After repeated delays, Melbourne commuters will be able to use their credit card, phone or smartwatch across the train network this month, joining other major cities with ticketless travel.
The capability will launch across two stages, this Sunday and then the week following.
All myki-enabled train stations will get the capability, covering the entire Metro Trains network and some regional V/Line stations.
But concession, tram and bus passengers will need to wait.
The Allan government said it would provide a timeline for introducing contactless payments on tram and bus networks in coming weeks.
Concession passengers make up about one-third of commuters.
A trial of myki credit card and phone tap-and-go technology took place on several train lines in March. (ABC News)
The functionality for full-fare passengers will launch this Sunday on the Sunbury, Pakenham, Cranbourne, Metro Tunnel, Werribee, Williamstown, Sandringham, Frankston, Stony Point, Bendigo, Gippsland and Geelong lines.
A week later, it will be rolled out on Mernda, Hurstbridge, Lilydale, Belgrave, Alamein and Glen Waverley lines.
Regional stations that still rely on paper tickets will not have the option.
The government has planned to launch the technology for concession and all regional travellers next year, and confirmed on Friday this remained part of the staged rollout.
Victoria has fallen well behind Sydney and other international cities to enable credit card payments in lieu of tickets or passes on public transport.
The Victorian Auditor-General’s Office in March put the total cost of the project at $2.8 billion over 15 years, found the project was 18 months behind schedule, and that blowouts and delays could have been avoided.
In 2023 the state awarded a $1.7 billion contract to overhaul myki to Conduent, which last month announced it is to sell its public transit business.
Premier Jacinta Allan insisted at the time it would not further delay the rollout of touch-and-go technology.
Gabrielle Williams says the tap-and-go technology will make life easier for commuters. (ABC Central Victoria: Tyrone Dalton)
Trials were due to begin in 2024, but started a year later on just four bus routes in Wangaratta.
Two Melbourne train lines began trialling the functionality in March, with 88,500 ticketless trips taken.
Four in five of those used a phone or smartwatch.
This was interrupted in March by free public transport for April and May, which threatened to delay the rollout.
The cost of living measure, introduced during soaring petrol prices as a result of the United States and Israel’s war in Iran, was replaced with half-price fares for the rest of the year.
“Victorians are already saving money with half-price fares. Now we’re making public transport easier to use too,” said Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams.
“Tap and go means one less card in your wallet and one less thing to worry about on your journey.”
