26 November 2024

Fare Free Friday heralds new era for public transport system

| Ian Bushnell
Join the conversation
32

Transport Minister Chris Steel says nobody will be left behind in the transition period. Photo: Ian Bushnell.

Public transport passengers have begun using the new MyWay+ ticketing system this morning as the ACT Government announced the date for the start of Fare Free Fridays.

Transport Minister Chris Steel said that with MyWay+ now online, Canberrans could also expect free travel on buses and light rail every Friday starting from 6 December 2024.

“Fare Free Fridays was promised by Labor at the election as a one-year trial, and I’m pleased that with the introduction of the new ticketing service that we will be able to quickly deliver this commitment,” Mr Steel said.

“We believe this is going to be an effective way to encourage more people onto public transport while reducing transport costs for all Canberrans at a time when they need it most.

“Not only will the trial benefit Canberrans using public transport, it will also be a boost to local businesses by encouraging people into town centres on Fridays.”

People will be able to travel for free on all light rail services and bus services running from around 5:30 am to 11 pm, and light rail from 6 am to 1 am on Friday and into Saturday morning.”

Passengers will still be required to tap on and off each service to support data collection but will not be charged for the fare.

READ ALSO More roadside drug tests needed after a ‘bad year’ on ACT roads, NRMA says

After six weeks of free public transport during the MyWay+ transition period, Canberrans are again paying but in a greater variety of ways.

They can now tap on and off with their Mastercard or Visa, use a MyWay+ card or use a digital ticket linked to the MyWay+ app. Old MyWay cards will no longer be accepted.

Mr Steel said this was a big change in how to use public transport, but nobody would be left behind in this ongoing transition period.

He said drivers and staff would take an educative approach in the first few weeks of the system.

“While the fare-free period has supported more than 20,000 people to already set up MyWay+ accounts, we want to allow everyone time to find out more information and understand the new system,” he said.

For the first time, people could now also track their service via the online real-time journey planner and the MyWay+ app.

Mr Steel said MyWay+ would continue to improve in the weeks ahead as more features are added and the app and systems were updated in response to customer feedback.

Updates were expected every few weeks and these would be applied automatically to any versions of the app people had already installed.

Mr Steel said a small number of buses would not have the MyWay+ hardware installed. These were scheduled for replacement by new battery electric buses in the coming weeks and months.

He said passengers on these buses would not be charged a fare for that particular trip but would need to resume tapping on any further journey and pay.

MyWay+ fares remain the same as they were under the previous MyWay system, and the fares incorporate banking-related fees and costs.

READ ALSO Dozens of public servants sacked for code of conduct breaches: State of the Service Report

Mr Steel thanked everyone who had provided feedback over the past few weeks, particularly since the first version of the MyWay+ app went live and the account functionality went live.

“We know that change can be stressful,” he said.

“It is also a big change for how our drivers and staff, including call centre operators.

“I would ask that all Canberrans be respectful of our staff as we navigate this change together. Our drivers are also learning the system and they need to focus on driving safely.”

For more detailed information and to share feedback, visit the Transport Canberra website or call 13 17 10.

Join the conversation

32
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

Ian Bushnell has been very quick to write promotional piece after promotional piece about the My Way+ rollout, but very quiet on holding his Transport Minister mate to account over the ongoing issues being encountered by public transport users.

The bus fares don’t pay to cover costs. Costs are like 200million and fares are like 20 million. Begs the question why we are spending a hundred million for a lousy system was made for elsewhere but rebadged for act.

A glitch or two on day 1 would be bearable, but this has been a massive, system-wide disaster. The empathy-deprived Minister Steel is quoted in the ABC News app 30/11 as saying, “This is a new way to use public transport, and the best way to actually understand how to use it is to try it out.” It seems he’s discounting people’s experiences, and minimising people’s frustration and anger. It was not ready when introduced and we, the travelling public, are unwittingly taking part in the trial.

Another Ian Bushnell ACT government puff piece when even government ministers admit My Way+ has been a complete debacle.

If he could only ask the tough questions he continually asked Elizabeth Lee. 😀

The fare free Fridays are a good idea. The rest of the bus system is a debacle and has been for some time. Now we can look forward to Minister Steele stuffing up as Treasurer as well as Transport Minister. Should be lots to keep the media amused and Canberrans annoyed, frustrated and angry.

Bizarre that we have worse bus services than 20 years ago, yet this government claims to be progressive. It seems to progress backwards or chaotically, depending on the issue.

The bus network is terrible because they got consultants from Sydney who don’t use public transport to design the network.

Its appears a lot of people have missed the point, that you no longer NEED a MyWay+ card. You can simply use your debit or credit to tap on and off like they’ve done in Sydney & Melbourne on public transport for some time now. This enables visitors to our city or one-off users to utilise bus services without the rigmarole of having to acquire a MyWay at all.
Also, my mind boggles that after 6 weeks of totally free transport, people still complain that they can’t transfer their old balance to the new card. Were people using these as savings accounts? What kind of balances are we talking about that getting people so worked up about? I’m seriously interested to know.

Qwizzy not sure how it works here as i havent used public transport for years, but in sydney you pay more if you use a credit or debit card as apposed to an opal card.

the issue with transferring is you actually need the new card and from what ive heard they wernt available early enough for people to sort out their old to new card transfer

GrumpyGrandpa3:19 pm 27 Nov 24

G’day Qwizzy,
True. People don’t “need” a MyWay+ card to travel.
That said, not everyone adopts change readily.
I expect the vast majority of Seniors will want to continue using a dedicated transport card. My wife wants to. I’m inclined to, but I’m a bit more tech savvy than her.
Our son, prefers a card, but in the meantime tried the QR code, and it failed and that’s the problem. If you want people to change their habits, things have to work.
Of course, the old MyWay card system operated on the basis of commuters having credit on their cards (unless you were scamming free rides). TC provided a 5% discount on the fares, if people topped-up on-line, so plausibly people could have a fair bit of money sitting on their old cards. I have heard of people with $100 on their old cards.
Personally, I have $8.40, the Mrs about $20, although we are retired Seniors and only pay fares during Peak. Our son, has about $50 on his old card.
Maybe if the government was offering a refund back to their bank accounts, rather than transferring it to the App or onto new cards, that might help?

It was always easier to transfer a decent chunk of cash to the MyWay card so there was no need to top up for ages and also little likelihood of being caught out without credit on the card. Every time I topped up it was with either $20 or $50 as public transport is how I travel unless I’m walking.

Despite searching online and elsewhere for info on how to transfer my balance, I’ve been unable to get the essential info. The retailers don’t know, the bus drivers don’t know and none of the public announcements have contained this info. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to want access to the money people have already invested in bus transport.

Many people do not want to have to use their credit or debit card for every bus or tram trip. That unnecessarily complicates the monthly statement, whilst increasing the risk of misplacing a card that is otherwise not used often. Much easier to use a dedicated transport card and if misplace it’s much less problematic and less disruptive than loss of a credit/debit card.

It took me all of about 30 seconds to figure out and transfer the balance from my old card to my new account. I’m struggling to see why people would have any difficulty.

I got a new MyWay+ card about a week before the system started, a few days after they said where they were available.

If you have a MyWay+ card and top it up online, you get a 5% discount on the fares (also got this on the old system if you used auto top up or BPay)
There are also cash fares (only available at the ticket machines since they stopped accepting cash during covid). Using a card is around 40% cheaper then the cash fare (though if you don’t tap off, it charges you the difference up to the cash fare)

I usually top up with $100 at a time. I have about $80 left on the ‘old card’ that to date, has not been transferred to the new one due to a ‘glitch’.

I would rather keep my debit card in my backpack so that there is minimal risk of dropping it or accidentally losing it.

It’s also difficult for parents with school kids to link all the children’s tickets to the parent’s credit card. there doesn’t seem to be capacity for that.

An idea, why not make all of the buses free every day, and use the steam powered train budget to fund free buses for the next 20 years? I bet there would be improved take up then

Logged on to read the whining comments. I wasn’t disappointed.

Guessing you weren’t someone trying out the system and it not working.

Good organisational change management would have prevented this. It’s about understanding what people will need in terms of information and training for any new system. Simple really. Good preparation and advanced communication on how to manage the challenges that are part of such changes.

As usual, this government has not properly informed their staff, their customers or the general public about how to manage this change. If they had done so, there’d be no hassles for anyone and no complaints. Sadly this has not happened.

Where organisational change fails or creates problems it’s always due to poor planning and consultation, followed by inadequate communication. Research over many years shows this, but unfortunately and implementation. This government has not heeded expertise in this field or is ignorant of it, so has failed yet again.

Your whine about people commenting on a poorly planned and poorly implemented change to services is sad. People are sharing their experiences whilst you are criticising people who are stating the facts of their encounters with the new system. I know which people I would prefer to deal with, the ones who share information honestly rather than those who attempt to condemn them for doing so.

GrumpyGrandpa1:12 pm 27 Nov 24

How incompetent, introducing a new ticketing system and when it fails, stating it’s in a transition stage!
Our son couldn’t scan the QR code this morning. The 2nd bus still had old hardware. The bus we were on still had old hardware. Only yesterday, a friend of our said she couldn’t get her old card’s balance to transfer across to the App and my wife is having the same problems.
I heard a driver this morning told some passengers that replacement Senior’s card wouldn’t be issued until June 2025 and just to show their old cards. They had to be assured they could still ride without a valid card.
MyWay+ should have been thoroughly tested, new cards available on-line and at retailers long before it went live!
As for Free Fridays, does I think it’s going to be Free Everyday for some time.
Even then, when the government gets the mess sorted out, who really thinks the scammers are now going to start paying?
How embarrassing ACT Government. Good thing the launch was after the election.

Publicly Transported2:48 pm 27 Nov 24

That’s a lot of words to say you get a free trip, as will everyone until their cards arrive.

GrumpyGrandpa3:03 pm 27 Nov 24

True.
I have a quota of words to use every day. 😂

That assumes that this government is capable of getting seniors cards to people before June 2025. Given their history of delivery on promises, it should not be believed until it happens.

There are already people claiming they don’t have bank debit cards when a driver says they can use that (when they had just used said bank card to buy the shopping/drink they are holding when they got on the bus).

What a debacle! Despite having months to get this organised, it’s impossible to get hold of a new MyWay+ card. Fancy not making them available at Access Canberra. This is the first place I went to, only to discover that you actually have to go to obscure retail outlets, and there’s only 3 of them in the whole of Belconnen. They could have so easily set up booths at the interchanges, but no, that would be too obvious for this useless lot. As for Chris Steel on a bus – give me a break!

The failure to procure and distribute sufficient cards is the clearest example of incompetence in this transition. What excuse does anyone have for that? I accept (and expect) there will be glitches on day one of a new system, so I don’t think we can be too critical about that – provided the number and seriousness of those glitches is relatively minor and they are resolved quickly (and I’ve not seen enough to say if that’s the case or not). But not having enough cards – they’ve got to be kidding!

Barmaleo Barmaley9:16 am 27 Nov 24

On Tuesday I saw crowds of desperate parents trying to buy new MyWay+ cards after school due to the sudden announcement made just a day before. I drove through all MyWay+ sale points in Belconnen. None of them would be able to sale the cards after 4pm. Some ran out of cards, others exceeded the limit of the card activation set by the system per outlet.

Today morning (Wednesday 27 November) I have tried to buy the card in Civic. I went through three places without success. Even if they have card, they can’t activate them. According to shop personnel, the system to activate the cards is broke.

Whoever planned this transition from MyWay to MyWay+ did a very poor job. The worst of it is the announcement of the new system switching on just day-and-half ahead, resulting in the complete havoc for parents of school-age children.

What else would you expect from an inept government?

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.