Latest news with #ticketingsystem
ABC News
04-07-2025
- ABC News
Inquiry into Transport Canberra's MyWay+ continues as functionality issues persist
Seven months since the ACT government launched its MyWay+ ticketing system, functionality issues persist and an inquiry has raised questions about its rollout. An ACT parliamentary committee, tasked with looking into the procurement and delivery of the public transport ticketing system, was due to report by the last sitting day of June 2025. But a day earlier, committee chair Jo Clay announced that deadline had been extended due to "the considerable volume of evidence". "Including reports of significant usability issues experienced by MyWay+ users, and concerns relating to accessibility and cybersecurity," she said. "The committee is of the view that in order to properly discharge its responsibility ... tabling a report by the last sitting day of June would not be possible." At that stage, 109 submissions had been published and the committee had held five hearings and called multiple witnesses, including government officials, ministers, contractors and commuters. But, like many frustrated Canberrans, the committee had more questions than answers — as was heard this week. On launch, some MyWay+ customers were unable to tap on and off with their debit or credit cards, while others reported issues with the app, website and QR code system. Transport Minister Chris Steel told the inquiry yesterday that most launch-day issues have been fixed. "While a number of issues have been resolved quickly, others have taken more time," he said. "In hindsight, certainly some of the elements were not ready, as ready as they could have been. That's clear. But a lot of those were rectified fairly soon after launch in November." But multiple users told ABC Radio Canberra the MyWay+ readers still didn't work, resulting in "free trips". "MyWay+ is the best! I've had endless free travel! I couldn't ask for more!" one listener texted in. "Another free trip to work today due to a non-working MyWay+ reader," said another. Another user said, "MyWay minus just another in a history of failures." Commuters have also reported problems with the system's live tracking functionality, and being charged on Fare Free Fridays. "When [will] destination information boards be connected at interchanges?" asked another. In March, the inquiry heard that the personal details of public transport users could be accessed on the internet before and after the MyWay+ launch. This week's inquiry questioned whether community testing on the system was adequate, and suggested the community should have been told that it was a "minimum viable product" so expectations weren't as high on day one. "We could have done better in terms of communicating about this as a transition, rather than expecting everything to go right on day one — clearly that didn't happen," Mr Steel conceded. But Mr Steel insisted that going ahead with the November launch was still the best approach. "A slightly later commencement probably would've provided a few options there, but I still think a decision around the hard switchover minimised confusion for the community around the change from MyWay to MyWay+," he said. "It's not just about the revenue loss, it's about customer behaviour. If you have a long period of time when no fares are collected, and then you switch on a system 15 months later, then people are not in the habit of paying for public transport and there is a big behavioural change that's required." MyWay+ executive Mark White said Transport Canberra was prepared for last year's launch. "More than 6.7 million journeys have been used, using debit cards, credit cards." Another of the issues raised in the inquiry was around the contract Transport Canberra signed with NEC Australia. The inquiry heard that delivery milestones were pushed back after the contract had been signed. The contract was meant to be completed by June 30, 2025, but it hasn't been. "We are currently engaged in contract discussions with the provider, as to why it's not complete and what penalties we may be applying," Mr White said. Yet to be completed is the disability compliance aspect of the contract. "There is no mechanism within the contract for us to actually penalise [breaches] of the Disability and Discrimination Act," Mr White said, adding that there were "other pieces of functionality" that remained incomplete. "There are other components, more in the functional back-end side of the system. So, that's our data systems and data warehouse," he said. "Off the top of my head, there are other functionalities that we would be providing to the community as well as our operators; things that are enhancements to manage our transport systems, as well as to manage our account-based ticketing." The deadline for the inquiry committee to report back to the Assembly has not been announced yet.
RNZ News
09-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Nationwide public transport ticketing system 'Motu Move' delayed again
Photo: 123RF Fresh delays have hit the roll-out of the the national public transport ticketing system. The 'Motu Move' project will replace all transit cards used on buses, trains and ferries around the country with a single national card. Transport users will also be able to use contactless cards and other devices to tag on and off. The first phase was meant to roll out in Timaru and Temuka by mid-2025, but that has been delayed, with no revised date offered by NZTA. Christchurch Councillor Dionne Swiggs said another delay was "definitely frustrating" as it was a promising project. "The principle of it is going to be absolutely fantastic ... you just tap on with your phone, tap off with your phone and it's seamless, it should be very easy the same way you use your public transport right across the country," he told Morning Report. "We've got ferries in Canterbury, we've got trains in Wellington and buses anywhere in the country. So, it is really frustrating. It's an exciting project, but it's delayed." Swiggs said there had been some challenges with the functionality. He said his understanding was that the base functionality was working fine, but it was the extra functionality that had been causing some of the issues. "Imagine you've got so many different pricing structures across the country, that's one of the issues from what I understand they're having an issue trying to roll out," he said. "But let's see what we can do in Canterbury to roll it out because we've been promising our communities this for nearly two or three years. I know the programme's been in the woodworks for about seven years. "Let's get it out there." Swiggs said it was really up to the technology provider behind the project to get it across the finish line. "They need to deliver a product that is robust enough for us to be able to roll out. The base functionality from what I understand is pretty robust. It is working." He said a trial was already underway for the region's airport bus and hoped other features will be rolled out soon. Swiggs said those involved in the project needed to be on the same page. "I just think there needs to be better communication going on between all the parties involved so that we can get a really clear line of communication, know what's going on (and) tell people this is what's happening and get this thing off the ground." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
