The ACT's new transport minister has said she will not tolerate unclear explanations from the contractor in charge of Canberra's troubled public transport ticketing system, warning she has little patience for avoidable surprises.
Tara Cheyne said she had sought a meeting with NEC's new chief executive to discuss the MyWay+ system, which had a difficult launch and led to the censure of the minister responsible for its rollout.
Ms Cheyne also indicated the ACT government was not given advance warning that NEC would miss a deadline to keep the MyWay+ app available for users on newer Android systems.
The ACT Greens said the latest outage raised serious concerns about the ACT government's control over the system, which provides tickets and public transport information to passengers.
"If a major IT company responsible for maintaining a public transport app cannot keep pace with routine platform requirements, serious questions need to be asked about its performance and the government's oversight of the contract," the Greens spokesman on transport, Andrew Braddock, said.
Ms Cheyne told the Legislative Assembly she was a new transport minister but not a patient one.
"I am seeking a meeting with the new CEO of NEC. There are live, ongoing contractual negotiations underway and I don't wish to prejudice them, but I will certainly keep the Assembly updated to the extent that I can," Ms Cheyne told question time on Wednesday.
"But I would say that I have already had to spend, in the last two months, a considerable amount of time seeking clarity on MyWay+ matters, and my tolerance for avoidable surprises and unclear explanations is extremely limited."
Ms Cheyne was asked by the Greens to explain what issue had prevented real-time public transport information being displayed in the Android version of the MyWay+ app.
Two issues had affected the app, including one that was being resolved and another that required further investigation, she said.
But Ms Cheyne said she understood NEC did not give the ACT government advance warning the Android app would be unavailable while its developer worked to meet a deadline set by Google to meet specified targets to remain available for newer Android systems.
"What we know is the application did not meet the relevant requirement when Google's 31 August enforcement arrangements took effect. What I am still establishing is whether the available extension to 1 November was sought or obtained, and the precise chronology of the advice we received by NEC and its subcontractor, and how that was communicated," she said.
"I do expect a major technology contractor to anticipate routine platform requirements; to tell the territory early when there is a risk to customers; and to provide clear and technically accurate explanations when something goes wrong."
Ms Cheyne, who was last week censured by the Assembly over her handling of public libraries, said there were still commercial and contractual matters being worked through by the government and NEC and saying anything about the process might prejudice the ACT's position.
"While I cannot prejudge the territory's contractual position, it certainly does not prevent me from demanding an explanation and expecting better performance," she said.
"I think NEC should be aware that I will be forensic in my understanding of the issues, and how they are engaging with the territory - as Transport Canberra is already aware that I am forensic in how it is managing its contract with NEC.
"I look forward to having a very frank and robust conversation with the CEO of NEC soon."
