Passengers can check their balances at ticket machines at light rail stations and major bus interchanges. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Bus and light rail passengers are being advised not to rely on the auto-top-up feature on their MyWay+ cards after another bug has surfaced in Transport Canberra’s new ticketing system.
Over the last few days, passengers have reportedly incurred negative balances on their MyWay+ accounts when tapping onto bus or light-rail services, and lost a 5 per cent discount on their fare in the process.
The ACT Government has stated that it’s working with NEC, the system provider, to resolve the issue.
“In the meantime, people experiencing issues with their auto top-up are encouraged to login into their MyWay+ account and disable the auto top-up function and enable it again within 24 to 48 hours for troubleshooting,” a spokesperson said.
Passengers who use the auto-top-up feature receive a 5 per cent discount on their fares, but this discount doesn’t apply when the balance is increased manually.
The government confirms the issue only affects those with online MyWay+ accounts.
“For passengers who travel anonymously without a MyWay+ account, they will not experience this issue,” the spokesperson added.
“They can continue to visit a retail outlet to check their balance and top up their MyWay+ travel card. Alternatively, they can also use the quick top-up option on the MyWay+ portal login page to check their balance and top up their card.”
Passengers can also check their MyWay+ balance, top up their cards, or purchase paper tickets from vending machines at light-rail platforms, major bus interchanges, and the Canberra Airport.
Passengers are asked to turn off the automatic top-up feature on their MyWay+ accounts – and turn it on again within 24 to 48 hours for “troubleshooting”. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The government’s roll-out of the new MyWay+ ticketing system late last year remains the focus of a parliamentary inquiry.
Local IT consultancy company Projects Assured also warned Transport Canberra that the system was “sub-optimal” and “poorly-planned” during an audit in September 2024 – two months before it went live.
It said NEC’s development work was behind schedule, to the point that fare collection could be disrupted, and in turn, the government’s customer experience staff were “unprepared” to deal with the potential number of complaints from the travelling public.
When MyWay+ launched on 27 November, Transport Canberra was inundated with complaints about machines that either refused to scan cards or QR codes, or only scanned once.
Up to 18 (or 25 per cent) of the ticket validators at the major interchanges and light-rail stops also weren’t working.
The Legislative Assembly’s standing committee on environment, planning, transport and city services is due to release its report on the MyWay+ system on 26 June.
Over the past few months, it has received 109 submissions and conducted several public hearings.
