS have emerged that myki vending machines could compromise the credit card security of thousands of public transport users, because of a flaw in how the machines issue receipts.

Passengers who decline a printed receipt after topping up at a vending machine with a credit or EFTPOS card are automatically issued one anyway, often unwittingly leaving behind a receipt that includes their full name, nine digits of their credit card and the card's expiry date. Passengers who accept a receipt are automatically issued two copies.

The information on the receipts exceeds the guidelines that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission, and credit card companies, put in place to minimise the risk of unauthorised transactions.

The Transport Ticketing Authority admitted yesterday that the manner in which its myki vending machines issue receipts is flawed and says it is working to fix the problem. The Age is not aware of any cases of fraud or information theft that have arisen from the flaw.

But consumer and commuter advocates say the authority has failed to do all it could to protect myki users' privacy and financial security, and should fix the system urgently.

Gerard Brody of the Consumer Action Law Centre said ASIC's voluntary guidelines for electronic payments were the best protection Australian consumers had when using credit cards, and a government-sponsored system such as myki ought to meet them. The guidelines warn against including card expiry dates on receipts. ''If the information [on the receipts] did result in an unauthorised transaction then I think a consumer would have a good claim against myki for any loss that was incurred,'' Mr Brody said.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said the system was illogical.

''In many cases, people don't realise a receipt has been issued and simply walk away ... The way the receipts work is completely illogical. It is at odds to what people expect, and what is common practice for other retailers. If someone says they don't want a receipt, the system should not print them a receipt. If there is a requirement to print a receipt, then don't offer people the choice,'' Mr Bowen said.

Transport Ticketing Authority chief executive Bernie Carolan said the information on the receipts complied with the electronic funds transfer code of conduct, but that it was ''investigating the possibility of reducing the amount of personal information that is provided''.

Mr Carolan said the authority was working to change the system so that no receipt is printed when a passenger selects ''no''. ''The TTA originally believed that the majority of customers would want to have an EFTPOS receipt to verify their transaction. Real-world experience has shown that many customers do not collect the receipt and leave it in the machine,'' he said.

The myki ticketing system now accounts for 85 per cent of public transport validations. About 90 per cent of train and tram travellers use myki.

Metro last month recorded its best ever monthly performance result for Melbourne's trains, running 92.35 per cent of them on time. Only 1.46 per cent of trains were cancelled, the best result since January 2005.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/security-it/myki-flaw-risks-credit-card-security-20120807-23s9f.html

...The myki ticketing system now accounts for 85 per cent of public transport validations.
About 90 per cent of train and tram travellers use myki ...

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Challenge to myki review in court

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

ALP 'did not investigate myki problems' in planning stage

ALP 'did not investigate myki problems' in planning stage
August 22, 2012 Adam Carey

THE former state Labor government failed to properly investigate other smartcard ticket systems around the world when preparing to introduce myki, leading to a costly underestimation of the project's complexity, a state inquiry has heard.

The myki ticket system was initially supposed to be running by March 2007, but more than five years later it is still being introduced at a total cost of $1.52 billion - more than half the cost of NASA's recent Mars mission.

Transport Ticketing Authority chief executive Bernie Carolan said the authority and the former government should have looked more closely at the problems other systems had struck. ''There wasn't so much effort, with hindsight, in taking jurisdictional soundings ... either elsewhere in Australia or overseas to canvass the pitfalls of implementing a new smartcard system,'' Mr Carolan told a hearing at State Parliament.

''There were some examples that could have been looked at, and some lessons may have been learnt,'' he said.

This oversight during the planning phase early last decade was behind an ''extremely optimistic, and in hindsight, wrong'' expectation that myki would replace the Metcard ticket system in 2007.

''The project was conceived of in a heady era when Metcard was extremely controversial in its own right,'' he said. ''It was known that other transport systems were heading towards smartcard systems, so the thought was, 'the sooner we do it, the better'.''

Metcard will not be fully phased out until the end of this year, and the government's contract with its operator OneLink will not expire until mid-2013. By then OneLink will have been paid about $270 million more than was budgeted for in 2005.

Other cost blowouts relate to software changes and the purchase of new myki equipment to meet a 50 per cent increase in public transport patronage in recent years, Mr Carolan said.

It was little understood when myki developer Kamco was awarded the $500 million contract to roll out the system in 2005 that the project would primarily be ''a software exercise''.

''A project can be put in a box and defined,'' Mr Carolan said. ''Public transport ticketing is not like that, it's forever changing - we build more train stations, change the tariffs, introduce more buses.''

In a report last November the Victorian Ombudsman attacked the state's handling of major information and communication technology (ICT) projects, including myki, saying there was too much acceptance of cost blowouts.

The Baillieu government initially considered scrapping myki, but opted to keep the troubled system with modifications after a review by accounting firm Deloitte found abandoning it would cost the state $1 billion.

Mr Carolan told the hearing no one on the Transport Ticketing Authority board had read the Deloitte review, which the government is fighting in the Supreme Court to keep secret.

But he said the board had been briefed on the report, which has recommended to do away with short-term tickets and to not install myki ticket machines on trams.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/alp-did-not-investigate-myki-problems-in-planning-stage-20120821-24kna.html

[ozbob]

From the Herald Sun click here!

Myki fare system too complex, says Kamco chief Greg Purdy

Myki fare system too complex, says Kamco chief Greg Purdy
Ashley Gardiner
Herald Sun
August 22, 2012 3:50PM

THE former state government's myki contract was flawed from the start, according to the company that won the right to build the smartcard.

Kamco chief executive Greg Purdy today told a parliamentary inquiry that the contract did not set the requirements for the project.

"The requirement specifications from the outset was very, very poor," Mr Purdy said.

"The root of the whole situation goes back to the requirements not being specified.

"The contract ... was an outcomes-based contract rather than a requirements-based contract."

Mr Purdy was giving evidence to the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the decision-making surrounding major infrastructure projects.
Herald Sun Digital Pass

"Given the system complexity that was being undertaken at the time, it would have been better served by both parties ... to have invested more heavily in the beginning to flesh out the requirements before the system had started to be developed," Mr Purdy said.

The then-government took two years to present the requirements on how it wanted the fare system to work under myki, he said.

"It was two years into the system development that the government actually tabled the fares and ticketing manual," Mr Purdy said.

"So, when the fares and ticketing manual came along, which underpinned how the government wanted the system to operate, it was different in people's minds, and therefore, those requirements then had to be written down and agreed."

Mr Purdy said the fare system was complex, and myki could have been cheaper and delivered more quickly had it been simplified.

He said the initial timeline, which included delivery by 2007, was overly optimistic.

The myki fares replicated a range of Metcard products, including a range of times, zones and concessions.

"To translate that in to an automated system, you have immense complexity in software," Mr Purdy said.

"They are all complexities that I think could have been really thought through."

Despite the problems, the system was now operating successfully.

"This system is well bedded-in and is working very well," Mr Purdy said.

Mr Purdy's evidence follows that of Transport Ticketing Authority chief executive Bernie Carolan yesterday.

He said that the then Government failed to learn the lessons from mistakes made elsewhere when setting up the myki smartcard.

Mr Carolan also said the early plans for the smartcard were flawed.

[somebody]

Hear here.  But it could have been worse.  *cough* Sydney *cough*

[somebody]

Myki bill mounts as fare evasion adds $350m to tally

Date
    August 29, 2012 - 12:11PM

Adam Carey

Myki is set to cost Victoria another $350 million, with the Auditor-General blaming a sharp rise in fare evasion on the transition to the beleaguered smartcard ticketing system.

In a report tabled in State Parliament today, outgoing Auditor-General Des Pearson said the state would have to cover an estimated $350 million shortfall in public transport revenue caused by fare evasion since myki was introduced in 2009.

The government's contracts with Metro and Yarra Trams guarantee that the private operators will realise their forecasts of fare revenue from the start of myki until a year after Metcard tickets stop being sold.

Mr Pearson also lashed the Department of Transport for its failure to react to the myki-led spike in fare evasion.

"The gradual rise in fare evasion before the end of 2009, the imminent introduction of myki and the suspension of revenue risk sharing should have triggered greater departmental oversight," Mr Pearson wrote.

"Instead of being proactive in mitigating these risks, the department reacted too slowly to the fall in enforcement that was apparent from the first half of 2010."

The department instructed Metro and Yarra Trams to take a lenient approach to myki-related fare evasion during its early transition, but the operators also applied this leniency to Metcards, Mr Pearson said.

The department "did not adequately deal with the situation from December 2009 when new operators were implementing myki without bearing any fare revenue risk, while believing that the government wanted them to be more lenient with fare evaders".

Between 2005 and mid-2008, the percentage of passengers without a valid ticket fell from 13.5 per cent to a low of 7.8 per cent. But these gains had been wiped out by the first half of 2011, with a return to an overall fare evasion rate of 13.5 per cent. Since this time overall fare evasion has fallen to 11.6 per cent in the first half of the year.

The report casts doubt over previous claims from public transport authorities that they were cracking down on fare evasion.

In August 2009, then Metlink chief Bernie Carolan, who now runs the Transport Ticketing Authority, said authorities had committed to tackling the problem in a move reflected by falls in fare evasion.

But the report found that a year before this statement fare evasion had started to soar.

The growth of fare evasion on trams has been the major contributor to the overall trend between July 2008 and June 2011. In that time, trams accounted for 72 per cent of revenue lost due to fare evasion, trains accounted for 19 per cent, and buses 9 per cent.

With Reid Sexton

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/it-pro/government-it/myki-bill-mounts-as-fare-evasion-adds-350m-to-tally-20120829-24zuf.html#ixzz24uxUezH6

[ozbob]

Twitter

3h  PTUA ‏@ptua

Fare evasion and #Myki - will it get worse? Ch10: Ch7: http://au.news.yahoo.com/video/vic/watch/30436937/transport-cheats-costing-taxpayers-millions/ ABC: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-29/fare-evasion-rife2c-report-says/4230228 #SpringSt

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Fare evasion with the go card is a significant issue too.  Promised as a panacea to fare evasion early in the roll out process, it is far from it.

[somebody]

Fare evasion with the go card is a significant issue too.  Promised as a panacea to fare evasion early in the roll out process, it is far from it.

Worse than before?  I'd be very surprised if that was the case.

One of the issues is the failure to man gates for longer hours.  I've been down to the Gold Coast and no one was manning the gates at Helensvale.  I know of one person they would have caught.  Gates unmanned at Toowong at 7pm on a weekday?  What was ever the point of putting them in?

[Golliwog]

The gates at Ferny Grove have been in for a little while now. Still have some bugs with one of the readers having an out of order sign. Some also have slow read times.

In terms of manning though, it's a bit sketchy. There is sometimes someone there, sometimes not. It doesn't help that on one side of the gates is an open glass door that anyone can use, and the other side is only partly blocked off with some orange construction poles/markers.

[ozbob]

Myki & Oyster together

While Myki readers refuse to read if there is another card in range ("Multiple Cards Detected") there is no such problem with Oyster readers

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

No myki? No go. Time runs out for Metcard

No myki? No go. Time runs out for Metcard
September 13, 2012 - 10:57AM Adam Carey

Myki will become the only ticket valid for Melbourne's public transport system on December 29.

Metcard validating machines on trams will be switched off the day before, and Metcards will cease to be sold at train stations by the end of October.

More than 85 per cent of public transport users already use Myki, up from 20 per cent at the start of the year.

Transport Ticketing Authority chief Bernie Carolan said the biggest remaining challenge lay in convincing the one-in-four bus passengers that still use Metcard to switch.

The time to switch is now, he said.

He warned there would be no grace period for people travelling without a myki from December 29.

"From the middle of November customers with unused Metcards will be able to transfer them to a myki as myki money at their local staffed station at no cost," Mr Carolan said.

Remaining dual Metcard/myki ticket barriers at railway stations will begin to be removed at the same time, with most Metcard validating machines expected to be gone before the end of the year.

''The process of removing Metcard equipment from railway stations over the coming months will have its challenges, but is made easier with the bulk of passengers already using myki,'' Mr Carolan said.

''Progressively from mid-November through December we will be revisiting all suburban stations and starting to withdraw those validators and repair the station environment and in some cases replace the validators with new myki equipment,'' he said.

''So on a station-by-station basis at that point people will not be able to validate a Metcard. They will still be able to use one if it has been validated on a bus or a tram.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/no-myki-no-go-time-runs-out-for-metcard-20120913-25tns.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Police handed data on myki users

[ozbob]

Warning to those heading to #MelbourneCup via @metrotrains: There are huge queues at the Myki machines in the city. twitter.com/3AW693/status/...

— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) November 6, 2012

[ozbob]

Twitter

Marcus Wong ‏@aussiewongm

The only thing #Myki got right at the Melbourne Cup: http://railgallery.wongm.com/myki/E110_1414.jpg.html ...

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Click here --> A bank of 18 myki FPDs at one exit of Flemington Racecourse platform 2

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> State lags on cheap travel for students

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> Melbourne Cup racegoers slowed down by myki confusion

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> New myki card readers no faster

[#Metro]

Go Card is definitely much faster response time. Don't know why Myki recongition is so slow.
Also you swipe go card, myki you hold still...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Daniel Bowen ‏@danielbowen

Very funny: Hitler finds out #Myki won't be on Vline til 2013 ... [Language warning] (via @themykiuser)

[somebody]

"Opal can't be any worse, can it?"  Is that an accidental joke, or deliberate?

Quite funny.

[ozbob]

A bit  the Opal comment ...

Hilarious vid, had tears of mirth ....

[ozbob]

Twitter

PTUA ‏@ptua

Petition for a single use ticket option off to a good start, with 377 signed so far... jump on board: http://mykisingles.com

[Gazza]

And here at RBoT we want to get rid of paper /short term tickets 

Im actually really excited to see what happens when it goes myki only. Gives us a benchmark.

Plus a side of me loves seeing people brought kicking and screaming into the 21st century by being forced onto Myki.

Reminds me of when they got rid of toll booths here in Brisbane and people were saying "Oh but what about such and such".
And I was thinking to myself "Btch plz, Melbourne was Etag only in 1999."

[ozbob]

Melbourne is a bit different Gazza.  Trams are the issue.

No problems removing paper in Brisbane providing pre-loaded go cards are sold on all buses.

If they put myki ticket machines (preloaded card vending machines) on the trams not an issue. 
There are near on 200 million passenger trips on trams annually in Melbourne, so not a simple issue.

[somebody]

No problems removing paper in Brisbane providing pre-loaded go cards are sold on all buses.

Agree with that, but it is not at all clear that go cards will be sold on buses in Brisbane.

[ozbob]

It is time that BT joined the real world.

An occasional sale of a preloaded card is a lot less onerous for all than constant paper ticket sales.  No major change issues.  They can carry $10 adult $5 concession.  Don't see what the issue is other than grandstanding to be honest.

I think most drivers would be keen to give paper the flick ...

[HappyTrainGuy]

Having used the 680 the other day I reckon some of them are ready to give onboard top ups the flick haha.

[ozbob]

Onboard topups are not a major issue out here on Westside.  Actually quicker than ticket sales most times.

I don't think we will see topups onboard BT buses though.

[somebody]

Onboard topups are not a major issue out here on Westside.  Actually quicker than ticket sales most times.

I don't think we will see topups onboard BT buses though.

Ticket sales are pretty bad though!

Removing paper but having go card sales & topups could be done with a lock box for the money not openable by the driver and no change given.  Safety issue relates to theft of the float.  Not sure why there would be sales but no topups.

Having used the 680 the other day I reckon some of them are ready to give onboard top ups the flick haha.

Which is why I still say there should be a fee for onboard top ups.  Perhaps sales too.

[Golliwog]

No change given was the norm in Nottingham. The drivers console had a slot where you dropped your coins (no notes, which was annoying) which had a plastic side so the driver could see what you'd paid, which he could then drop into the money box once it was enough for the fare.

[Gazza]

Melbourne is a bit different Gazza.  Trams are the issue.

No problems removing paper in Brisbane providing pre-loaded go cards are sold on all buses.

If they put myki ticket machines (preloaded card vending machines) on the trams not an issue. 
There are near on 200 million passenger trips on trams annually in Melbourne, so not a simple issue.

Trams are an expensive one to fix, due to there being close to 500 rolling around, thats a lot of machines to install and maintain.
If you wanted to have machines at stops, that means thousands of machines required.

Personally, I'd do something like what you see in London...Simple dispensers  that can spit out a preloaded Oyster card with exact change.

Very easy to just stock them up.


http://www.sagetraveling.com/clientfiles/image/London/OverviewPics/Tips/ST300_IMG_1868.JPG

[ozbob]

That is the sort of thing they need on the trams Gazza.

The met card machines are quite bulky and they managed to put them on and maintain them on the trams.  Rumour has it there is myki equipment in the ware house but they just don't want to roll them out.  This issue is going cause grief in Melbourne, I expect it will be changed.  There is even talk of conductors coming back, but not sure that will happen.

Fare evasion on trams is high now, will only get worse I expect.

http://terryk.net/blog/2012/10/09/no-more-ticket-sales-on-trams/

On December 29th, Metcard is out of here. But the plan by the former Labor state government was to replace the Metcard machines with new myki machines similar to the myki machines at stations. These myki machines on trams would have allowed you to top up your myki cards on board trams or even buy an individual 2 hour or daily ticket. They would have accepted notes, ending a long standing complaint by tram users that existing machines accept coins only. Furthermore, myki machines at stations would have also sold individual 2 hour or daily tickets.

The Baillieu government decided not to proceed with myki machines on trams or individual 2 hour or daily tickets. This means you will not be able to top up your myki cards on trams or buy any 2 hour or daily tickets at train stations or on board trams or buses.

While the removal of Metcard is now overdue and has to happen, the decision to not introduce the myki top up/ticket vending machines for trams (which are now probably sitting in some warehouse or something) and the removal of individual 2 hour and daily tickets must be reversed.

The Baillieu government doesn't have to introduce the RFID cardboard tickets planned by the former Labor government. They could simply print them on the same paper the machines print receipts on. This is what is done by TransPerth and could be done in Victoria.