Some people seem to be a little paranoid about this:
There is no requirement to provide a name and address to get a Myki card.
You can buy a full fare Myki card from a vending machine. No details given, using cash or credit/debit/EFTPOS card to pay.
You can buy a full fare or concession Myki card from a station booking office or retail outlet, using cash or card to pay. No details given.
You can buy a full fare or concession Myki card online using a card to pay. Obviously they need your details to mail out the card. They then delete those details after the card has been sent. If you don’t trust them on this, use one of the above options.
People can choose to register their name and address to a Myki card. That means if the card is lost, it can be blocked and the balance transferred to a new card. It also means you can view the account online — however you can do online topups even with an anonymous card.
So if you’re concerned about your details and don’t want to give them to the Transport Ticketing Authority, you don’t have to.
18 replies on “#Myki myths 4: You have to give them your name and address – No, you don’t”
Every myki also comes with a free tin foil hat.
there is a large number of unregistered MYki’s that are being found on our buses. some have had over $20 credit on them. unfortunately because there not Registered we cant return them to people. maybe this might be the way the Victorian Government might recoop some of the money they forked out for Myki due to people not using all their credit.
It’s good that myki-holders can remain anonomous. But I wonder why some people don’t want to register their myki in their name. What are they concerned about?
I have a Myki I bought from a machine. How do I register it?
@roger – personally, the idea of it just doesn’t sit well with me. Who I am and where I go is none of the TTA’s business. I strongly doubt they’d want (or be able to) use the information against me, but I still don’t want to give it to an organisation I don’t know and trust.
I have no problem with anyone else registering their myki. If you get value out of being able to view your travel history, that’s fine. And the ability to replace a lost or damaged card is handy.
I just like my privacy, and I’m prepared to absorb the cost of a lost myki and its credit in order to feel like I’m in control of my life.
I signed up for an “anonymous” myki when they were free. At the time they promised to delete the details after the card was sent. For about 18 months I only ever topped up at machines, then the first time I did an online payment I got an email confirming the payment.
So, perhaps the deletion is not as effective as they think?
As a life long victorian i still dont see why i need to pay for a myki it doesnt work for us occasional users who maybe use pt about 10 times a year. Ballieu fails now he is in power one term wonder .
@ Felix.
You register it by going to myki.com.au and click on the register. From there you enter the card number with your details.
The card number is the 15 digit number on the side of the card with the arts spire and the myki phone number. Registering is good because sometimes the system does stuff up and if they know you you are they can fix it easily on top of the other benefits if the card is lost.
I have never had an issue with a dispute except for one and I let them have that one because a metcard would have still costed me more at the time. Things I have had resolved are.
– A few trips in the overlap that should have been zone 1 daily but ended up being 3 zone 1 trips.
– Going on holidays and not touching off on a tram and after 3 weeks I was charged a default fare on top of a zone 1+2 daily.
For all users, if you are using myki money only even though you don’t need to touch off on a tram, its good to do so at the end of the day so your fare will clear for the next trip on another date.
Another similar question, can I transfer the registration of the card to a mate if they want my myki that I would give them for free?? I am likely leaving Melbourne in a month and would not need it, if I do return I would get another one no issues.
I may not do anything because it is a nice souvenir.
So if you buy the myki from the machine, and use eftpos to top it up, does myki then know your name and address ?
How about paypal ?
I’m guessing that people want anonymous myki’s so they can share it with family members (myki money/pass) unless that’s considered illegal. Can anyone correct me?
@enno
No they won’t know your name and address if you buy a myki at a machine using EFTPOS. If myki did know, PT> and your bank would have some explaining to do.
@Leslie
As far as I know you can share the card if you would like. I have been checked several times in the past month and have never been asked to verify who I am. You might not want to give a card registered to a female to a male and vice versa because that may raise an eyebrow. All I think the inspectors care about is whether or not you have touched on or not.
Interesting how there are complaints about the $6 cost of a Myki, which can used on multiple occasions over several years. I don’t see complaints about Ticketet, ticketmaster charging exhorbitant fees for their one-time use tickets, plus credit card fees. They even charge you if print them out at home. (& ensure plenty of black areas to make sure you use up plenty of ink).
Also, once you’ve got a Myki, and it starts to become defective, they’ll give you an extra one for free, before they send out the replacement. So, assuming every myki you own goes defective within 12 months, then after 1yr you’ll own 2, 2yrs=>4, 3yrs=>8… etc… no bad for a $6 investment…
@Brad, I agree with you, occasional users do need better options. On the other hand, if you’re using PT 10 times a year, is a $6 really a huge problem, especially if it can save you more than its cost if travelling on a weekend?
@enno, does the 7-11 know your name and address if you pay there using EFTPOS? (Paypal is irrelevant to this discussion.)
@Leslie, see this post – a Myki can legally be shared if it does not have a Pass on it (whether it’s registered or not).
@Alasdair – Why would I want 8 mykis? Also I can assure you that plenty of people complain about the rorting of ticketek and ticketmaster, but that conversation is entirely irrelevant to the myki discussion.
“If myki did know, PT> and your bank would have some explaining to do.”
The problem with the phrase ” they will have some explaining to do “, is that when you try, they can just refuse to discuss it in any way, and there is no way to force them to explain anything.
I’ve not got a Myki (wrong city) but after using Suica for the family on holidays by choice for the convenience of not having to figure out fares, pay the machine, get change etc. We (hi 7 year old) misplaced one, was glad it was registered. I felt better being able to recover the ¥787 left on the card minus the ¥500 administration fee than just losing the money outright. Mind you it’s a real carry-on, you need to go to a Green Window (larger staffed station) report the loss, then go to a Green Window the next day and get the card replaced. Oh and when your finished with it you get cash back (less up to ¥210 admin fee) no cheques and no problems being an out of town/country person.
use a mail redirector service if you want a registered anonymous card.
Victorians already have paid about three or four years’ fares by allowing the Brumby government to foist an expensive system on us.
I will test the system by offering cash to the ticket inspectors as cash is the legal tender of Australia and any provider surely must accept cash as a first resort in payment for services. I also intend to travel without the card, or any ID as I regard my identification as private. cash will have to do.