Full-fare tram passengers can “tap and go” using a bank card, smartphone or smartwatch from today.
The next step in the $2bn myki upgrade project means full fare public transport users can now pay for travel across the entire light and heavy rail network without having to load credit on to a plastic myki card.

And from next month, bus passengers will be able to ditch their myki, too.

Rail passengers who do not have concessions or discounted fares have been able to use the new system since June, with 700,000 taps recorded on the readers — four in five of those made using a phone or smartwatch.

Trams and buses had required further testing due to the fact that myki readers are mobile.

Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said that the tram upgrade available from Sunday would make public transport easier to use.

“From today, you can step off a train and straight on to a tram using the same phone, watch or bank card,” she said.

“Four in five tap-and-go trips are already being made with a phone or smartwatch – showing more Victorians are leaving the wallet at home.”

Existing fare caps and rules will be in place under the shift to myki-free travel, but passengers must ensure they use the same linked payment system throughout the day rather than switch between different bank or credit cards.

Once passengers tap on using their bank card or phone, $1 is deducted as pre-authorisation for daily payments.

They can then tap on and off as many times as they like, and if all travel is finished within a two-hour period they would be charged a half-daily fare cap – currently half price or $2.85 – just like if they had used a plastic myki card.

If more trips are taken beyond a two-hour period, the full daily fare – currently discounted to $5.70 – would kick in.

Fare payments are reconciled within 24 hours, which is understood to be quicker than other states such as NSW, rather than being made every time a passenger taps their card.

The government says concession passengers, seniors and those under 18 should continue using their concession or youth myki, in order to benefit from discounts.

Eventually, as part of the $2bn myki upgrade there will be account-based ticketing systems that allow for discounts to be applied to individual accounts with linked bank cards.

The myki upgrade project, which is 18 months late and already over budget, is being run by Conduent, which has a 15-year contract to operate the ticketing system.