In 2024, Transport Canberra will launch a combined ticketing system and real-time journey planner which will be known as MyWay+. But how did we get here and why has it taken so long?

The old and the new: magnetic ticket system on the left, “MyWay” driver console on the right

The existing “MyWay” smartcard ticketing system commenced in 2011, replacing the “Slide and Ride” magnetic-stripe ticket system. MyWay was essentially a copy of the “SmartRider” system which had operated in Perth for several years beforehand – so while it was a proven system, it had the disadvantage of being “old technology” when it was launched, despite having updated equipment compared to SmartRider.

The first mention of a new or upgraded ticketing system occurred in July 2016, when “Transport Canberra” became the agency responsible for Public Transport in the ACT. Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris announced that a feasibility study would be undertaken to identify options to upgrade or replace the MyWay system – including investigating the option of paying using credit and debit cards.

In June 2017, the ACT Budget allocated $2.1m to progress procurement of an integrated ticketing system and ticketing machines. Further funding for the following two financial years was allocated, but the value was withheld from publication.

A tender seeking expressions of interest for an account-based automated fare collection system was released in September 2017. The Canberra Times reported that in addition to offering an account-based fare system, the new system would need to also accept credit and debit card payments and have an integrated real-time passenger information system. The report stated that $7.9m had been allocated in the budget to develop this system[1]. The timeline was for a contract to be awarded in May 2018 with implementation in time for the commencement of the Light Rail line to Gungahlin.

Flowbird (formerly Parkeon) “Astreo” ticket machine at Tuggeranong Interchange

However, rather than a new system, a contract worth $5.3m was awarded to Downer EDI in 2018[2] to supply ticket vending / card top-up machines for bus interchanges and light rail stops, as well as platform tap-on/tap-off equipment.

By January 2019, the new ticket and top up machines were switched on at four bus interchanges, with the same equipment later installed at tram stops, along with the new tap-on/tap-off devices.

In early 2020, Transport Minister Chris Steel announced that MyWay and NXTBUS would be replaced with a new system, and that a procurement process to obtain the system had commenced. However, by November 2020 (as reported by The Canberra Times), progress on the procurement had been slow, with no contracts signed.

While we are still in the relatively early stages of a large and complex ICT procurement process, we remain committed to significant improvements to the ticketing system for Transport Canberra.

To date, a sole source contract negotiation has been progressing, but the impacts of COVID-19 have interrupted this process.

Our public transport recovery plan will consider the appropriate timeframe for the implementation of the new ticketing system.

Chris Steel, November 2020

By January 2021, negotiations with the preferred supplier were terminated (as reported by The Canberra Times) because the proposed system would be too expensive. Instead, Minister Steel announced that an open tender would be undertaken in order to find a new supplier.

The procurement process commenced in April 2021 with a pre-tender consultation for interested suppliers. At that time, it was aiming for final implementation to occur in 2023. In August 2021 a tender was released seeking expressions of interest.

In February 2022, Transport Canberra revealed that a short list of bidders were invited to submit a final tender, with the successful bidder expected to be appointed by mid-2022.

Which brings us to February 2023, when NEC is announced as being the successful bidder for a new ticketing and real-time system, with a contract value of $64m over ten years. The first milestone will be the release of three trial buses in April 2024, with the system expected to be fully implemented in the second half of 2024.


Notes:
  1. The Canberra Times reported that $7.9m was “allocated in the 2017 budget” for this proposed new ticket system. This amount cannot be verified in the 2017-18 budget papers, due to amounts being withheld from publication. It is believed that the $5.3m for ticket machines and Light Rail platform validators came from this funding. ↩︎
  2. The contract date is shown as August 2017, however the contract was not published until 2018. ↩︎

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This page was last updated on 9 March 2024