After a government review, the Australian state of Victoria has decided to keep the troubled myki smart card system. The state has reached a deal with NTT Data, the parent company of the myki contractor Kamco, to move forward. “The revised contract will deliver a reliable ticketing system with strengthened project management and governance arrangements ensuring system improvements and content delivery occur on schedule and on budget,” said premier Ted Baillieu in a statement. “Improved project management governance and key performance measures will be a key part of the revised ticketing contract.”
The revised scope calls for excluding V/Line intercity trains and long-distance coach services from the initial roll-out, eliminating disposable short-term cards, and operating trams without smart card vending machines after the current Metcard equipment is removed. The streamlined project will focus on services in Melbourne and selected V/Line commuter trains. “The costs of paying out the existing contract, removing the existing system infrastructure, and funding a new system would be far higher than the funding required to make myki work,” Baillieu said, adding that scrapping the system entirely would cost the government $1 billion. Link to full story in ABC News.
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