Myki Victim

Not interested in hearing about how good you think bloody stupid myki is.

[mykivictim]

Myki demands an enormous amount of trust from its users, and delivers the poorest ticketing system we've ever had

A thorough summary of exactly why Myki is a disaster from touch on to touch off, from Russell Marks in The Age.

[mykivictim]

I can't work this out

If you store your Myki next to the proximity card for your office… ### …hold both up to reader at office door:  ## …hold both up to Myki reader:

[mykivictim]

The word "Myki" should just be slang for anything untested.

@zoomosis

[helencourtney-blog]

I MADE A DRESS!! made out of over 300 myki short term tickets :D hope you guys love it !! xxxxx

[mykivictim]

And then it was pulped…

[dreamingofasunset-old-deactivat]

Myki, dress as a girl for faster touching off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzxbzKZI00A

[thingtank-blog]

Myki is ripping you off

Read this article on The Age as to how Myki is ripping you off.

[mykivictim]

Myki: "Good money after bad. And then some."

On IT wire: Myki and the feet-of-clay

And, quelle surprise, the first Myki cards issued four years ago in Geelong (goodness hasn't time flown) have started expiring for no technical reason anyone can fathom. TTA head Bernie Carrolan was heard explaining on ABC Radio earlier this week that it was related to warranty.

So, adhering to the card's warranty conditions is far more important than:

Forcing users to go to the Myki kiosk at Spencer St Station

Forcing users to buy a replacement (unregistered) card and wait to be reimbursed (and somehow figure out how to get the new card re-registered)

Waiting until the card actually fails (with a warning that users should replace the card before that happens)

Reassuring users that the TTA is on top of things

Another PR and service delivery fail, brought to you by the Transport Ticketing Authority.

[mykivictim]

myki cards expire

In the Herald Sun: [Thousands of commuters have to buy new myki cards as their smart card is set to be 'deactivated' ](http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/thousands-of-commuters-have-to-buy-new-myki-cards-as-their-smart-card-is-set-to-be-deactivated/story-e6frf7kx-1226529968515 "Thousands of commuters have to buy new myki cards as their smart card is set to be 'deactivated' | Herald Sun"): > A leaked memo obtained by the Herald Sun reveals cards that are four years old will be turned off in coming weeks…TTA chief executive Bernie Carolan defended the situation, saying many other cards Victorians carried expired. True enough Bernie, but none of those other cards require that their owner pay for a replacement if they can't make it to the one-and-only service 'hub' in the state. What a way to reward the early-adopters of your half-arsed system. Carolan, you are an idiot.

[mykivictim]

Let's be thankful for small mercies. We could be living in Melbourne where the cock-up in introducing a universal public transport smartcard is of truly monumental dimensions…In 2005, the Victoria state government signed a $640 million contract to have the myki smart card ticketing system up and running by March 2007 in Melbourne, and then rolled out across the state in coming years. It's still to be completed.

[Brian Rudman ](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10829656 "Brian Rudman: Melbourne's transport pass saga makes ours look trivial - National - NZ Herald News"), NZ Herald

It seems that the Kiwis have found something other than the Wallabies to point across the Tasman and giggle about…

[mykivictim]

TODAY'S TIP: To use a myki pass you need a myki money balance of $0.00 or more. With a negative balance, you won’t be able to touch on.

@mykimate

The rest of the message got cut-off. It should have also said:

And the myki readers actually need to be working or you won't be able to touch off.

Oh yeah, and you'll be queuing at the station if you want to use our glacier-like machines to top-up your balance.

And just for laughs, you won't know exactly when your money will go through and be available for you to use.

Have a nice day.

[mykivictim]

Amazing! Enter a #yarratrams competition and win... 5 Metcards! What about 5 preloaded #Myki ?

@gunzel67

An easy explanation: they wanted it to be a prize, you know something actually worth winning

A myki as a prize wouldn't encourage people to enter and would likely discourage entries.

A myki would have to be the ultimate booby prize.

[mykivictim]

Myki Customer Experience Panel: Missing is action?

The other day I took cheap (but thoroughly justified) shot at Bernie Carolan for this hilarious comment:

While lengthy queues at train stations caused by delays “touching off” have enraged many commuters, Mr Carolan said this has not translated into a flood of telephone complaints.

I wondered out loud if Bernie had any other techniques in place, besides telephone complaints, with which to measure customer satisfaction of this $1.5 billion service. Of course, I'd forgotten about the myki Customer Experience Panel which was kicked-off in April, with $1 million going to consultancy firm Colmar Brunton to run it.

This despite the fact that the TTA could learn just as much by simply reading what comes up about #myki on Twitter, as The Myki User pointed out at the time:

Does anyone in myki actually use the system? Do they read the twitter stream? The problems are plainly obvious to anyone who has shown more than a passing interest in myki.

Since then the myki Customer Experience Panel seems to have disappeared without a trace. But apparently you can still register your interest to participate, so it's not like they're in a hurry to reach any conclusions or produce a report then.

I wonder if the delay is caused by the brains trust at Colmar Burton trying to work out how to spin feedback that amounts to "your system is totally fucked" into something remotely positive?

[mykivictim]

An excellent opinion piece by Josh Gordon on the power and [lack of] accountability of Victoria's senior bureaucrats.

[mykivictim]

Myki was "flawed from the start"? Say it isn't so!

Herald Sun reports

Transport Ticketing Authority chief executive Bernie Carolan today told a parliamentary inquiry the early plans for the smartcard were flawed…

"I think everyone would say, with the benefit of hindsight, there must have been flaws in that original business case.

No shit, Sherlock.

And also:

Kamco chief executive Greg Purdy today told a parliamentary inquiry that the contract did not set the requirements for the project.

"The requirement specifications from the outset was very, very poor," Mr Purdy said.

Well there's a complete non-shock.

But I love this bit:

Mr Purdy said the fare system was complex, and myki could have been cheaper and delivered more quickly had it been simplified.

Wow. Brilliant observation, Einstein.

But best of all, this cracker

"This system is well bedded-in and is working very well," Mr Purdy said.

qualifies Greg Purdy as a dipshit as big as Bernie Carolan.

Where do they get the fuckwits from?

[mykivictim]

Love your work.

[mykivictim]

Myki - without doubt the most user unfriendly service provision mechanism I have ever encountered. How were we lumbered with this garbage?

Francis Leach

[mykivictim]

Just got asked what I think of #myki by a rep at the tram stop. He now wishes he'd kept his mouth shut.

@deccles26