MEDIA RELEASE
The Public Transport Association of Canberra is pleased to see the ACT Government respond to the MyWay+ inquiry with a set of measurable and meaningful actions. Many of these actions are already underway and present significant shifts in the way the ACT Government manages and delivers projects. The ACT community needs to have confidence that the Government has the ability to deliver the projects necessary for a growing, modern city.
From the beginning of the process to procure a new public transport ticketing system for the ACT, PTCBR was not confident that Transport Canberra held the right kind of expertise in-house to deliver a complex ICT project and manage the contract for that project. The establishment of Digital Canberra is an important step towards establishing that expertise within the ACT Government and situating it within the right place organisationally. The core business of Transport Canberra is to run our public transport system, not to conduct complex procurements and manage large digital projects.
PTCBR Chair Amy Jelacic said, “We are very pleased to see that the ACT Government will deliver a Transport Canberra Customer Service Plan, and look forward to the opportunity to provide feedback and contribute to its development. PTCBR has long been concerned about what we perceive as a lack of rigor and coherence in how Transport Canberra communicates with the general public, and the introduction of MyWay+ brought many of these issues into sharp relief. We also note that public transport agencies typically present a set of service commitments to the general public, and we would like to see the same from Transport Canberra.”
PTCBR is particularly glad to see the Government pursuing two important public transport system features: MyWay+ card balances to be displayed on card validators, and Passenger Information Displays at interchanges. These items were not a part of the initial MyWay+ agreement with NEC, which was very surprising – both are key parts of a public transport system that is simple and easy to use. Dr Jelacic thanked Transport Canberra and the Minister for hearing and responding to PTCBR’s many representations on these features.
PTCBR also acknowledges the big improvements to MyWay+ seen in recent months – it’s great to see validators working consistently and more accessibility measures being implemented.
Dr Jelacic cautioned, “The tail must not wag the dog when it comes to public transport decisions and operations. The ACT Government must have a clear picture of the type of public transport system it wants and needs to operate, and then consider options for how to achieve it. In the case of MyWay+, we have now seen what happens when a seemingly sophisticated, ‘high-tech’ solution is adopted that does not align with community needs or expectations and does not contribute to offering a best-practice public transport system.”
PTCBR will continue to work with Transport Canberra to ensure the ACT’s public transport system continues to improve and wins back community trust and patronage.
Authorised by Amy Jelacic, Chair, PTCBR
You can access the Government Response to the Inquiry into the Procurement and Delivery of MyWay+ and the Ministerial Statement on the response below: