Worries for Steel as breadth of MyWay+ inquiry unveiled

A Legislative Assembly committee will take a broad approach to its inquiry into the procurement and delivery of the new public transport ticketing system, going back as far as the original aborted tender process.

That and reports of ongoing problems with the new system, including real-time travel information, could spell trouble for Transport Minister Chris Steel and the government, which will be hoping MyWay+ can be bedded down over coming weeks, especially before the start of the school year.

MyWay+, delivered by NEC under a 10-year $64 million contract, promised much, but the switchover last month was plagued with glitches, leaving passengers frustrated and the public transport lobby dismayed.

Opposition leader Leanne Castley immediately called for an inquiry, which drew support from the Greens and then all of the Assembly.

The Standing Committee on Environment, Planning, Transport and City Services has announced the terms of reference for the inquiry.

Chair Greens MLA Jo Clay, said the Assembly asked the committee to undertake a wide-ranging inquiry into the procurement, development, testing and delivery of the new ticketing system for Canberra’s public transport.

It will start at the initial, failed procurement of a MyWay replacement, and investigate the government’s decision to procure a bespoke product, and the capabilities and business case for MyWay+.

The committee will look at the development and delivery of the MyWay+ system, including whether the six-week testing program and consultation with the public was adequate.

It was the view of many that the new system was not ready to go live, so the inquiry will also examine the timing of the launch.

It seemed many were also caught unawares by the change and the public communications program will also come under scrutiny.

How the MyWay+ experience may affect passengers and their confidence in the public transport system is also on the table, along with any hits to patronage.

The history of MyWay+ and then the troubled switchover also raised questions about government procurement so there is also a brief to consider ways to improve the quality and transparency of public procurement processes in the ACT.

The committee will also look at an assessment of MyWay+ data security and any implications for users.

It has scope to look at any other related matter.

Public Transport Association of Canberra chair Ryan Hemsley said: “This inquiry must examine the key questions, namely why MyWay+ was launched prematurely, and what changes need to be made at Transport Canberra to avoid a bungle of this scale in the future.”

Ms Clay said the committee invited submissions from all interested stakeholders, including peak bodies, industry groups, experts, unions and public transport users.

The committee will report back to the Assembly by 26 June 2025.

Transport Canberra said on Friday (13 December) that Canberrans were continuing to show strong adoption and uptake, with 71,300 MyWay+ accounts created since the launch, 44,400 cards in the hands of customers, and nearly half of MyWay+ journeys were by tapping on and off with debit or credit card.

A spokesperson said the system was updated to fix QR code readability on ticket validators and the QR in-app pass expiry, which was preventing some customers tapping off.

“With the deployment of this update and the introduction of the smaller QR code we are seeing an increase in successful tap on and tap off transactions,” the spokesperson said.

“We are continuing to work with NEC to provide customers with a better experience when using the QR code.”

The expiry of primary or secondary student concessions had also been modified for existing MyWay+ accounts, to 31 December 2025.

“Concessions applied to MyWay+ accounts have predefined expiry dates,” the spokesperson said.

“To maintain access to concession fares, customers are required to revalidate their concession status, through the MyWay+ account, prior to the expiry date.”

Four new MyWay+ retail outlets where cards can be purchased have opened – Garran Newsagency and Local Post Office, Metro Petroleum Phillip, Waramanga Post Office and Newsagency, and EzyMart Northbourne in the Jolimont Centre in the city.

The delivery of MyWay+ travel cards, ordered online through the MyWay+ account, was also returning to regular delivery times.