The Victorian government was forced to spend $3.3m on short-term upgrades to the ageing Myki public transport ticketing system to be 4G-compatible because the new system would not be ready before the 3G network shuts down, data obtained by Guardian Australia reveals.
A new $1.7bn Myki ticketing system is due to begin testing in parts of regional Victoria this year before a 2025 launch, after extensive delays in the project stemming from choosing the contractor to roll out the system.
Initially the Victorian government suggested the new system would be in place by the end of 2023. Guardian Australia previously reported other proposals put to the Victorian government claimed to have been able to deliver the new scheme earlier than 2025.
The delays in modernising Victoria’s public transport ticketing system to allow credit card and iPhone payments, among other improvements, meant taxpayer funds were spent to keep the older Myki system running until the new one is operational.
As a result of Telstra shutting down its 3G mobile network – now scheduled to cease operations at the end of October – $3.3m was used to upgrade card readers across the rail, tram and bus network to 4G to keep operating, Guardian Australia has learned.
The upgrade, described as a “short-term measure” to ensure service continuity, was completed in October last year. In April the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning refused to provide the figure for how much the upgrade cost, instead pointing to $543m in funding allocated in the latest state budget for ticketing system improvements as part of the overall $1.7bn Myki upgrade.
The card readers will be overhauled when the new ticketing system is rolled out from next year.
“It was necessary to complete these upgrades as soon as possible to ensure the retirement of the 3G network would have no impact on the public transport network,” a Victorian government spokesperson said. “We will replace more than 23,000 devices progressively over the coming years to unlock new payment options.”
The opposition said the money could have been spent on improvements for the system. “Each dollar wasted by this government for incompetence is a dollar not able to go back into the system to improve it,” said the shadow minister for public transport, Matthew Guy.
The New South Wales government provided similar information in a submission to the federal parliamentary inquiry examining the shutdown of the 3G networks, stating $20m had been invested to transition all 15,000 transport and road operations services on 3G, including traffic signage, operational systems and buses.
Optus and Telstra voluntarily delayed the shut down of their 3G networks by two months this month in part due to hundreds of thousands of non-phone devices like smart meters and medical alert systems not yet being upgraded.
In a response to the parliamentary inquiry this week, the federal Albanese government indicated the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, was still assessing whether to use her powers to further delay the 3G shutdown amid these concerns.
