Myki
Problems
### Problems

* Controversies over the tendering process. A staff member of the TTA left a [USB flash drive](/wiki/USB_flash_drive "USB flash drive") in a room with representatives of one of the bidders. The TTA said this was an accident and that there was no confidential information on the flash drive. Also, the company hired by the TTA early in the process to give it technical advice was part of the winning consortium.
* Increased dwell times: Tests commissioned by the Government in 2007 suggested longer stationary times for trams compared to the Metcard system as a result of passengers needing to touch on and off when boarding and disembarking. As a result, when Myki was made available on trams in 2009 the requirement to touch off was removed.
* Potential for a higher fare to be charged if a user forgets to touch off: The cost of a trip after which the user has not touched off (deliberately or accidentally) may be higher than the fare the passenger would have paid if they had touched off.
* Ticket vending machines receipt issuing: Topping up a Myki using EFTPOS or credit card displays a screen asking the user if they would like a receipt to be printed. If "no" was selected, an EFT transaction record was printed anyway, which contained the credit card user's full name, expiry date and 9 of 16 credit card digits. This was subsequently changed to show only the last four digits of the credit card with the card holder's name no longer printed, and eventually to prevent the printing of receipts when "no" had been selected.
* Newsagents initially refused to sell Myki cards because lower commissions were being offered by the government in comparison to Metcard.
* Disability Access: Disability groups claimed that several elements of the Myki program would be problematic for users with a disability (particularly people in wheelchairs, or those with cognitive limitations or who lack dexterity) due to the placement of several pieces of equipment. On low\-floor trams, Myki readers have been installed at various heights to cater for this. The Government introduced a free Access Travel Pass for users who are unable to use Myki ticketing equipment as a result of a permanent disability.
* On 29 December 2009, the reputation of [Lynne Kosky](/wiki/Lynne_Kosky "Lynne Kosky"), the Public Transport Minister at the time, was put into question when Kosky was unable to recall the phone number for commuters to buy a ticket, and a computer error resulted in over 1,600 people receiving new Myki cards with their name incorrectly spelled or printed as 'anonymous'.
* Rules covering faulty cards: The TTA originally stated that passengers who had a faulty Myki card would need to buy a replacement Myki card if they wanted to travel and seek reimbursement later. This replicated the rule for faulty Metcards. Users are now able to go to a staffed railway station to have a faulty Myki replaced on the spot.
* Auto top\-up failure problem: Originally, when the auto top\-up feature of Myki failed due to insufficient funds, the card was blocked and had to be posted to Myki to be reactivated. Now the auto top\-up request is removed from the card, and the original top up amount is reversed from the Myki.
* On 11 June 2015, a Melbourne commuter found her card showed a negative balance of $2,684,350\.00\.
* Vandalism: Particularly in the early days of myki, there were widespread reports of damage to Myki equipment, with up to 60% of machines being targeted by vandals. Display screens on fare payment devices and card vending machines could be smashed by heavy objects, rendering the displays unusable, or by marker pen, paint or scratching obscuring information. In mid\-2013 it was reported that Myki machines at some railway stations had been broken into using portable power tools, in order to raid their cash boxes. While Myki readers will often still work despite surface vandalism, passengers might not be able to read the information displayed on the reader's screen.

How can passengers protect themselves from being charged more for not touching off?