Trials for contactless myki cards to begin almost three years after announcement
Almost three years after the Victorian government announced a step away from physical myki cards, a trial for a contactless version is set to begin.
For many Melbourne commuters, the plastic myki is a relic of the past they are eager to leave behind.
"It's better than paper and coins, but it's a long way behind the credit cards," a commuter told 9News.
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For many Melbourne commuters, the plastic myki is a relic of the past. Scott McNaughton / The Age
The long-awaited contactless upgrade has entered the testing phase.
Lab-testing of contactless payments will begin next month, with more than 100 government staff set to trial different bank cards and devices.
After this phase, they will move on to two train stations.
However, it is still unclear when they will reach the public.
"I do look forward to, in the not too distant future share more about that time for rollout," Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said.
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It remains unclear when the contactless cards will become avaliable to the public. AAP
"We will be able to give more insight into those timeframes in due course.
"We'll have more to say about those timelines of the full rollout in due course.
"In terms of helping Victorians navigate this transition, it's important to see we are transitioning to a new system in a very complex environment."
Advocates say the "due course" has been in the making for too long.
"We've definitely fallen behind. We've now got tap-and-go in Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Canberra," Daniel Bowen from the Public Transport Users Association said.
"We might be almost the last in Australia to get it.
"The bottom line is, we need these fare payment options to make it easy to use public transport.
"Hopefully that staged approach doesn't take too long, because it can be very confusing for passengers."
Once the contactless system is rolled out, it will only work across the rail network and only for full-fare commuters.
Concession holders and those who travel by bus or tram will still have to use physical myki cards.
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