Victoria hands myki contract extension to NTT Data

The Victorian Government has awarded NTT Data a seven-year contract extension for the myki public transport smartcard ticketing system.

Acknowledging the controversy over the cost blowout of the original myki contract, awarded to Kamco in 2005 before its acquisition by NTT Data in 2010, Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan said the new deal includes mechanisms to shield the taxpayer from any future blowout.

The new contract has a fixed-price model where unanticipated costs will be borne by the operator, she said.

“This is a stronger contract that provides a better deal for Victoria and paves the way for major improvements to myki,” Allan said.

“We’ve made major upgrades to myki and work on the next generation of improvements starts today — looking at the latest technology to make it quicker and easier to top up, touch on and get where you need to go.”

The original myki contract was a 10-year, $944 million deal, but costs swelled to $1.5 billion and the project was stalled for three years due to planning issues.

Allan said that with the continuity of the myki system now ensured, the government will begin investigating introducing new contactless functionality, including the ability for passengers to touch on and off using their credit cards or smartphones.

Tap-and-go payment technology was recently introduced for the machines used to top up the value of myki cards.

Image courtesy of Beau Giles under CC