Transport Minister Chris Steel taps the MyWay+ card on one of Canberra’s electric buses as driver Maddison Young looks on. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
There’s nearly $10 million in credit on Canberrans’ MyWay cards, and the ACT Government doesn’t want any of it floating idle on old cards once the new account-based ticketing system starts in November.
Transport Minister Chris Steel is ramping up the campaign for public transport users to register all their MyWay cards so the data and balances can be transferred to the new MyWay+ system or refunded.
It comes as Transport Canberra prepares to begin a six-week test period and launch the transitional free travel period in September.
More than 200 people from a cross-section of the community will be recruited to take part in hands-on user testing for the new MyWay+ system, which will offer payment by credit and debit cards and smart devices, as well as a new specific card that will be available for more vendors such as supermarkets.
They will be able to experience the web portal and mobile app, as well as test the new equipment on board buses and at light rail stops from a customer experience perspective.
Mr Steel said that out of 575,000 MyWay cards, about 186,000 have been registered.
“We want to make sure that those customers can get the balance on their card back,” he said.
Mr Steel said a decision hadn’t been made yet about what to do with any credit that may be left on the old cards after the new system starts.
“At the moment, it’s sitting there for people to transfer or get a refund,” he said.
User testing will involve public transport workers, the TCCS Accessibility Reference Group, students, public transport advocates, First Nations people and seniors.
Mr Steel said this would give Transport Canberra a first look at how the journey planning worked, the payment methods, and different features available to travellers with the new system.
He said the government had opted to shut down the old system to coincide with the switching off of Optus 3G in September and have a free transition period until November.
“We’ve made that decision to make it as simple as possible for the transition from MyWay to MyWay+,” Mr Steel said.
“The only other option was to actually have both systems and hardware operating on buses at the same time, and that would have been very confusing.”
Mr Steel said the project was on track and no delays were expected.
Free travel would cost the government $2.5 million.
“We will provide the exact date of the fare-free period once that becomes available and is confirmed by Optus, but we expect this to run for around two months with the new system commencing with MyWay+ in November,” Mr Steel said.
Public Transport Association of Canberra chair Ryan Hemsley said his members were keen to give the app a go and be part of the test period.
“We want to make sure that the app is usable,” he said.
“We want to make sure that it’s simple and that it provides information that people who actually use public transport find important and will help them plan their trips.
Mr Hemsley said it was exciting to see the new ticketing system becoming a reality.
“It’ll be really interesting to see how the account-based system works,” he said.
“This is certainly nation-leading as far as account-based public transport ticketing systems are concerned.
“We are seeing jurisdictions like NSW move into this area. They’re now a little bit behind us in those states.
“We’re really going to be seeing this for the first time in Australia happening right here in the ACT, and that’s really pleasing to see.”
Tertiary student Paul, who has been testing the app, said it was “quite nice” to use and could be topped easily.
“I’m really happy that you can register your concessions,” he said.
The best features were the journey planner and having access to his account.
Council of the Ageing Jenny Mobbs told seniors that change was coming, but there was no need to rush.
“A change will take place in November for older Canberrans because, as those people who’ve got a Seniors Card know, the MyWay card is on the back of the seniors card.
Ms Mobbs said they should go to the Seniors Expo on 25 September where Transport Canberra staff would be able to help.
Four MyWay+ demonstration buses are on the road to learn the public transport network. The system’s new hardware will be installed from September.
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