Commuters will be able to touch on using a bank card or iPhone at 56 train stations across Melbourne and regional Victoria when a trial of the long-awaited myki upgrade starts on Monday.
Craigieburn, Upfield, Ballarat and Seymour line passengers will have the option of using a tap-and-go bank card or smart device payment rather than a myki card during the trial through March and April.
The trial is the first time Melburnians can test the $1.7 billion overhaul of the much-maligned myki system. It will identify teething issues before contactless payments are enabled on the rest of the train network in the coming months.
“This public trial will ensure we have full confidence in the technology before it’s rolled out across the entire network,” Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said. “Tap-and-go technology will make it quicker and easier for passengers to travel.”
Victoria signed a $1.7 billion contract with US company Conduent in 2023 to overhaul the state’s ticketing system and run it for 15 years, with contactless payments – which have been available in Sydney since 2017 and London since 2012 – a key improvement for passengers.
Android phone users can already pay for public transport using their phones through a digital myki card, but that option has not previously been offered on iPhones.
More than 3000 new ticket readers have been installed at almost 280 train stations as part of the rollout.
Certain ticket readers will accept contactless payments from Mastercard or Visa credit or debit cards, or a smartphone or smartwatch, at each station during the trial, including the busy interchanges North Melbourne, Footscray and the City Loop stations. The new Metro Tunnel stations are not part of the trial.
Commuters have been warned not to use contactless payments if they are travelling beyond the four designated train lines because their ticket will not be valid at other stations, or on trams and buses.
Williams confirmed contactless payments would be switched on across the rail network when the trial was successfully completed. The tram and bus networks will go live at a later date.
As of late January, the rollout of new ticket readers on the bus and tram network was more than halfway complete, but the state government has declined to provide a timeline for when the new system will be live statewide.
Only full-fare payments will be possible during the contractless trial.
Eventually, the new system will enable “account-based ticketing”, which will link customers’ cards and devices to accounts, apply concessions and automatically calculate the lowest possible fare based on their travel patterns.
Patrick Hatch is transport reporter at The Age and a former business reporter.Connect via X or email.