myki (new window), Victoria’s new smartcard ticketing system, is now operating on trains in metropolitan Melbourne and on many regional town bus services. Metropolitan tram and bus and V/Line services will follow later in 2010.
Here’s the top 5 things you should know before using myki.
1. Touch on and touch off
myki is a plastic smartcard guaranteed to last four years. You use your smartcard to "touch on" at a reader (the yellow and blue boxes) to start your journey and then "touch off" at the end. The system is programmed to calculate the best fare for you.
2. myki passes and myki money
You can store a myki pass, myki money or both on your smartcard. A myki pass is like a monthly or yearly ticket, but it has more options. You decide which zone(s) you will travel in and how many days you want to travel for, seven days or anywhere between 28 and 365.
myki money is a lot like a pay-as-you-go phone card. You top up your smartcard with money (e.g. $20) and when you touch on and off, the system gives you the best available fare for your trip.
3. Where to get a myki
You can buy a myki now and top up your smartcard online, at www.myki.com.au (new window), or over the phone by calling 14 6954 (13 myki).
Once myki is fully introduced you will be able to buy and top-up your myki at railway stations, tram platforms and bus interchanges, the MetShop or from 720 retail outlets, including 7 Eleven stores in Melbourne and selected Australia Post outlets in regional Victoria.
Customers will also be able to buy and top up their myki through myki ticket offices at the Flinders Street Station and the myki Discovery Centre at Southern Cross Station.
As myki becomes available across Victoria there will be spcioal introductory offers to help you get started. So look out for advertised offers, or visit www.myki.com.au (new window)
4. Getting the best fare
If you use myki money you must remember to touch on and off to get the best fare for your trip. The system calculates the fare depending on where they travelled, with caps on daily full fares.
If you don’t touch off at the end of your trip, the system doesn’t know where you have travelled to and has to charge a default fare. This may be more than you needed to pay, so to ensure you always get the best fare touch on and touch off every time your travel.
For full details about fares, check out the myki website (new window)
5. Protecting your balance
You can register your myki to protect your balance if you want to. Once registered you can also set up automatic top-ups, so if your balance falls below a certain amount (e.g. $10) it’s automatically topped up by direct debit from your bank account.
For more information about myki visit www.myki.com.au (new window) or call 13 6954 (13 myki).
