Saturday, February 12, 2011

Simplifying the Myki ticket system

Media reports indicate that the new Victorian government is considering scrapping or modifying the Myki transport ticket system. The contact-less smart card system has had problems with capacity.

MyKi was modified so that most tram commuter do not need to "touch off" the card at the end of their journey. It is likely this change would be extended to short journeys in other transport modes. This will make the system more like Istanbul's Akbil electronic ticketing system, which simply charges a fixed amount for a journey.

Canberra's ACT government run ACTION bus system is introducing a "MyWay" smart card touch on - touch off system. This was due to commence in the second half of 2010. The card readers have been installed on buses, but tickets have not yet been issued. This is resulting in a loss of revenue, as some buses have had the old ticket system replaced with MyWay, resulting in passengers with old tickets getting a free ride.

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