29 April 2011

MyWay? No Way

| MWF
Join the conversation
32

I applied for and received my children’s school student MyWay cards a couple of weeks ago. I topped up their cards using BPay a couple of weeks ago. I went online here today: h

https://www.action.act.gov.au/ARTS/getbalance.asp

To check the balances on their cards and despite reading and fully comprehending the instructions to check the balances and following those instructions, computer said no.

On calling Action I was told that the information on the web site is incorrect. The “default password” or “secret question” (Action appears unable to decide what to call it) IS NOT the “student’s suburb and postcode” as stated on the site, but in fact their birth date typed in as dd/mm/yyyy. Even after getting that far, the “check my balance” feature of MyWay showed a balance of zero. I was told that the balance will show zero until the cards are activated when the student first catches a bus using the cards.

Join the conversation

32
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

11 years later he adds …. well this is ********, I have $58 balance on my son’s MyWay Card. He now has a car. I look for a refund request for MY MONEY, and it cost me $25.
Are you kidding? Wouldn’t want to overwork the person/process on this, oh sooo complex, I know … phfttt poor customer service.

I’m probably typing this too soon and jinxing myself but I would just like to post a big thank you to all RA contributors re the new MyWay system. I have appreciated and prepared for all of the tips and traps posted and, this morning, my child successfuly caught their first bus using the new system and without any hiccoughs.

Update to my dauighter’s lost Myway card.

It was handed in at the front office of the school (yay!) BUT when I rang Myway to have it reactivated they told me freezing the card is a one way process.. Have to wait for the new card. So think twice before freezing the card if there is a possibility the card might show up.

But I want to acknowledge the nice ACTION man who rang in response to my complaint. They have advised that they will reimburse the fares to the card if my daughter keeps her cash fare tickets that she has to buy while we are waiting for the new one to arrive. I am impressed with their client service.

redzed said :

sigh…. my daughter lost her wallet today. So the MyWay card is gone. I rang the MyWay centre as advised on the website and was told I need to apply for a new card on the website and it will take ten days for a replacement card to be issued!!!!!!!

Here endeth my rant. And I was a convert before – I thought it worked fine. Not happy now.

That’s sad. My student card arrived in an envelope from Western Australia after I applied for it. I guess that is the side effect of importing a readymade system from there.

While I haven’t had a problem with the frontend of MyWay, the backend seems to need a bit of optimisation. e.g. easier refunds for tourists, easier and faster recharging, and now easier transfer of data from a lost (and registered) student card.

I’ve heard stories about this before. e.g. build a bicycle cage and announce it, and then applications to use the cage take a few weeks. A friend of mine applied for a bicycle locker at Woden, as bike-and-ride would suit him (or us, if we were up to sharing keys to the lock). It took a month between sending application and receiving a call to arrange meeting at the lockers, but by which time the previously unlocked lockers were full. I would love a bicycle cage in Woden.

Not making a blanket statement about government systems though: when I transferred my interstate car registration, that went smoothly. Less complicated than NSW anyway. Libraries work really well. And those bicycle racks on buses are also reliable (although not fully ubiquitous yet).

MWF said :

MWF said :

krats said :

If you are not completely happy with MyWay….BUY A CAR and go your way!!

That’s a thought! I have a car, but I never thought about getting my 13 year old a car to drive himself to school. Thanks…

One think’s sarcasm is the lowest form of Witt

sigh…. my daughter lost her wallet today. So the MyWay card is gone. I rang the MyWay centre as advised on the website and was told I need to apply for a new card on the website and it will take ten days for a replacement card to be issued!!!!!!! In the meantime, my daughter has to pay cash fares – there is no other option. So ten days of bus fares will cost me $40. This instead of less than ten dollars with the 26 ride cap for the month having just kicked in so the rest of the month would have been free. Under the old system, you kept the receipt and term ticket details and when your child lost the ticket you could head into the ACTION office and it was replaced on the spot!

Yes, I have a child that loses things…. And I am punished to the tune of more thn $30! The ticket was registered, direct debit was set up, but apparently they need to check that she is a student and is entitled to a student card and these things take time, etc, etc.

Not even an option to head into a MyWay centre and pick up a temporary card. Just a tend day wait and cash fares in the meantime.

Here endeth my rant. And I was a convert before – I thought it worked fine. Not happy now.

MWF said :

krats said :

If you are not completely happy with MyWay….BUY A CAR and go your way!!

That’s a thought! I have a car, but I never thought about getting my 13 year old a car to drive himself to school. Thanks…

krats said :

If you are not completely happy with MyWay….BUY A CAR and go your way!!

That’s a thought! I have a car, but I never thought about getting my 13 year a car to drive himself to school. Thanks…

If you are not completely happy with MyWay….BUY A CAR and go your way!!

puggy said :

ML-585 said :

Explain how a machine refuses to tag off.

It happened to me yesterday. I tagged on at the front, then at Belco, tried to tag off at the back. Red lights, with a message that I had already tagged on with that card. Anyway, checked online and it thought I had tagged on in Civic on a different bus. It was actually Gungahlin.

^ This has happened to me on several occasions with two different cards, although my previous comment proves I was ignorant of the current grace period for tagging off. Still, enough negative experiences with MyWay will keep me off the buses once this period expires. I don’t have time to chase erroneous fare charges because the system has bigger problems than a boat made of chicken wire.

ML-585 said :

Explain how a machine refuses to tag off.

It happened to me yesterday. I tagged on at the front, then at Belco, tried to tag off at the back. Red lights, with a message that I had already tagged on with that card. Anyway, checked online and it thought I had tagged on in Civic on a different bus. It was actually Gungahlin.

It’s not the first time that it has thought I tagged on in Civic, except that time, it thought I tagged off in Civic as well, and as I had tagged off at the front, it gave me a “change of mind” free ride.

hmmm… when I logged in it was the suburb and post code. I don’t think the my way people actually know what is going on with the system yet!!!

Keijidosha said :

I’ve had enough of MyWay and curse the incompetent plebs responsible for implementing it. This black duck is going back to join the masses carbon polluting commuters clogging up our city streets with their cars. I am tired of being burned for full fare when machines refuse to tag off.

Strange when according to ACTION, they wont be penalizing and charging people the cash fare for not tagging off until June 1st.

I’m curious as to how many free rides I will actually get, when in one calendar month they also state you wont be charged for more than 38 paid trips.

Keijidosha said :

I am tired of being burned for full fare when machines refuse to tag off.

Which is odd considering this aspect of the system is not yet in place.

Explain how a machine refuses to tag off.

minkshaman said :

Also, Parents looking for term tickets? Letters were sent out from schools last term about this, you need to organise it through the school.

The ACTION site says different. http://www.transport.act.gov.au/myway/students.html

“Students and their parents are advised that MyWay cards are now available for travel on ACTION buses. The cards need to be bought online or by visiting a MyWay Centre to complete an application form (pdf imagePDF 214KB). Please note the cards should not be bought from newsagents as they need to be specially programmed. The student identification number needs to be provided as part of the application process to ensure the cards are set to charge the correct student concession fares. Students who have not been issued with a student ID card are advised to contact their school administration section to obtain their student ID number prior to submitting an application. “

Keijidosha said :

I am tired of being burned for full fare when machines refuse to tag off.

I can’t imagine a bus load of kids alighting from the bus, in an orderly fashion in order to allow each other to tag off when they get to school. Mine didn’t manage to this morning.

minkshaman said :

Also, Parents looking for term tickets? Letters were sent out from schools last term about this, you need to organise it through the school.

STOP ASKING THE NEWSAGENT FOR THEM! THEY DON’T HAVE THEM!

The only correspondence sent out from our school about the MyWay cards is that “we don’t have anything to do with them, call ACTION”.

Only those few schools doing a trial combination of MyWay cards and student ID get their card through the school. Everyone else must apply online or go to a MyWay centre to fill out a form.

I agree it is certainly not up to the neswagency but the reason people are asking the newsagents is because ACTION did not get the information out to the public.

I’ve had enough of MyWay and curse the incompetent plebs responsible for implementing it. This black duck is going back to join the masses carbon polluting commuters clogging up our city streets with their cars. I am tired of being burned for full fare when machines refuse to tag off.

housebound said :

minkshaman said :

Also, Parents looking for term tickets? Letters were sent out from schools last term about this, you need to organise it through the school.

Maybe in theory. Not in practice.

*shrugs* Either way, can’t buy them from Newsagents or pretty much anywhere over the counter.

minkshaman said :

Also, Parents looking for term tickets? Letters were sent out from schools last term about this, you need to organise it through the school.

Maybe in theory. Not in practice.

My partner works at a newsagency, they’re allowed to sell MyWay cards, but they aren’t allowed a top-up machine, which results in HORDES of pensioners and concerned parents asking to top up the cards and getting sh!tty when they can’t.

Takes a week to top up online as well.

Also, Parents looking for term tickets? Letters were sent out from schools last term about this, you need to organise it through the school.

STOP ASKING THE NEWSAGENT FOR THEM! THEY DON’T HAVE THEM!

please people, it’s ACTION, not Action!

Australian Capital Territory Internal Omnibus Network

hence all letters capitalised, ACTION is an acronym.

🙂

ML-585 said :

silentMac said :

The newer system might be better and I can see some benefits but the setup, advertising, organisation and information has been a colossal failure.

I believe I said that weeks ago.

http://the-riotact.com/myway-needs-better-promotion/39691

Do you believe me now?

Absolutely. I’m fairly new to this site so missed the previous thread.

My dramas continue. Went to a recharge agent today to find the system was down. Rang Action who have said they will have a one week grace period. Any student who is waiting on a card or for payment to get on the card, can tell the driver and they should let them on the bus.

silentMac said :

The newer system might be better and I can see some benefits but the setup, advertising, organisation and information has been a colossal failure.

I believe I said that weeks ago.

http://the-riotact.com/myway-needs-better-promotion/39691

Do you believe me now?

I went through the same thing. I applied for my kid’s card weeks ago after I found out through someone (not Action advertising) that you need to allow at least 10 days to get a student card and that you couldn’t get one from a MyWay centre. When it arrived, it had my child’s name wrong. Action fixed that up (after several attempts and phone calls) but the new card only arrived on Friday.

It needs money on the card by Monday, so I attempted online. I got to the same page you are referring to and also read that student’s password is namesuburb. After this failed, I read on another page that you need to register a card once you have it. I rang Action tonight to register it and was told the website is wrong, cards sent in the mail are already registered, the “secret answer” (not even a password) is their DOB in a very specific format (but there appears no way to change this to something different), doesn’t appear any way to log out either and now I have to go out tomorrow to find a recharge agent because paying online would take 4-5 days.

The newer system might be better and I can see some benefits but the setup, advertising, organisation and information has been a colossal failure.

51modelBloke12:32 pm 30 Apr 11

@basketcase – It’s GPS in the bus drivers console the updates the coordinates. The system operates on a footprint of about 50 metres, so should usually record the correct position when the bus is stopping. Like everything else some of the coordinates need refinement, it’s pretty new stuff for TAMS.

When I first ordered my children’s cards (week 9 or 10 last term), that page was asking for date of birth, I did notice it changed…

My youngest receives her credit from TAMS http://www.tams.act.gov.au/move/public_transport/stp
I can see that something happened (credit loaded?) on 21 April, but on Thursday 28 April it scanned as having no credit. We shall see what happens on Monday, she is armed with the letter from TAMS showing that they will be giving her credit, now we just have to hope that the bus driver is semi-reasonable and doesn’t hassle her to pay a cash fare (that’s another saga, fancy threatening to leave a primary school student stranded). She’s been instructed in future to refuse to pay and walk on anyway.

My own myway card was ordered online on 13 April, I’m yet to receive it.

ACTION…..grrrrrrrrrrr

“Even after getting that far, the “check my balance” feature of MyWay showed a balance of zero. I was told that the balance will show zero until the cards are activated when the student first catches a bus using the cards.”

That’s the way it seems to work everywhere. Had the same problem with Brisbane’s Go link card, but it all worked in the end. You just get a bit twitchy when it seems that your money has gone into the ether.

I had 5 trips left on my Fare Go ticket. It hasn’t appeared yet. The MyWay girl said they had a “mountain” of refunds to process. Bide my time.

The other thing I have noticed is that if you swipe off before the stop, you will be recorded as getting off at the previous stop.

Watching the drivers control panel, it seems that the current stop does not appear until the bus is virtually at the stop. Wonder how they do that, GPS in the bus, or RFID systems at the bus stop itself.

I occasionally bus from Phillip to Bruce and back on the Blue Rapid—passing through Woden and Civic—and it hasn’t played up once. Most people use it too, in preference to paper tickets. It’s quite pleasing, at least compared to my experience with paper tickets elsewhere. Dunno about free rides.

Most users also take advantage of not having to remove the MyWay card from their wallets, which is convenient.

i don’t type in my DOB or any suburbs/postcodes for the secret question, just a normal answer to my secret question, and it works fine.

card number
DOB (drop down selection)
secret question answer (press help for a list of common questions)

So do the cards work, or is this just an issue you’re having with the web interface? Just go into a MyWay shop, im sure they can sort out the password issue pretty easily.

I like the new system, better than having a flimsy paper card, and now my trips are cheaper since I sometimes take the buses outside normal peak hours and get rides for $2 instead of $2.52. Oh lets not forget all the free rides I had during their changeover period.

“I was told that the balance will show zero until the cards are activated when the student first catches a bus using the cards.”

I thought this is a known fact to regular rioters. On the other matters, seems a bit of usual disorganisation within ACTION. I’m using MyWay and still getting the odd free ride, ala the old magnetic strip tickets.

They’re right about the top-up part. I bought a $20 card back in January and added an extra $20 via bPay, however I didn’t have a need to use the card until April thanks to my old Faresaver 10’s.

The $20 top up was applied when I first tagged on in April.

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.