A $1.7 billion upgrade of Victoria’s public transport ticketing system is in chaos with reports emerging that parts of the consortium overseeing the upgrade have walked away with timelines not being met.
The 15-year contract to update the system was won by Conduent Transportation in mid-2023 and included the introduction of new technology to allow passengers to tap on with credit cards, phones and smart watches.
This technology is still years away in Victoria, despite being in place in other capital cities and developed countries around the world.
Meanwhile, passengers north of Seymour on the Shepparton line are still travelling on paper tickets, an indictment of the Allan Labor Government’s total mismanagement of public transport said The Nationals’ Member for Shepparton District Kim O’Keeffe.
“Quite frankly it’s embarrassing that paper tickets are still used on the Shepparton line in 2025,” she said.
“The technology to allow passengers to tap on with personal devices has existed for a long time and we still can’t even use a Myki card in the Goulburn Valley.
“It’s a shock to the system for everyone who visits our region and is forced to use a ticketing system from the Dark Ages.”
Compounding the frustration of passengers on the Shepparton line is the failure of the Labor Government to complete Stage 3 of the Shepparton Corridor Upgrade, which should have been finished in 2023 but remains incomplete.
“The Shepparton Corridor Upgrade has been plagued by delays since it was announced and we’re still waiting for the completion of Stage 3.
“Jacinta Allan was the Minister for Transport Infrastructure at the time of the announcement and while she turned for a photo opportunity she hasn’t been interested or sighted since.
“True to form, the project has taken much longer than expected and promised additional services are yet to materialise while our trains are overcrowding.
“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage public transport and regional Victorians are paying the price.”