myki public transport ticketing designed by Kafka

And we're back...Inspiration left me for a while there.  I think it was because I did something exciting that I can't tell you about just yet.  Time had to pass so there was space for something else to focus on.  And what better way than to talk about another bizarre process that I've discovered with Melbourne's public transport ticketing system, myki.

Things have been running fairly smoothly lately.  Generally, I've always thought that the day to day transactions with the card have run fairly well.  It's when you head into the "back office" process that the Kafkaesque trouble starts.

Last Thursday I travelled all over the place and then when I arrived at my home station, I could not find my myki.  Luckily I had registered the card so could immediately call and have the card blocked.  This protects any balance remaining on the card.  So far so good.  I also wanted the remaining balance returned to me. This is where the complexity seeps in.  They will transfer the balance onto a new myki and send it out in the mail as a result of my telephone request.  Sounds straightforward, except that I don't want or need another myki.  I have about half a dozen sitting on my desk.  These have been acquired for friends visiting or when I've arrived at the station and discovered the ticket isn't in my handbag so I've had to buy a whole new one (this could be rectified if there was a short term ticket option, but that has been explicitly ruled out by the State Government). I also acquired a couple through tasks required while I was a member of the customer experience panel giving feeback about all aspects of my experience with myki.

I asked for the balance to be put on one of the other cards that are registered on my account.  I was informed that the only way that can be done is if I fill in a paper form and post it in. The money is then transferred onto the card with the number nominated on the form. (Surprisingly) I don't even have to send in the myki I want to transfer to.  Why is a paper form required when all the details of registered cards are on my secure profile? (See what the Minister said about this issue in February 2012.)

"Why?" I asked.  "Because that's the process," came the answer.  To confuse matters further, the name of the form is "Refund and Reimbursement" which isn't really what we're talking about - it's a balance transfer.

Then I was informed that I was getting the benefit of a new card without having to pay the $6 purchase price.  That's true, except that I don't want or need another card and this is a public cost which is unnecessary.  What I want is my unused balance from the lost card to be put onto one of the cards I already have.  The cost would be minimal - especially if I could do it myself through my online account. Under the current process, the cost of a new card is added.

In the interests of highlighting problems so they can be fixed, I lodged feedback, specifically asking about why this is the process. Today I received a call from Kylie who informed me about the process.  I told her that I already know what the process is and I'm interested to know why this is the process. The conversation was pointless.

"All I can do is tell you what the process is and all you keep asking is why!"

"Well that's actually what I want to know."

"Well all I can tell you is what the process is."

"That's terrific, but I already know what the process is.  I actually want to understand the thinking that designed the process and point out how silly it is."

"All I can do is explain the process."

"What's the purpose of this phone call then? Was my feedback request not clear?"

"It was clear, but all I can do is explain the process and you keep asking why."

"Who should I be speaking to then?"

At the end of that exasperating exchange I was told to contact Public Transport Victoria via email or mail.

"Where are you from then? I thought I had contacted PTV initially."

"I work for PTV."

"Isn't that who you've said I have to talk to?"

"Yes, but I'm only in the myki section."

"But I'm wanting to talk about myki!"

"You need to send an email."

It's fitting really.  With such a costly, old-fashioned and convoluted process to get $4.84 back I don't know why I thought the feedback process would be smooth, streamlined and efficient. The other thing about all these processes is that the work onus is on the customer not on the service provider.  There is a benefit to Australia Post, so that's something.

I knew it was going to be weird when I had to go through an identification process to have the feedback conversation!  I refrained from asking the one question that was on my mind: why?

I've got the public transport ticketing blues.

Yesterday I lost my myki card.  I'd been travelling around all morning, flitting from one appointment to the next and when I boarded the tram at the end of the day I could not find the card.  I got on the tram anyway, thinking that the card was probably buried somewhere in the dark corners of my handbag.  For the duration of the journey I rummaged but disembarked without any sign of the card.

Due to my participation on the myki customer experience panel, I have acquired a small pile of myki cards.  I have participated in various activities where I've had to purchase a card - from a machine, online, from the call centre, from a station...I didn't particularly want to fork out $11 on a new card + the fare just to get home.

I lined up at the ticket window at Flinders Street Station only to discover the only tickets that are now available is myki.  No paper tickets are available any more.  I found myself face to face with the biggest problem with myki - the lack of a short term, one off ticket option.  The man at the ticket window said that a paper metcard can still be purchased from a machine on board a tram as long as I have coins.  I had coins, so decided to board a tram to Southern Cross station.  I could buy a ticket on the way and then catch a train from there.  After 29 December this won't be an option and there is still no sign of a short term ticketing option.

I started to feed my money into the ticket machine.  The money was sluggish going through the slot and I couldn't hear it dropping into the machine.  The display also was not showing the $4 I had fed in.  I pressed the cancel button in the hope my money would come back, but it didn't.  The machine shut down and I was left with no ticket, no coins and no options.

The tram driver said there was nothing he could do and handed me a leaflet with a phone number to call.  He advised me to record the serial number of the tram and the ticket machine.  I left the tram.

The myki discovery centre at Southern Cross Station was open, so I went in and caught the eye of one of the aqua clad "myki mates".  A woman greeted me with a friendly smile, took me straight to the telephone so I could report my myki lost.  Luckily I had registered it, so a block could be placed on the card and the unused balance on the card refunded.  The blocking was done in the blink of an eye and with $20 on the card I was very pleased that I had registered it.  The balance will be put on another card which I will receive in the mail.  To have the balance transferred to one of the cards I already have, I would have to fill in the refund/replacement card form which would then have to be posted in.  I decided not to bother.

I was given a replacement myki at no charge and was able to top it up with $5 to get me home.  Phew.  While the replacement process is still a bit clunky, the customer service aspect was excellent.  I do wonder why so many forms and postage is required for processes attached to a "smart" card.  Why can't I speak to someone on the phone and then be handed a replacement card with the balance from my other card on it while I'm at the discovery centre?  The back office processes could be completed without needing anything further from me and be much more efficient.

While dreaming of greater efficiency and truly customer-centric approaches from government agencies, I came face to face with the Metcard system when I called to report the faulty machine and organise to get my money back.  I can now see why myki has some of the design "features" it has - they have been lifted directly from Metcard.  Here's what happens when a machine has malfunctioned.

I called and provided the serial number of the ticket machine and the tram number.  They would get a technician to check the machine.  Simple.

To get my money back, I had to fill in a form.  I was sitting in front of my computer while I was on the phone, and was directed to a website.  I was to type the words "metcard refund application" into the search box.  The first option from the list was the one I was to select.  I received an error message advising that the website no longer existed.  The customer service officer emailed me a form.  The form can not be lodged electronically.  It can't even be filled out on the computer and then printed.  It must be printed, filled in by hand and then posted in.  My printer driver is not working so I can't print anything at the moment.  Another copy of the form is being mailed to me.

Once I fill out the form and send it in, I will receive a cheque for my refunded amount.  Sound familiar?  This is the process they used to go through for a myki refund. 

I asked whether I could provide the number for a myki card and have the balance topped up onto that card, rather than requiring a bank cheque to be purchased for $10.  No, there is no possible way that can be done.  I'm actually pretty sure it is possible.  The process just isn't set up that way. I think the system was designed to deter people from getting small amounts of money back when a machine malfunctions - another clue that the customer is a long way from the centre of their universe.

The other thing I discovered is that the $9.80 administration fee for gaining a refund does not apply when a machine has malfunctioned, but it will apply to people surrendering their metcards and switching to myki!  I suppose that will cover the cost of the refund to me, but people with metcards, need to get cracking and use them all up before the end of the year.

***********
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MYKI - Liberal member's response

Remember when I received a refund cheque for 94 cents from the Public Transport Ticketing Authority who administer MYKI?  I wrote a whole post about it.  Then I decided to bring the situation to the attention of my state government representatives.  I wrote about that too.

Most of my representatives have kept me very well informed about how they are progressing my enquiry, by emailing, messaging from the ipad, telephoning or sending an (undated) copy of the letter they wrote to the Minister for Transport.

Today I received the first communique (via email) that indicated what the Minister's office has to say about the refund process for MYKI tickets.  It came from the office of Andrew Elsbury MLC:

"Thank you for your email regarding concerns with Myki refunds. I have spoken to the Minister's office and they have advised me that the Department of Transport has no immediate plans to change current refund procedures."


Now this has left me with more questions than I started with.  What's the story with what the Public Transport Ombudsman advised me last year?  Were they wrong or have plans changed?  If the plans have changed, what on earth is the rationale for leaving it the way it is?  And this is now happening against the backdrop of the recent announcement that a full roll out of MYKI will occur this year and the paper metcards will be phased out.  The email has been sent from a staffer, but I can only assume it represents the Member's views.

Andrew Elsbury is a member of the Liberal Party and therefore the Victorian State Government, elected in 2010.  Perhaps I shouldn't expect very much more from someone in his position.  But then I noticed on his website this statement:  

"In his Members Statement to the Legislative Council Andrew sets out what the Coalition Government is doing in Melbourne's West and how it is ending Labor's "That'll do" attitude."

I don't know Mr Elsbury, seems like the prevailing attitude is "that'll do".  I wonder what you think of the system?  How is it serving your constituents?  I'd really love to hear someone argue its benefits.

MYKI: it's your key to bureaucratic frustration

I received a cheque in the mail today.  I had been waiting for it for five weeks.

(c) divacultura 2012

That's right, it's a bank cheque for 94 cents!  I called Westpac Bank to find out how much they charge to issue a bank cheque.  The call centre operator advised me that they charge $10 for a bank cheque regardless of who is purchasing the cheque.  $10!  More than ten times the value of the cheque itself.

The story of this 94 cent cheque starts at the beginning of this year when I took up the opportunity to try out MYKI, the new "smart card" ticketing system for public transport in Melbourne.  An offer of a free card was made as an incentive for travelling Melbournians to make the switch from the paper Metcards to the smart MYKI.  Usually the card costs $10 to purchase and then money is added online, over the phone or at machines at stations.

I'd waited a while before actually using the card because I'd heard there were still lots of problems.  Shortly after I started to use MYKI I became eligible for concession travel.  To pay only the concession fare, I needed to have a concession MYKI.  I went to the myki website to find out what I had to do.  I had to download and print a form, fill it out by hand or type it and print it and then take it to the "discovery centre" at Southern Cross Station.  At the discovery centre, I handed over the form and the card with its balance of around $20 to an aqua clad woman and was given a concession MYKI with a zero balance in return.  I was given a handwritten receipt noting the date and details of the card surrendered.  The $9.80 administrative fee was waived because the change of card and consequent refund was due to a change in concession status.

Given the smart card technology and the world we live in, I expected that the balance on my old card would be topped up onto the new card on the spot and then the Public Transport Ticketing Authority would complete whatever process they needed to follow on their own.

My expectations were soon found to be ridiculous.  Here's what actually happens:  the forms and cards are sent by post to somewhere else in Melbourne to be processed.  The date on the receipt acknowledging surrender of the card is meaningless when it comes to counting the quoted 21 business days it takes to process the refund - they only start counting once the form has been processed at the place where it was sent to and even if it was processed on a Saturday, the clock doesn't start ticking until the following Monday.

Once that has happened they buy a bank cheque and send it to you in the mail.  My bank cheque is dated 15 November and I received it today, 21 November.  I'll bank it tomorrow and it will take another 5 business days to clear, so if I'm lucky I will have access to my 94 cents by next Monday, 28 November.  I originally requested this refund on 18 October!  That's 42 calendar days, 30 business days, before I get my own money back.  Lucky I didn't need it to pay the rent.

Here's what the Public Transport Ombudsman wrote to me in May this year about the process:

"Currently the quoted time for a refund cheque is 21 days which accounts
 for processing of the refund form, two levels of approval, sending the
 details to the bank, having the bank create the cheque and delivery to your
 address.  Ideally, the cheque will come quicker than the 21 days quoted
 but the reason this length of time is quoted is in case there are any delays
 in the process."

I was amazed that the usual fee to administer this Byzantine process is only $9.80!  If the fee isn't waived, they deduct it from the balance that is owed to you.  In other words you have to pay to get your own money back.  And having been through the process twice now, the process never takes fewer than the quoted 21 days.

I was also surprised that the Ombudsman didn't tell me that they have to cut the card open to get the money out.

Being an activist by nature I made a complaint to the Public Transport Ombudsman.  I had also participated in a series of pointless conversations with the MYKI call centre and was left with the impression that everyone agrees the process is ridiculous, but no one has the will to do anything about it.  Or they've been worn down by the System, the Process, the Bureaucracy and are resigned to a state of being best described as "that's just the way it is".

The Public Transport Ombudsman wrote:

 I am pleased to advise that in the near future, the balance of a myki
 that is replaced due to change in concession will be transferred to the new
 myki card.  As myki is currently under review by the government, I am unable
 to provide a timeframe when this will be in place, but can assure you this
 is a change that is being looked at to be implemented in the near future.

 The reason the previous myki balance is refunded as a cheque is due to
 the process that was initially set up where a replacement for a change of
 concession was processed as a refund.  As advised above, the TTA has
 since realised this is not ideal and hopes to change this in the near future.  

This was written on 10 May 2011.  It's now the middle of November and the near future has not yet been reached.  Indeed, the future looks bleak.  

The Public Transport Ombudsman also advised in July this year when I enquired further:

As it stands the process for a change of concession remains the same as it
was previously.  The TTA recommends if at all possible for you to use up as
much as possible of your remaining balance on your myki card before
undergoing the change in concession, as the balance of your myki card will
be refunded as a cheque.

The TTA sincerely apologises for any inconvenience this may cause.

"TTA" is the Transport Ticketing Authority.

So I followed this advice and was left with an unusable 94 cents on the card.  

As a committed and regular user of public transport, I'm very happy with MYKI - as long as I never have to phone the call centre or use the website to top up the card.  Touching on and touching off happens smoothly and swiftly.  I've never been overcharged.  I always have a ticket.  I can download a statement of my travel and keep track of GST and business related travel which means I can actually claim these costs against my business.  

BUT, the back end processes are wasteful and outdated.  I'll believe that they are committed to harnessing the technology to streamline inefficient processes when I see it.  I'm waiting.

Editted to add:  On looking at my account online, I've discovered that $9.80 was added to my card by the MYKI people so that it could then be deducted as the administrative fee.  That's how they waived the fee!  They DO have the technology.  Why won't they use it? (8:30am 22 November 2011)