Myki - Problems

Problems

• On 29 December 2009, confidence in management was shaken as Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky was unable to recall the phone number for commuters to buy a ticket, and a computer error resulted in over 1,600 people receiving new myki cards with their name incorrectly spelt or printed as 'anonymous'.
• Due to myki's protracted introduction, the government had to continually extend payments for the existing Metcard system alongside Myki. This is done to ensure commuters have a chance to switch over to myki, before Metcard is removed from the transport network.
• Newsagents refused to sell myki cards, because lower commissions are being offered by the government in comparison to Metcard.
• Controversies over the tendering process. A staff member of the Transport Ticketing Authority (TTA) left a USB flash drive in a room with representatives of one of the bidders. The TTA claims that this was an accident and that there was no secret information on the flash drive. Also, the company hired by the TTA early in the process, to give it technical advice, is part of the winning consortium. In late December 2007, it was revealed that investigators in the Auditor-General's office had uncovered serious probity concerns in the awarding of the contract to American IT firm Keane's Kamco consortium. However these concerns were not included in the Auditor's report to Parliament, as they were said to be unsupported by the evidence.
• Increased dwell times: role play tests, commissioned by the Government in 2007, detail longer stationary times for trams compared to the Metcard system, because of touch on and off delays, when boarding and disembarking.
• Inadequate card reader response times: The time it takes readers to respond to myki card is very variable and frequently too slow, and the situation has not improved noticeably since the system's introduction in 2009. Users often compare myki unfavourably to other smart-card ticketing systems in this regard.
• Potential for a higher fare charge if a user forgets to touch off: the final cost of a trip, after which the user has not touched off (deliberately or accidentally), may be higher than the best fare. For regional town buses the default fare may be as much as a two-zone fare. The default fare for Melbourne Metropolitan Train trips is a '2 Hour Zone 1+2' fare.
• No short-term ticket: The unexplained decision not to proceed with the planned introduction of short-term tickets in Melbourne, and to abolish them on regional city bus services, means that myki will be one of the world's only ticketing systems on which visitors and occasional users cannot buy a short-term ticket. It will also mean that short-term ticket machines already purchased become redundant, and tens of millions of stored short-term tickets will be pulped.
• There will be no myki ticket machines on trams, an option which is available under Metcard. The machines that were previously planned to be put on trams would have sold short-term tickets.
• Disability Access: Disability groups claim that several elements of the myki program will be problematic for users with a disability (particularly those who are in wheelchairs, have cognitive problems or who lack dexterity) due to the placement of several pieces of equipment. On low-floor trams, validators have been installed at various heights to cater for this. The state government has introduced a Free Access Travel Pass for users who are unable to use myki ticketing equipment.
• Faulty cards: A number of myki cards have had to be recalled. About 23 tertiary student mykis failed to activate A number of mykis were sent to deceased war veterans, and to war veterans who were eligible for free travel.
• Rules covering faulty cards: The Transport Ticketing Authority confirmed that a passenger who had a faulty myki card would need to buy a short-term ticket or have their myki card replaced if they want to travel. This replicates the existing rule for faulty Metcards. However short-term tickets are now not going to be introduced on the system.
• The online top-up system: Users reported that money paid via the myki website was taking a long time to appear in users accounts, or was not appearing at all.
• Auto top-up failure problem: When the auto top-up feature of myki fails, for whatever reason, the card is automatically frozen and must be mailed to myki to be reactivated. This highly inconvenient and slow process means the card is not available to the user for that time. Users have noted that the normal periodic renewal of a credit card can lead the myki system to refuse an auto top-up, a situation that does not affect other automatic payment processes.
• Ticket vending machines breach privacy: When passengers use an ATM card or credit card to top up their Myki at a vending machine, their privacy is compromised. The machine asks if you want a receipt and if you choose “yes”, it prints two. If you choose “no” it prints one anyway, with most of your credit card details on it. In many cases, people don't realise a receipt has been issued and walk away, leaving behind top-up receipts that include not just the transaction amount, but also their full name, most of their credit card number, and the card's expiry date.
• Vandalism: There have been widespread reports of damage to myki equipment—with up to 60% of machines being targeted by vandals. Damage to display screens on fare payment devices and card vending machines has been caused by heavy objects being used to smash them, often rendering the displays unusable. The most common form of vandalism is through marker pens obscuring screen elements and off-screen instructions or by scratching the screens with sharp objects. While myki readers will often still work despite surface vandalism, passengers might not be able to read the information displayed on the reader's screen.