The first really visible signs of Myki mark II are about to be unleashed. In the next few weeks a few stations will get the new card readers for testing purposes.
Later on the readers will spread around the network and be switched on for public use, with the first stage seeing passengers using them just as we do now – with a Myki card or Android phone (Mobile Myki).
After that, they hope in early 2026, they’ll start also accepting credit cards (and linked devices including iPhones), initially on suburban railway stations, then for other modes.
This is likely to be branded as “Contactless”, as in Sydney and Brisbane and elsewhere. Initially it’ll be for Full Fare passengers only; account management and concessions will come later. They’ll accept Visa or Mastercard.
You’ll still be able to keep using an unregistered Myki card if you prefer it.
Eventually the new readers will roll out to V/Line including the parts of the network not currently covered by Myki, as well as all town buses.
This week with my PTUA colleague Jarred, I got to look at the new readers, and to discuss the roll-out with the project team.
Similar to the first Myki implementation, there are three types of readers:
Stations with gates – cleverly they will change just the top part of the gate structure, and replace the reader itself, so the rest of the existing gates will remain in place.
Stations without gates – these will be installed on the existing poles.
Buses and trams – these are mounted inside the vehicles.
Note the different text on the screen of this last unit – it was in its Wangaratta configuration, accepting Visa and Mastercard, but not Myki cards. When a reader accepts all three, they’ll all be displayed.
Yes, they’re using the term “tap”.
Myki originally used “scan“, but this was changed to “touch” when they realised the readers were not as fast as they’d hoped. This time they believe from their load testing that the readers will respond as fast in the real world, just as they do in the test environment.
The prompt on the screen moves, perhaps to reduce image persistence, but it also helps point the user to the right place to tap their card.
The writing on the screen is reasonably big, and when you tap there’s a big green tick (shown below when I tried it in Wangaratta) and a beep which was very audible indoors. Hopefully the same applies in a noisy outdoor environment.
The design of the readers avoids people tapping cards onto the screen and then being unable to read the screen. They also think it’ll reduce wear and tear on the screens.
It’s also easier to use with a phone. And in the top of the reader is a camera which is for future QR code usage. This part of the reader also provides some shade for the screen, which they believe will make it more readable in sunlight.
One thing that could be an issue: the readers will say “Tap successful”, as above. But they won’t distinguish between Tap on and Tap off – unlike the current ones.
Imagine a scenario where a passenger exits a non-gated station and forgets to Tap off. Later that same day they enter again, and Tap.
Is that a Tap on, or Tap off from the earlier trip? It depends how much time has passed. If it’s a Tap off, would they risk a fine for travelling without a Tapped on card?
Partly this is because the move to an account-based system, which enables bank card payment, means fare calculations shift to the back-end. We’ll see how this plays out.
On the plus side, this change is also likely to make it easier to implement fare reform, though for now they’re just implementing the fare rules we already have. One change that I consider vital is weekly fare caps, to remove some of the complexity and uncertainty around the Weekly Pass.
Enabling the option of bank card payments is a really important upgrade, making it far easier for people, especially new and occasional users, to use public transport without the multiple fare payment hurdles currently in place.
It’s good to see things moving along. Overall it seems like a step forward, if at enormous cost. Hopefully the roll-out goes smoothly.
More reading: PTV has a pretty good page about the coming upgrades
Update: The first readers have now been installed and are in use
26 replies on “Myki: new readers coming soon”
Any ideas what the first stations they will trial this equipment at are?
It would be interesting to see how many people attempt to tap on the screen instead of below. They seem to come up with trivial but impactful differences from time to time.
Great to hear that Melbourne is introducing some fairly current technology to the biggest public transport network in the country. Only a quarter-century after Japan rolled it out, and I’d have to guess it will cost a lot more.
I hope the existing gates at stations can be retrofitted with the readers.
I’ve used the standalone ones in Adelaide and they seem to work pretty well. I was initially apprehensive with the readers being changed to sensor to screen and then back to sensor, but I guess these ones make it easier. I’ve accidentally got my card stuck on the sides of the exisitng vix readers, which results in the card falling to the floor and me holding people up by having to pick up my card.
@Kris
I don’t think it’s fair to compare our systems to Japan. They’ve successfully did cross-compatibility across the entire country, something which we’ll never seen.
“One change that I consider vital is weekly fare caps, to remove some of the complexity and uncertainty around the Weekly Pass.”
Although I support a weekly fare cap, I just hope it doesn’t lead to the abolishment of periodical (myki passes) tickets as has been the case in other states in Australia.
Only Victoria offers the full-suite of periodical ticket types in Australia, i.e. 7-day, 28-365 day tickets, unlike other states that removed their periodical tickets when they upgraded to their equivalent smartcard ticketing systems.
@Arfman, yes the bulk of the gate remains in place. A module at the top comes off, and a new one with the new reader mounted on it goes on.
Compare the picture of the test gate above with one of the original Myki gates:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/danielbowen/11621617303/
@AV, I don’t think we should cling to periodicals if the ticketing system can calculate the same discount automatically, and apply it without the passenger having to gamble in advance on it being the best deal and having to pay up front.
Student Passes are easier to justify, but there’s a reason hardly anybody uses regular Myki Passes.
As a Seniors Myki holder, I’ll be hanging out for them to incorporate concession fares within the contactless system. That will be a jump ahead of the systems in places like London and Sydney, and very welcome. Myki is the only card I still need to carry on me, whose function can’t be reproduced by my phone.
Perfectly reasonable to compare our system to Japan given that Myki is the same as a Suica card.
Considering you can add a virtual Suica cards in Apple Wallet right now (try it out) just like a Myki card in Google Wallet. Instead we are changing from NTT without public disclosure of why Myki can’t be implemented on iPhone like Suica.
Also while the plan is to implement concession card support no city in Australia at least has done this. In NSW you still need a physical Opal card for a concession fare. On Android this can be done today with Mobile Myki.
And concession via credit/debit card won’t be impleneted straight away and who knows when that will arrive cause as I said no other state has implemented it.
From your description of the “buses and trams” version, it looks to me that this will be annoying in two separate ways. First, the bottom part of the reader jutting out will bump into people when the vehicle is crammed full. Second, the sound made by current readers when registering a tap is already loud enough; it does not need to be made any louder.
Are these impressions accurate?
Readers also could be placed at the entrances of CBD superstops to speed up boarding, people can tap-on when arriving at the platform and waiting for their tram.
I was in Japan two years ago and didn’t find it easy to pay for public transport at all. We arrived at Narita and couldn’t just use an existing credit card to tap on at the gate, which we have been able to do in London and Sydney amongst others). We went to a ticket machine to buy a paper ticket, but couldn’t tap a credit card to pay for it either. We had to find an ATM, withdraw cash (which we’ve barely ever done in the past 6 years despite travel to several countries), go back to the ticket machine and insert the cash and collect the paper ticket. In Melbourne, I have an Android phone and have been using a digital Myki to tap on for several years.
Perhaps Suica is easy to set up, but it’s not as easy as other systems which can be used without any set up at all…
Will we really be getting concessional fares? Sydney still doesnโt do it 15 years after rolling it out..
Funny how the government is always broke when it comes to increasing PT service levels (what a coincidence to mention this over the Easter holidays where buses are once an hour or not at all) but infinite money when it comes to replacing myki readers every few years, widening freeways and approving new car-centric outer suburbs with no shops, no footpaths, no shade, and narrow spaghetti streets which are next to impossible to drive a bus through and takes forever to get anywhere due to all the winding roads that only link to other winding roads before finally linking up with the one and only road out of suburbia straight into an 80 km/h traffic sewer with a 3-minute traffic light cycle and no bus priority.
As for Myki barriers, they should be abolished outside the main inner-city stations. There is absolutely zero need for barriers at lesser stations like Mitcham; stations with regular validators should also have them spread out across the platforms, not have a bunch crammed together at the entrance.
One other complaint about Myki is that there is no change-of-mind touch off on buses and trams. It might be down to passenger stupidity for not reading the timetable, but say for example your bus pulls up at the terminus, you get on and instinctively touch on, and then the driver turns off the engine, opens his door to have a coffee/toilet break and tells you the bus isn’t leaving for 35 minutes when you could have walked to where you were going in half the time and without burning upwards of five dollars. Of course, some drivers will set the desto to Not In Service, keep the doors closed and/or park away from the bus stop, but not always.
No American Express? Is on Opal.
In the second picture (the picture showing the new readers integrated with the fare gates), it shows a green presumably myki card. does this mean that the mike’s will be getting a redesigned card swell?
@C, I think the current Mykis will be compatible with the new Myki readers and won’t need to be redesigned, but will accept credit cards, with concession card holders needing to have a Myki (as credit cards will initially be full fare). Saying that, I think Myki will be introduced to the long distance stations. When I was in Ararat a couple of years ago, there were poles for Myki readers, which was later made redundant. But only time will tell.
It’s probably a good idea for Victoria to tread carefully. Taking a leaf out of Sydney’s book, ripping everything out and starting from scratch was probably the safest bet – though it probably should’ve been done in the first place.
Look at MyWay+ in Canberra. Everything from overcharging to personal information leaks. Transperth’s is still in testing.
Apparently is one at Footscray Station platform 6.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1657vLAW1G/
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BriYSMusW/
Someone has tested one at train station and it does say touched on (also low balance message)
@Zoltan, I haven’t been able to compare directly, but the size of the new tram/bus readers seemed to me to be a similar size to the original readers. They occasionally got in the way during crush loads, but were mostly okay.
@Notsyd, they definitely intend to allow bank card payments for concessions, but I guess time will tell how long it takes. Maybe we’ll beat Sydney on something for once?
@C, good question that I should have asked. Those were test cards. Initially the everybody’s current cards will continue to work. At some stage there’ll be new ones, and given all the equipment is changing back to yellow/green, I wouldn’t be surprised if the cards change back too.
This might also be why cards are currently allowed to be extended beyond their usual 4 year lifespan.
@hippychicky, thanks for that. Expect them to turn up soon also at Glenroy, Moreland, Gowrie and Upfield.
To be pedantic the new readers at stations without gates aren’t installed on the existing poles – the new poles are shorter, and have the access hatch on the front side instead of the rear. But they do share the same mounting base configuration as the previous design to make the changeover easier.
@Tim Richards @AndroidFan
Actually Canberra has had concession on contactless since last year as part of their MyWay+ rollout
You just register your concession online (https://www.transport.act.gov.au/tickets-and-myway/concessions) and link your payment methods.
“In your MyWay+ account you can link various methods to tap on and off. Link a contactless payment method (Mastercard or Visa) or a MyWay+ travel card so you receive the correct fare discounts (or free travel) no matter what method you tap on and off with.”
I notice that on Canberra buses tapping with a phone often takes a few seconds longer that tapping with the public transport card. Not sure whether it’s something to do with the system or because people are not holding the phone the right way.
Multiply a few seconds by 20 at a major stop… Not satisfactory.
Is this an issue in Melbourne?
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