Here’s another in my series of old photos from ten years ago… this time, June 2008. You might remember that Frank Woodley did TV ads for Metlink, to encourage bus usage. Here’s the cartoon version, on a bus stop. Speaking of advertising, I quite liked this ad for the Get Smart movie (originally posted here). ... [More]
Tag: Metcard
What if to get a Slurpie at 7-11, you first had to buy a voucher from a tram conductor? Some would argue the situation now, where no tickets can be bought on trams, and Myki cards have to be bought and pre-loaded (at 7-11 or elsewhere) is equally silly. In fact, if you look at ... [More]
This Friday is the last day for Metcard. But if you thought it was the end for paper tickets, think again. Even aside from V/Line tickets, they will live-on. As noted in today’s Age, despite the claims from government that it’s impossible to have paper tickets on a system that’s moved to Smartcards, there are ... [More]
From December 29th, a month from today, basically all metropolitan public transport will require a Myki card, following the government decision in June 2011 to not implement short term tickets. I expect regular users will adapt. Most of them already have. It’s the occasional users (and that includes locals as well as tourists) who will ... [More]
Back in June, when you could still buy unvalidated Metcards (eg at railway stations) I bought a Zone 1 adult daily and popped it away. I am now selling it for charity, either for those of you who want to take one last train ride with one (yeah even though you can still buy one ... [More]
At railway stations around Melbourne, they’ve started removing Metcard validators as part of the final switch to Myki. In some cases, some station entrances have no Metcard validator at all now. In theory this doesn’t affect many people, as it’s been several months since multi-trip Metcards were sold, and also since unvalidated single trip Metcards ... [More]
I think most people would agree that with Myki we’ve got a problem. A system which is enormously expensive, which is generally less responsive and reliable than similar systems elsewhere, not to mention not offering a single use ticket option. But one argument I don’t buy is that Metcard is perfect. The bureaucracy will claim ... [More]
The question seems to keep coming up as to whether it’s legal for Myki machines to not accept 5 cent coins; or indeed whether it’s legal for Metcard machines on trams to only accept coins (not notes). Some people assume that because it’s all legal tender, it must be against the law to demand specific ... [More]
Yesterday I was taking a look at the Myki Customer Experience Panel web site — that’s the set up where they ask a cross-section of Myki users about the system; get them to answer questions about what they’ve seen and how things are working for them. While some may moan about the extra cost, it’s ... [More]
Myki has well-known problems. It’s been an incredibly long saga to get it running, and to the point now where it’s pretty reliable and the government is confident enough to push ahead with phasing-out Metcard. The cost to taxpayers has been huge. Touching on and off can be fiddly, particularly in a crowd and particularly ... [More]