Categories
transport

Myki’s “headless” mode

This is Myki’s “headless mode”. It’s the Myki driver console, but temporarily shifted into a spot out of the way, while tram and bus drivers (in Melbourne) continue to use the Metcard consoles instead. (You can just see the old console at the top of the picture.) It means drivers currently have no interaction with  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism Doctor Who

Spotted at Minotaur

I’ve shopped at Minotaur Books for decades. I first found it in the early 80s when it was at the top end of Swanston Street. Then it moved to a multi-level shop in Bourke Street. Then to its current home in Elizabeth Street. It’s always had way more cool stuff than I could afford to  ... [More]

Categories
transport

The Ombudsman’s report on Myki (and other IT projects)

Last Wednesday the Ombudsman/Auditor General report into government ICT (Information & Communications Technology) projects was released. Included in the list of projects gone bad that it investigated was our old favourite Myki, with some interesting findings on the timings and costings: The TTA business case dated 27 April 2004 had forecast total expenditure of $741.9  ... [More]

Categories
Geek PTUA transport

Myki “hacking”, and jumping at shadows – DON’T PANIC!

Some people got just a little too hysterical last week when news of a security vulnerability in Myki came out. The story broke on Monday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that the mainstream media got hold of it, with the Melbourne Times running it first, spreading rapidly to The Age, AAP, 3AW and others —  ... [More]

Categories
Brisbane 2011 transport

Queensland’s Go Card vs Myki

I’ll get to writing up our Brisbane trip in full excruiciating detail in due course, but first what everyone wants to know: How is Go Card compared to Myki? First impressions Go Card seems faster; more responsive. On buses, ferries and railway stations we consistently seemed to get sub-second response times when touching the card  ... [More]

Categories
transport

My old Myki Short Term Ticket still works

I’ve already posted about the mess that may ensue if once Myki is fully rolled-out, there is no option of a single-use ticket. Today it’s been confirmed flagged as probable that some 50 million of the unused Short Term Tickets will be pulped, and also that almost 500 vending machines originally intended for trams are  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Govt plan: you must have a Myki to travel

This is a Short Term Ticket. Part of the Myki system, they are available in regional cities using Myki, for two-hour or daily fares, for people who don’t have a reusable Myki smartcard. Something that was missed in the announcement last month was that it’s not just trams where you won’t be able to buy  ... [More]

Categories
transport

MMTB and NTS: Old and new manhole covers

Ah, the fascinating world of manhole covers. For you youngsters, the MMTB (Melbourne and Metropolitan Tramways Board) ran the tram system from 1919 to 1983 when it was merged into “The Met”. NTS (New Ticketing System) was the working name for Myki. It still shows up in internal literature, and in things like URLs on  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Commuter Club Myki

Last week I started using my shiny new Commuter Club Myki. It’s worked well, and as I would expect it… with some exceptions, documented in this short video: 1. It beeps twice at the readers. This is the case at the standalone readers, on trams and buses and at Myki gates (currently seen at Parliament  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Yesterday’s Myki stuff-up: Who is Hannah Whiting?

For an hour or two yesterday, a number of people with multiple cards on their Myki accounts found that one or more of those cards were registered to Hannah Whiting. Upon advising the Transport Ticketing Authority of it, they managed to fix it pretty quickly, but it’s not yet clear what caused it. I wonder  ... [More]

Categories
transport Video games

Three brief PT things

Yearly: Beat the price rise Just bought my new Yearly ticket via PTUA Commuter Club. It’ll take a couple of weeks to arrive, but it means I’ll beat the March 12th price rise. PTUA Commuter Club Yearly plus membership: Z1 = $1090 (order by end of Feb; payment must clear by March 3rd). Will go  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Just another Myki stuff-up

VICTORIA’S beleaguered myki ticketing system has hit another snag, with 20,000 seniors posted a new smartcard that does not give them the travel benefits they are entitled to, including free weekend travel and discounted weekday fares. — Age: New bungle hits myki Peter of Murrumbeena, a regular commenter on this blog, is one of those  ... [More]