Government was warned new MyWay+ ticketing system wasn't up to the job

Calls for an inquiry into the procurement process for MyWay+ are gathering momentum, with both the Canberra Liberals and the Public Transport Association of Canberra criticising the ACT Government for the bug-ridden launch of the new ticketing system.

It’s day two of the new $64 million system, developed with tech firm NEC Australia and designed to allow bus and light-rail passengers to tap on and off with a credit card, smartphone or new MyWay+ card.

But the teething troubles are persisting.

Public Transport Association of Canberra (PTCBR) chair Ryan Hemsley caught a bus to work this morning to again be met by blank screens on the ticket validator machines, with the bus driver shrugging and waving passengers on.

“It simply didn’t work at all – complete blank screens,” he said.

Mr Hemsley said PTCBR warned TC of this late on Tuesday afternoon, the day before the launch.

“Basically, we were provided with assurance two weeks out from the launch date that all the issues we had identified with the system – the reliability of the validators, the quality of the online MyWay portal, and a host of other usability matters – would be dealt with,” he said.

“But as we got closer to the launch date, we became more concerned these issues were not being addressed. We spoke to … Transport Canberra at 4 pm the day before the launch and told them we did not think the system was ready for widespread public use.

“And we were right.”

At a press conference on Wednesday, TC deputy director-general Ben McHugh apologised to “anyone who was inconvenienced” and claimed the system was ready for launch but also that “we knew there were going to be things that would only be exposed once we put it into service”.

“Today’s just the first day we’ve had 40,000 people use it,” he said.

He added that staff were working around the clock with NEC Australia to “make sure the bugs we’ve identified … will be corrected before tomorrow”.

In the meantime, there remains no financial penalty for not tapping off.

“Fares have been set to apply at the minimum during this transition period,” he said.

Mr Hemsley said TC’s response “demonstrated an unwillingness to accept how many problems exist within the system”. He expected it will be “months” before Canberrans can enjoy the “genuinely world-class” public transport system it’s touted to be.

In a call that the Canberra Liberals subsequently promised to put forward as a motion in the Legislative Assembly, PTCBR wants an inquiry held into the MyWay+ procurement process.

“We’d like to know why the system that’s been rolled out – in many respects – does not match what has been contacted to be delivered,” Ryan says.

“It seems they’ve dropped the ball on some really basic elements of the system that are critical to get right if you’re wanting the system to be used by the public in a widespread manner.”

Canberra Liberals leader Leanne Castley said, “The community deserves answers for what is an unmitigated and unnecessary debacle”.

“MyWay+ has cost the community $70 million, but it is not working, and we don’t know when, or if, it will be working as intended,” she said.

In a press conference today, Minister for Transport Chris Steel said there is “no suggestion the project is off-time or off-budget”, and remained “very confident” the deal with NEC represented the best value-for-money.

“We’ll obviously look at what’s put before us, but we’re very confident with the procurement process because we’ve gone out multiple times to test the market to deliver a solution that will provide us with a fit-for-purpose ticketing system,” he said.

Since yesterday, ticket validators are now working across 77 per cent of the bus fleet, and all except two of the 70 across light-rail stops.

Mr McHugh said this was largely achieved by adjusting the geofencing technology and allowing passengers to tap on and off within 50 metres of a bus stop.

He said teams were also out overnight and this morning testing how different phones react to the validators.

“We’ve identified that some particular devices, particularly those with larger screens – because the QR code fits to the size of the screen – has generated an issue with scanning.

“So we’re putting together a solution where there’ll be a smaller QR code sent to devices to try and address that issue. That’ll go out this afternoon or evening.”

He said the “vast majority” of passengers were enjoying a “seamless experience”, with an estimated nine out of 10 people being able to tap on and off with bank cards and phones as originally envisioned.

“We’re talking about days to get these issues fixed, not months.”