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=== Fare calculation ===
=== Fare calculation ===
The myki system is designed to calculate the "Best Fare" for a commuter (i.e., if you travel more than once in a day, your 2-hourly fare will become a daily, being cheaper than 2 x 2-hourly fares). This automatic "Best Fare" system applies only up to daily fares. Periodicals of up to 365 days can be pre-loaded using value-adding machines.
The myki system is designed to calculate the best fare for a commuter based on the amount of use. Thus, for example, once a card is used during more than one 2-hour period in a day it will be charged as a daily fare, rather than multiple 2-hourly fares. This best fare system applies up to daily fares. Longer periods of up to one year, at special rates, can be pre-loaded onto the card using value-adding machines prior to travel.


== Discovery centres ==
== Discovery centres ==

Revision as of 08:10, 16 July 2009

For places, see Myki, Greece and Myki, Poland.

Template:Future public transportation

myki
File:Myki Logo.png
myki's tagline is "myki it's your key"
Roll-out period
2007-2010[1]
Prior System
Metcard (Metropolitan areas)

Paper tickets (Regional rail and bus)

Issuing Authority
Transport Ticketing Authority
Areas supported
Services supported
Official myki website

myki (IPA: [maɪki]) (pronounced My-Key) is the name of the contactless smartcard ticketing system currently being introduced on public transport in Victoria, Australia. myki is designed to replace a number of ticket systems in Victoria, primarily the current Metcard (metropolitan Melbourne) and V/Line (regional) ticketing systems.

myki is already operating on bus services in Geelong (including the Bellarine Peninsula), Ballarat, Bendigo, Seymour, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Warragul. It will also operate on rail services throughout Victoria and bus and tram services in Melbourne. The Skybus Super Shuttle Melbourne Airport service (with its own, premium fares) will also accept myki. The myki system is being provided by Kamco (Keane Australia Micropayment Consortium), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American company Keane Inc.[2]

History

Work on a replacement public ticketing system in Victoria commenced in Late 2002 when the Department of Infrastructure erected a display of smartcard ticketing systems by various vendors were put on display at Flinders Street Station.[3] In June 2003 the Transport Ticketing Authority was established to procure and manage a new system,[4] with a request for tenders for what was then called the 'New Ticketing Solution' were released in July 2004.[5]

The request for tender closed in October 2004, with ten tender offers were received from six bidders, with four bids short-listed in December 2004.[6] In March 2005 two companies had been short-listed for the final stage of the tender process: Keane Corporation (with Ascom and Downer Engineering) and Manta.T (with ADI Limited, MTR Corporation and Thales).[7]

On July 12, 2005 the Kamco consortium was selected to develop the system, winning a $494 million contract due for completion by 2007. The consortium was made up of Keane Inc, Ascom, ERG, and Giesecke & Devrient Australasia.[8] The tender process was the subject of a number of probity concerns in December 2007, with the Victorian Auditor-General Des Pearson requesting police investigate the leak of tender documents. Draft reports from the Auditor-General's investigation referred to backdated documents and inconsistent treatment of bidders,[9] but independent reports by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and Avanti Consulting in 2005, as well as the Victorian Auditor-General found that the integrity of the tender process had not been compromised.[10]

The system began with a pilot program, that was due to begin in early 2007,[11] but was delayed by approximately a year.[12] More than 20,000 pieces of equipment have since been installed, with civil engineering works continuing.[13] A majority of the metropolitan Melbourne bus and tram fleet has had its wiring completed.[citation needed]

In February 2008 Victorian Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky announced that the full roll out of the system would not begin until the end of the year.[14] By March the same year, the minister said that the system would not be operational until 2010.[15] In April 2008, the Transport Ticketing Authority announced that it had stopped paying service payments to the Kamco consortium after April 2007, as a result of the project not being delivered on schedule.[16]

The first field trial of myki was held on the Geelong bus network in late 2007. The trial identified problems with "front office" computer software.[17] In May 2008 Kamco conducted Regional Bus Pilot 1 in Geelong, where ninety percent of tests were passed. According to Kamco's report on Regional Bus Pilot 1, it demonstrated "Essential onbus activities such as scan on and scan off, top up myki, purchase of short-term tickets using cash or myki money, driver log on / off, route and shift selection and GPS connectivity and accuracy performed well. Back office processes and operational procedures such as end-to-end data transaction flows, generation of reports, training, communications, installation and commissioning were generally good. The operator (McHarry's Buslines) was pleased with the NTS training, performance and ease of use of the myki solution." Further field tests across other transport modes during the second half of 2008, including an additional test on regional buses were planned.[18]

In August 2008 testing began on the Melbourne suburban train and tram networks. The train tests involved Kamco staff at East Camberwell, Canterbury, Chatham and Mont Albert stations,[19] while on trams special services on route 86 not open to normal fare-paying passengers were used. These tests were all single mode, with multi-modal trips to be tried at a later date.[20]

On 12 December 2008 myki went on sale to the general public on four bus routes in Geelong,[21] and in March 2009 all bus routes in the Geelong and Bellarine Peninsula area had been completely switched to myki.[22]

In April 2009 all bus services in Ballarat, Bendigo and Seymour were converted to myki.[23][24][25] In May 2009 all bus services in the Latrobe Valley towns of Moe, Morwell, Traralgon and Warragul were operating with myki equipment, the last regional area to be converted.[26]

In May 2009 installation of myki readers began on trams, and in June 2009 the first myki vending machines appeared at metropolitan rail stations. Their screens read "Getting ready for myki".

Usage

Trial myki fare payment device installed into a bus in Geelong

In metropolitan Melbourne, myki fares will continue to be based on the time-zone fares currently used under the Metcard system. Instead of purchasing tickets and validating them for a specific time period, re-chargeable myki cards will store an amount of "myki money", which is deducted automatically as the card passes the touch on and touch off points. The system has "2 hour" and "daily" caps, and amounts deducted from the card will automatically adjust to these caps and to the zones travelled. The cards may also store passes for a certain number of days ("myki pass").

myki cards and top-ups will be able to be purchased from:

  • myki machines at all Metro Trains Melbourne train stations, various V/Line stations tram super stops and selected bus interchanges
  • the Internet (www.myki.com.au)
  • myki info line
  • certain Australia Post offices
  • network of retail outlets, mainly 7-Eleven[27]

myki will need to be topped up as the stored value diminishes along the way. One can also register a myki account and have it linked to a bank account to automatically top up when the stored value reaches a certain level.

As customers travel with myki they touch on at the beginning of their journey and touch off at the end at fare payment devices called myki card readers. myki can be scanned through a wallet or purse, but the wallet or purse needs to held against the reader as scanning only works occasionally or not at all when the card is in a pocket, laptop bag or handbag. If myki is not touched off at the completion of a journey a default maximum fare is likely to be charged. The equivalent of touching off at the end of a journey is necessary for some rail journeys currently (i.e inserting Metcard at stations with barriers), but touching off at the end of a tram or bus journey is optional[citation needed].

The Minister for Public Transport has instructed the TTA to focus the application of myki for transport fare payment before endeavouring on other retail concepts.[28]

Card types

A short term myki ticket made of cardboard

Many users can choose to register their myki or elect to have it remain anonymous.

  • Anonymous: The Transport Ticketing Authority (TTA) will have no personal information.
  • Registered: The TTA will have some personal information. Lets you have a personalised card and protects the balance on the card if it is lost or stolen. How much personal information depends on how you top up your card and whether or not you have your name and/or photograph on the card.

mykis may also be:

  • Concession: for customers with a valid concession status. Earlier plans for the concession myki to be issued only on submitting an application form with photo and proof of concession status appear not to have been implemented.
  • Full fare: for customers without concession status.

There will also be the option of purchasing a temporary, disposable short term ticket which is valid for travel on the day of purchase only.

Fare calculation

The myki system is designed to calculate the best fare for a commuter based on the amount of use. Thus, for example, once a card is used during more than one 2-hour period in a day it will be charged as a daily fare, rather than multiple 2-hourly fares. This best fare system applies up to daily fares. Longer periods of up to one year, at special rates, can be pre-loaded onto the card using value-adding machines prior to travel.

Discovery centres

myki discovery centre at Southern Cross

A roaming discovery centre, a specially designed semi-trailer is touring various locations throughout Victoria for public and staff familiarisation.

A second stationary discovery centre is located at Southern Cross Station. It was opened by Minister for Transport, Lynne Kosky on Thursday, 8 March 2007. The centre was then open to the general public from Friday, 9 March 2007.[29]

According to Minister Kosky's announcement, the site at Southern Cross Station includes "... a series of interactive, visual, auditory and tactile activities including staff demonstrations, DVD displays and interactive learning experiences."[29]

The Southern Cross Station centre is open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday, and 10am-4pm on weekends. As an educational facility, the discovery centre will be open for approximately 12 months, though its role may change during and after that time as the Transport Ticketing Authority begin to issue mykis.

The site costs $100,000 a year to rent from the station authority.[30]

Benefits

The proposed system is intended to have the following benefits:

  • It will calculate the "best fare" (i.e. the fare deemed most economical).
  • One card for both regional and metropolitan for broader usage.
  • Future uses as a monetary value device and "epurse" to pay for non-travel expenses such as parking and vending machines.
  • Has no moving parts to any part of the ticket system, to reduce maintenance costs of future installations.
  • The myki card can be topped up away from the public transport system, eliminating the requirement for cash and reducing queues at vending machines and on buses.

As the program has not yet been released, it is not yet confirmed whether these changes will actually have the effects on the system claimed by the ticketing authority. It is expected that early in the system's release, surveys will be performed to confirm the success of the program's release.

Criticism

The myki ticketing system has been criticised on a number of grounds:

  • A total cost of around 1.35 billion dollars. $494 million for start up and $50-55 million per year to run the system along with other associated costs[31]
  • Government is continuing to pay for the existing Metcard system.[32] This is done to ensure commuters have a chance to switch over to myki, before Metcard is removed from the transport network.
  • Fewer outlets as the retailer commissions currently proposed are lower than the existing Metcard.[27][33] This is mitigated by the need of not having to buy tickets when needed, as so long as you have a myki card, you will be able to travel.
  • Controversies over the tendering process. A staff member of the Transport Ticketing Authority left a 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.[34] Also, the company hired by the TTA early in the process to give it technical advice is part of the winning consortium.[35] 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, although these concerns were not included in the Auditor's report to Parliament as they were said to be unsupported by the evidence.[36]
  • Inconvenience: Having to touch on and touch off, when Melbourne already has difficulty getting all of its public transport users to validate once. The government claims that with scanning being much easier, this should not be a problem. The Public Transport Users Association's Daniel Bowen has commented that current users of the Metcard technology are already not validating on each boarding, meaning the users of the myki system that do not tag-off may suffer maximum fare deduction as a penalty.
  • Increased dwell times: It has been alleged that the tag on/tag off process will take longer than the current Metcard validation process, resulting in slower tram services.[37] The same issue is likely to also apply to bus services. This has since been corrected with revisions made to underlying software. Validation occurs in less time than with Metcard.
  • Necessity: Critics, such as the PTUA, ask why a new ticketing system is needed, when Melbourne already has a relatively adequate one. Furthermore, current Metcard validating equipment has built-in support for a contactless validating mechanism (the yellow circles on the front of current Metcard machines, as well as on TVM's).[38] This contactless equipment found on Metcard machines are non open source, and RF cards are already made obsolete by manufacturer Texas Instruments. Myki is adaptable for use from any supply manufacturer.
  • As one "long term card", should one lose their card, its monetary value is great and so the potential loss is also great (the implications are obviously greater for an anonymous user rather than a registered or concession user due to the difficulty of a person using a card with someone else's photograph). This is mitigated by the options of buying short-term mykis and by being able to 'claim' credit back off a registered myki if it is lost. It is scrutinised though, as the myki ticket serves almost like a contact-less credit card, holding monetary value. The smartcard itself can function without being removed from a wallet even bags etc. However, by registering the card, the value can always be protected.
  • Uncertainty: The final cost of a trip where the user has not touched off (deliberately or due to accident) has not yet been released. However, the fare is not proposed to exceed the cost of a 2 hour, Zone 1+2 ticket ($4.74). The default fare may be increased by the conductor on V/line services where a customer is making a journey that exceeds the fare level.
  • Disability Access: 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 fine hand control) due to the height of several pieces of equipment.[39] On low floor trams, validators have been installed at various heights to cater for this.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Myki ticket system delayed again". ABC News. www.abc.net.au. March 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  2. ^ Keane - Victoria’s Transport Ticketing Authority Selects Keane to Deliver Us$367 Million Next-Generation Ticketing System - July 12, 2005
  3. ^ "Metcard - The Flinders Street Display". Victorian Public Transport Ticketing. www.robx1.net. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  4. ^ "Public transport - Transport Ticketing Authority". www.transport.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  5. ^ "New Ticketing Solution - Tenders called". Victorian Public Transport Ticketing. www.robx1.net. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  6. ^ "Victoria attracts global players in Smartcard ticketing" (PDF). Media Release: Transport Ticketing Authority. Mirrored at www.robx1.net. December 20, 2004. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  7. ^ "Smartcard ticketing tender moves to final decision stage" (PDF). Media Release: Transport Ticketing Authority. Mirrored at www.robx1.net. March 17, 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  8. ^ "SMARTCARD TICKETING TAKES MAJOR STEP FORWARD". Media Release: OFFICE OF THE PREMIER. www.dpc.vic.gov.au. July 12, 2005. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  9. ^ Australian Associated Press (December 18, 2007). "Doubts raised over Vic ticket tender". The Age. news.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  10. ^ "Transport Ticketing Authority Welcomes Audit Report". www.myki.com.au. 2007-10-31. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  11. ^ myki website: FAQ
  12. ^ Australia’s smart card inquiry report released - November 1 2007
  13. ^ The Age: Opposition slams myki report - November 1, 2007
  14. ^ David Rood (February 5, 2008). "Smartcard runs two years late". The Age. www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  15. ^ Australian Associated Press (March 25, 2008). "Smartcard system may face two-year delay". The Age. news.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  16. ^ Ferguson, John (2008-04-15). "Myki payment withheld". Herald Sun. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  17. ^ The Age: Passengers face $500m ticket chaos - 2 March 2008
  18. ^ Regional Bus Pilot 1 (RBP1) Summary Report
  19. ^ Ashley Gardiner (August 8, 2008). "Myki smartcard put to test". Australian IT. www.australianit.news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  20. ^ Ashley Gardiner (August 18, 2008). "Smart card tests to begin on trams this week". Herald Sun. www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  21. ^ Channel 7 News (12 Dec 2008 - reporter Andrew Lunn)
  22. ^ Ashley Gardiner (March 02, 2009). "Geelong&squo;s public transport switches to myki smartcard system". Herald Sun. www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2009-05-28. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  23. ^ "New ticket system starting next week". The Courier. thecourier.com.au. March 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  24. ^ "Myki shrouded in secrecy". The Courier. www.thecourier.com.au. February 13, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  25. ^ "Glitch makes myki a bit dear". The Advertiser. www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au. May 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  26. ^ "Media Release : Morwell buses to make smart ticketing move". www.myki.com.au. May 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  27. ^ a b Herald Sun: Newsagents vow they won't sell it - January 03, 2008
  28. ^ Moynihan, Stephen (2007-09-29). "Transport cash card plan axed". The Age. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
  29. ^ a b "MYKI DISCOVERY CENTRE OPENS AT SOUTHERN CROSS STATION". Media Release: MINISTER FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT. www.dtf.vic.gov.au. March 8, 2007. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  30. ^ Suzanne Carbone (May 12, 2008). "How the brilliant myki system loses more dosh". The Age. www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
  31. ^ Myki transport ticket system could now two years late | Herald Sun
  32. ^ Lucas, Clay (April 25, 2008). "Smart card delays fill ticket giant's coffers". The Age.
  33. ^ Newsagency software blog - Post details: Newsagents vow they won't sell it
  34. ^ Herald Sun: Notes get OK for tram fares - September 8th, 2006
  35. ^ AAP 7th September, 2006, Taking the 'myki' with $500m smartcard
  36. ^ Ellen Whinnett and Ashley Gardiner (December 18, 2007). "Riddle on $500m train and tram ticketing system". Herald Sun. www.news.com.au. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  37. ^ Clay Lucas (March 3, 2009). "Smartcard not so smart for tram times". The Age. theage.com.au. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  38. ^ "Student Passes, Adult Yearlies and Employee Touchcards". The unofficial Metcard Website. www.robx1.net. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  39. ^ Herald Sun: Disabled miffed by ticket plan - July 24, 2007

Official

Unofficial

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