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Commuters will be able to touch on with smartphones and bankcards on trams from Sunday, in the latest phase of the state government\u2019s long-awaited effort to overhaul the myki ticketing system.<\/p>\n
More than 700,000 tap-and-go transactions have already been made across Victoria this month after payment readers were upgraded at railway stations.<\/p>\n
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Contactless myki tap-on will now work on trams in Melbourne from Sunday. Jason Robins<\/p>\n
But contactless tap-and-go payments will not be rolled out on myki-enabled bus journeys until next month, and the digital touch-on technology also remains limited to full-fare passengers.<\/p>\n
The state government will spruik the upgrade on Sunday as Opposition Leader Jess Wilson kicks off the winter parliamentary break by pledging to visit every electorate across the state to draw attention to what she argues is a lack of investment in regional Victoria.<\/p>\n
Related Article Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said Victorians would now be able to use the same bankcard or digital payment method when they \u201cstep off a train and straight onto a tram\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFour in five tap-and-go trips are already being made with a phone or smartwatch \u2013 showing more Victorians are leaving the wallet at home,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n A report by the Victorian Auditor-General\u2019s Office earlier this year found that tap-and-go payments for concession passengers on trains, buses and trams would not happen until mid-2027<\/a>.<\/p>\n The bank card tap-and-go system only supports myki money, so those who use weekly, monthly or yearly passes still need a physical card.<\/p>\n The cost of a public transport fare has been halved until January 1 next year, with a full daily fare capped at $5.70.<\/p>\n The rollout of tap-and-go technology in Victoria has been subject to repeated delays, trailing other major Australian cities such as Sydney, where passengers have been able to pay public transport fares via bankcard or smartphone since 2019.<\/p>\n In 2023, the Victorian Labor government signed a $1.7 billion contract for Conduent to take over as myki operator for 15 years, finally allowing tap-and-go ticketing on bankcards and smartphones. Ben Carroll, the public transport minister at the time, said the contactless technology would be rolled out across 2025.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, as campaigning for November\u2019s state election ratchets up, Wilson and her team will on Sunday promise to visit all of Victoria\u2019s 88 lower house electorates in the next five weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cVictoria is too big and too diverse to be run from Spring Street alone,\u201d the opposition leader said. \u201cEvery community deserves to be heard.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Wilson\u2019s tour of the state\u2019s lower house seats will begin in Bendigo East \u2013 Premier Jacinta Allan\u2019s electorate, where she is facing a stern challenge from the Nationals<\/a> \u2014 as the opposition seizes on new analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office showing a reduction in spending for regional Victoria.<\/p>\n The review of the 2026-27 Victorian budget found investment in regional areas accounted for 11.9 per cent of the Labor government\u2019s spending, down from 12 per cent in the previous budget.<\/p>\n Almost a quarter of Victoria\u2019s population lives in regional and rural communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThat gap was already unfair, and it is now getting worse,\u201d Nationals leader Danny O\u2019Brien said.<\/p>\n The independent budget office\u2019s analysis stated that the government\u2019s per person infrastructure investment in metropolitan areas was 72.5 per cent higher than in regional Victoria.<\/p>\n Following the May budget, Allan said the government had invested more than $50 billion in regional Victoria in the past 12 years, and the regions had the second-lowest unemployment rate of anywhere in Australia.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"IPhone](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781997792_643_5a7486b55ddee01f5d525c5301d3ce9abf967e25.jpeg\")
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