The ACT Government intends to replace MyWay with a new public transport ticketing system in 2023. Negotiations with a preferred provider having fallen through, so the government will open the tender process to the market this year.
Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the new ticketing system should include more flexible payment options and a real time app for customers to track services and plan their journey.
“We want to make it as easy as possible to access bus and light rail services through an account-based system that enables fares to be paid using mobile phones or tapping on and off with a credit card,” he said.
The ACT Government determined that negotiations with a preferred provider did not represent value for money, Mr Steel said.
“It’s disappointing that we did not get the outcome we had hoped, but we still remain committed to procuring a new public transport ticketing system for Canberra,” he said.
The Canberra Liberals have seized on the MyWay delay as another promise the ACT Government has broken.
Shadow Minister for Transport Mark Parton said Labor and the Greens talked a big game when it comes to bus commuters, but did not back it up with action.
“After years of spruiking a new transport ticketing system, the Labor-Greens Government has today revealed that they’re back to square one,” he said.
Mr Parton said the ticketing upgrade had been on the government agenda since the 2016 election; that funding was set aside in the 2017 budget; and that the government had promised to award a contract by mid-2020. Instead, Mr Parton complained, the deadline for delivery had been pushed back to 2023 – seven years after it was first promised.
“Now, the Minister has admitted that the behind-closed-doors negotiations with one provider has failed and will start the whole process again with an open tender process,” Mr Parton said.
“Labor and the Greens say they want to get more people using the network, but this tells me they really don’t care.”
Public transport users will be kept informed on this process through the Transport Canberra website.
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