V/Line commuters left behind in myki smartphone, credit card upgrade
While metro commuters will finally be able to touch on with their smartphones and credit cards next year, travellers across the regional network will still be waiting for access to myki itself, two decades after contracts were signed for the problem-plagued plastic card.
The Herald Sun can reveal the Allan government is refusing to say when enhanced readers will be installed at long-distance V/Line railway stations as part of a long-awaited $1.7bn upgrade to the touch-on technology.
It means thousands of regional commuters travelling from these stations will be stuck with outdated paper tickets or eTickets sent to their phones that are not compatible with myki readers.
The stations excluded from the initial rollout of the myki upgrade include those from Dingee to Swan Hill, Elmore to Echuca, Beaufort to Ararat, Crewick to Maryborough, Winchelsea to Warrnambool, Nagambie to Shepparton, Avenel to Albury and Rosedale to Bairnsdale.
These stations were all meant to be serviced by myki when the ticketing system was first announced in 2005 as a replacement to Metcard. But after huge cost blowouts, delays and significant user issues with the system, the Baillieu government called for a review of myki and ultimately decided to cut long-distance V/Line services from the rollout in 2011.
Metal stands and supporting infrastructure for myki readers had already been installed at the regional stations before the project scope was changed — and fourteen years later are still not able to be used by commuters.
While commuters continued to wait for myki, the Allan government last year opted to launch a completely separate $1.94m eTicketing system to send regional commuters their tickets to their phone. That multimillion-dollar contract is due to expire in May, 2026.
While it's a step forward from the 90s-era paper tickets, Nationals MP for Murray Plains Peter Walsh couldn't believe his residents still couldn't use myki cards.
'I just don't understand why, after all these years, we are still waiting for the same services supplied to people in Melbourne. It's just plain wrong and unfair,' he said.
'We had been promised Myki early on and have been repeatedly told it is coming. Well, we are years down the track now and the best the Allan Labor government can come up with is yet another assurance it will happen — but with no fixed date.
'In other words, nothing to see here, move on. Another empty promise to make us think something will happen, and we all know how much that promise is worth.'
Meanwhile, member for Shepparton Kim O'Keefe said the myki rollout was just another example of the Allan government ignoring the region's pressing transport needs.
'With no timeline in sight for passengers to be able to use their Myki cards on long-haul distances on the V/Line network, this is just another example of the Allan Labor Government can't manage projects and Victorians are paying the price,' she said.
'Quite frankly it's embarrassing that paper tickets are still being used on regional lines such as the Shepparton line in 2025.'
Shadow minister for public transport Matthew Guy called public transport ticketing 'a continuing giant balls up by the state government'.
'If the state government can't coordinate the basics, such as train tickets, no wonder they can't manage billion dollar transport budgets either,' he said.
The Department of Transport (DTP) is currently installing more than 20,000 new myki readers at myki-serviced train stations across the state as part of the $1.7bn project being rolled out by ticketing-operator Conduent. These will be switched on for contactless payment early next year.
The Department said it would after that install new readers at V/Line stations that are currently serviced by paper tickets and eTickets.
'We're currently installing new myki readers across the myki rail network and the rollout is progressing well, with all readers expected to be installed before the end of the year,' a DTP spokesperson said.
'We've introduced e-Ticketing for V/Line long distance services with passengers now able to choose to display their ticket on their smartphone or print them at home.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Land and Environment Court dismisses Martins Creek Quarry expansion appeal
The Land and Environment Court has dismissed an appeal to expand a controversial hard rock quarry in the New South Wales Hunter Valley which residents hope will be the end of a decade-long fight. In 2022 resources company Daracon lodged plans to expand the Martins Creek Quarry, north-west of Newcastle, to allow it to extract more than a million tonnes of rock materials, like gravel, each year. It was expected the expansion would generate up to 160 truck movements a day through several Hunter Valley towns, including the historic Paterson village and Bolwarra. In February 2023, the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) refused the expansion finding it would have "unreasonable" and "unacceptable" impacts for communities on the haulage route. Daracon appealed the decision, arguing it would benefit the workforce and provide materials for local infrastructure projects in the construction and roads industries, but that appeal was knocked back again by the Land and Environment Court on Wednesday. In the court's judgement, Commissioner Peter Walsh and Acting Commissioner Michael Young said negative consequences of the project outweighed the positives. "The beneficial impacts of the [application] relate principally to the supply of the quarry's product for the construction sector and particularly for infrastructure projects of public significance," the commissioners said. "The negative consequences are particularly in relation to adverse traffic and pedestrian safety implications, and social and amenity-related impacts in the local area. The Martins Creek Quarry Action Group have lobbied against the expansion of the quarry for more than a decade. Its president, Luke Barker, told ABC Newcastle Drive the majority of the community would be "in high spirits" hearing the news. He said the main reason many in the community had been against expanding the quarry was due to safety concerns and the impact on small roads in the area. "It's fantastic that the commissioner has seen what that impact has been and what that impact would be for not only this current generation of people but the generations to come," Mr Barker said. "There's people moving through the township all the time, crossing roads between the post office, the chemist, the local eateries, the pubs, supermarket. "Then we have a very high tourism aspect. It's a great stopover spot for people coming through. "It's just the impacts on the community were just too much to bear." He said the group was not against the quarry remaining operational into the future at its current size and scope. In a statement a Daracon spokesperson told the ABC the company was disappointed by the IPC's decision. "For more than a decade Daracon has led a rigorous process of environmental studies and stakeholder engagement which has seen the application amended a multitude of times to create compromises, resulting in a recommendation for approval by the then-NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure in 2022," the spokesperson said. "It is disappointing that today's decision does not uphold that. The spokesperson said the company was disappointed it would not be able to supply construction materials from the site to local infrastructure projects. "We will now take time to assess the future of the quarry," the spokesperson said.
Herald Sun
2 days ago
- Herald Sun
V/Line commuters left behind in myki smartphone, credit card upgrade
Regional transport hubs at Shepparton, Warrnambool and Swan Hill are among the 37 stations excluded from the first stage of the rollout of new myki readers for tap-and-go travel. While metro commuters will finally be able to touch on with their smartphones and credit cards next year, travellers across the regional network will still be waiting for access to myki itself, two decades after contracts were signed for the problem-plagued plastic card. The Herald Sun can reveal the Allan government is refusing to say when enhanced readers will be installed at long-distance V/Line railway stations as part of a long-awaited $1.7bn upgrade to the touch-on technology. It means thousands of regional commuters travelling from these stations will be stuck with outdated paper tickets or eTickets sent to their phones that are not compatible with myki readers. The stations excluded from the initial rollout of the myki upgrade include those from Dingee to Swan Hill, Elmore to Echuca, Beaufort to Ararat, Crewick to Maryborough, Winchelsea to Warrnambool, Nagambie to Shepparton, Avenel to Albury and Rosedale to Bairnsdale. These stations were all meant to be serviced by myki when the ticketing system was first announced in 2005 as a replacement to Metcard. But after huge cost blowouts, delays and significant user issues with the system, the Baillieu government called for a review of myki and ultimately decided to cut long-distance V/Line services from the rollout in 2011. Metal stands and supporting infrastructure for myki readers had already been installed at the regional stations before the project scope was changed — and fourteen years later are still not able to be used by commuters. While commuters continued to wait for myki, the Allan government last year opted to launch a completely separate $1.94m eTicketing system to send regional commuters their tickets to their phone. That multimillion-dollar contract is due to expire in May, 2026. While it's a step forward from the 90s-era paper tickets, Nationals MP for Murray Plains Peter Walsh couldn't believe his residents still couldn't use myki cards. 'I just don't understand why, after all these years, we are still waiting for the same services supplied to people in Melbourne. It's just plain wrong and unfair,' he said. 'We had been promised Myki early on and have been repeatedly told it is coming. Well, we are years down the track now and the best the Allan Labor government can come up with is yet another assurance it will happen — but with no fixed date. 'In other words, nothing to see here, move on. Another empty promise to make us think something will happen, and we all know how much that promise is worth.' Meanwhile, member for Shepparton Kim O'Keefe said the myki rollout was just another example of the Allan government ignoring the region's pressing transport needs. 'With no timeline in sight for passengers to be able to use their Myki cards on long-haul distances on the V/Line network, this is just another example of the Allan Labor Government can't manage projects and Victorians are paying the price,' she said. 'Quite frankly it's embarrassing that paper tickets are still being used on regional lines such as the Shepparton line in 2025.' Shadow minister for public transport Matthew Guy called public transport ticketing 'a continuing giant balls up by the state government'. 'If the state government can't coordinate the basics, such as train tickets, no wonder they can't manage billion dollar transport budgets either,' he said. The Department of Transport (DTP) is currently installing more than 20,000 new myki readers at myki-serviced train stations across the state as part of the $1.7bn project being rolled out by ticketing-operator Conduent. These will be switched on for contactless payment early next year. The Department said it would after that install new readers at V/Line stations that are currently serviced by paper tickets and eTickets. 'We're currently installing new myki readers across the myki rail network and the rollout is progressing well, with all readers expected to be installed before the end of the year,' a DTP spokesperson said. 'We've introduced e-Ticketing for V/Line long distance services with passengers now able to choose to display their ticket on their smartphone or print them at home.'
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Mystery shopping CEO lists home with converted train carriage
The Aussie founder of a mystery shopping company has listed the quirky property where he ran the business from an original Queensland Railways carriage once part of The Sunlander. Secret Customer Australia managing director Peter Martin and his wife Zena bought the Moreton Bay parcel for $682,500 fifteen years ago, adding the converted train carriage to the existing timber family home. 'I was running my own business from home and started with one bedroom being converted into an office,' Mr Martin said. 'Converting a shed was an enormous amount of money so I found the train carriage online. 'There's a lot of history to it – it's an original staff sleeper carriage, number 1471, from Queensland Railways' The Sunlander (1952) which now sits at the front of the property with privacy hedging.' Mr Martin said the carriage had top and bottom bunks which were removed and replaced with custom-made desks, along with a meeting room and five offices. He has headed up Secret Customer Australia since 2012, a company offering business owners undercover visits by 'secret shoppers' who report back on the customer service they received. The niche industry has enjoyed a resurgence during the cost of living crunch, as a popular side hustle for Aussies looking to boost their income by reporting on their shopping experience at client businesses. Mystery shoppers received between $20 and $80 per job, according to Secret Customer's website. The Martins' five-bedroom two-bathroom property at 52 Ray Booker Court, Kobble Creek is marketed by Ray White Rural Dayboro Eumundi agent Vicki Pain via private treaty. Known as 'Twin Peaks', the 5ha property is anchored by the 'chalet-style' home with spectacular mountain views plus a pool and spacious entertaining decks. There's also fenced paddocks for farm animals, a dam, and a four-wheel drive track. 'It's not often something like this comes to market — there's certainly some charm and uniqueness to this property,' Ms Pain said. 'It is only 42km from Brisbane's CBD and creates one of the best lifestyle property markets, attracting retirees looking for space or families with great schools and an excellent local community.' Qld home earns six times the average salary The Martins and their two children had relocated to coastal Agnes Water, leaving behind an alpaca and five goats, which could also be included in the property sale. 'The kids were very sad to leave,' Mr Martin said. 'We would often let the animals roam free. Sometimes we would take in chickens and ducks – it kind of became a little animal orphanage. 'This was possible as we added a full 1.8m vermin-proof fence around the entire property, making it very secure for any animal.' Mr Martin said another young family would be best suited to the 'quirky wooden home'. 'While it's a rural area, the home is so close to the city,' he said. 'We have really enjoyed the views and the kids have spent lots of time outdoors. 'There's a large gaming deck next to the pool too.' The property has undergone some renovations including a new kitchen, pool deck and retaining walls.
