With fewer people using public transport and more working from home due to the COVID pandemic, public transport agencies need to do everything they can to encourage more people to use their services. An essential step is to make the ticketing and payment process as easy as possible. That means it needs to keep pace with emerging technology and trends.
Some agencies, such as Singapore’s Land Transport Authority, have done so. Others have not – the myki card system in Victoria falls into this category. The state government has announced a “best practice” system will replace myki when its operator’s contract expires later this year.
Myki represented state-of-the-art technology when it replaced paper tickets a decade or so ago. It’s the ticketing system for travelling on trains, trams and buses in Melbourne, on trains from Melbourne to certain regional destinations, and on buses in major regional centres. However, the system now clearly needs to be updated.
