Myki

[Linto63]

Myki operator loses contract, new fare system on the way for commuters (The Age)

[Lt. Commander Data]

Myki operator loses contract, new fare system on the way for commuters (The Age)

Not mentioned in that small minded Melbourne-centric article, but Conduent (who won the new MyKi contract) is the company who do Adelaide's ticketing system. Now if only they could work an integrated card for multiple cities (although I suppose this is becoming redundant with the uptake of debit and credit card usage).

[Merc1107]

An integrated card would be nice... with how often I experience equipment misbehave, the last thing I want to do is give direct access to any of my bank accounts via card. I can foresee readers being the target for tech-savvy criminals - think of the number of transactions made by a fare gate at a City train station, and the potential for card skimming. Not possible with the old systems, whose stored credit is worthless outside of their intended usage area.

I'd also be very interested to hear what sort of processing fees various state transport entities are being charged, given the additional credit transactions going on.

[Linto63]

While many obviously prefer tap and go, it does add to delays. On the Opal network in Sydney, often debit / credit cards and smartphones won't work with some readers hence passengers bounce around to find one that works, and then there are the usual delays while people unlock phones etc. With a significant proportion of passengers still using traditional Opal cards, it is minimised, but if it were to be 100% of the population, it would be a more significant pain in the neck. Probably won't be a problem on Melbourne's buses seeing very few people appear to actually bother tapping on, but will cause some nice queues on other modes.

Maintaining a separate card system would be preferable, but then the people who make these decisions are probably not actually users of the system.

[Linto63]

9% increase for Victorian fares from 1 July,

Myki fares to rise to $10 a day from next weekend, including for V/Line tickets (ABC)

[Richard1207]

We already see a lot of fare evasion and the price increase will only encourage more of it. I find the article confusing as it says a single fare will increase from $3.35 to $3.60. The single fares are currently $4.60 for Zone 1 & $3.10 for Zone 2, so that makes no sense. What will a Zone 2 fare cost?

[Linto63]

Looks like somebody has got their wires crossed, $3.35 is the current concession weekend cap.

[Richard1207]

Thanks, that makes sense. The article wasn't clear.

[Richard1207]

I read that fares are going up in January but only the Zone 1 increase is mentioned, what about Zone 2? I asked PTV earlier today and couldn't even get a straightforward answer. PTV thinks that Zone 1 is the same as Zone 2 and its Journey Planner even shows a Zone 1 fare when travelling entirely in the Zone 1/2 overlap instead of the cheaper Zone 2 fare. How incompetent can PTV be?

[paulgersche]

According to the MYKI website, there is no (Just) Zone 1 Fare! It mentions prices for Zone 1+2, or Zone 2 only!

Regards,
Paul

[MotorOmnibus8562]

does anyone know if fares are going up in regional areas too? or is that not changing?

[Linto63]

PTV press release:

Public transport fares from 1 January 2024

Obviously the race to the bottom by both political parties at the last election with promises of fare reductions that would leave a bleeding heart lefty blushing, coupled with a government refusing to take its foot off the infrastructure spend despite the end of the low interest rate party, and an already eye watering amount of debt to service, is coming home to roost with Melbourne fares to be 15% higher in January than they were in June. Government trying to justify it by stating the rise is in line with the current inflation rate, but this is the rate for the full 12 months, with this rise coming on top of a 9% rise in July.