Service Design Melbourne

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The MYKI experience

Hi everyone,
can you share a story from yours or others experiences with MYKI?
Here are some of mine.

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Permalink Reply by Carl Turner on February 20, 2013 at 8:55

Agreed about the 'i' information icon. I didn't realise it was a button until last week when I finally spent some time trying to figure out what the difference between myki money and myki pass is.



Josh Andres said:

My first problem with myki is that lacks research on the field "on location". they didnt consider the layout of hundreds of stations and platforms for the touch on/off.

On peak time the lines out of the platform become bottle necks as people stand to touch on/off. back to back creating a block for people who just want to pass. in or out

The other confusing part is when topping up your myki, the machine has 2 interfaces/screens, one in colour and one on the side which is the atm. why 2 screens whne you could have packed it inside the whole body and make it seem as one. this way you can drive the user clearly without having to look and explore how to workout the atm.

on trams, i never touch on/off unless inspectors are asking for it. (most of my trams rides are short ones)

The machines for the touch are slow. they can use gates like in japan, you either buy the ticket for the trip or download the app and scan ur phone. 

Also, they are patching things up with cut outs of paper to show people where to look. first this should ahve been caught in product dev and not on actual service. 

2 screens, too many arrows, in 2 different dialects (myki voice and default robotic atm)

Some icons that mean something in alien language. the colour palette for myki is pretty rubbish

Last, after the AUS open imagine how many people pass through the gates thinking what does this mean?

Permalink Reply by Carl Turner on February 20, 2013 at 8:58

I am a student and went to get my 2013 student concession card recently. I asked lady at the Flinders st booth why I need a Concession Card as well as Concesion Myki.

"Because you need it to get your concession".

Why do I need both?

"I don't know. Probably just the government trying to make money"

"Do you want a (plastic) pouch?"

No.

Permalink Reply by Renae Mason on February 20, 2013 at 11:04

Another thing that comes to mind - I wonder how many people dislike Myki because it is harder to fare evade now? Melbourne Trams used to be notorious for free trips but since Myki has been introduced security has stepped up and they have the exact data they need to tell whether you are fibbing about your journey or not. 

Permalink Reply by Service Design Melbourne on February 20, 2013 at 12:10

Posting this on behalf of Helaine Stanley's 'Bloody Myki'

‘Bloody MYKI’

‘Myki’ is up there with ‘renovations’ as a topic sure to spark a flurry of stories of logistical horrors. If you have further listening hours ask a Melbournian for an  ‘inspector’ story!

Broader practice:

-       going out/to work/to school

-       heading home

Practice elements:

Things

trams, trains, buses, myki card, newsagents, 7-11s, wallets, people, places, houses, workplaces, recreation/entertainment, stations, touch ons/offs, platforms, sporting events, schoolbags, handbags, briefcases, hands, arms, rails, tracks, roads, queues, credit cards, receipts, blue and green marketing brigade in t-shirts, inspectors.

Meaning

no traffic jams, efficient/‘green’ travel, danger, can still move from A-B when over .05 (alcohol limit), can read work/‘use’ time, low stress, being close to ‘strangers’, ‘pt’ confusing, complex, ‘flawed’ myki system. 

Skills

knowing where stations are, knowing how to get to general suburbs, where routes go (i.e. the 109 goes from x-x), how to use the ‘pt’ website, how to ‘top up’, ‘touch on’ and ‘touch off’, when to ‘top up’, ‘touch on’ and ‘touch off’, where to buy, how to check balance, where’s ‘zone 1’ and ‘zone 2’, how to ‘talk’ myki.

Oversimplified pt ticket policy/production background narrative

Melbourne used to have conductors who wore a quaint uniform and carried leather bag and carried a ticket hole puncher that made a satisfying clunk when it put a hole through your ticket. These friendly fold greeted patrons and sold tickets but also offered directions and a chat. They wore well crafted hats like a policeman. Melbourne sacked the conductors and brought in machines that spat out paper cards. Then along came inspectors issuing fines for not having a valid ticket.

Many Australian travellers visiting Asia and other countries have experienced impressive systems where you can buy a card or even a watch (10 or so to choose from) and add money to it as needed. We’ve travelled the ‘underground’ and other systems where even with a language barrier it was intuitive.

Melbourne launches a new system called myki that the media tells us has cost a fortune, the system runs years late, is excessively over budget, receives ongoing bad media, performs poorly in testing phases and then over delivers on it’s naffness in helping people get from A-B!

An example of a problematic scenario

Characters:

The Connies- Mum, Dad, Girl 10yrs, Boy 6yrs

The Holdens- Mum, Girl 11yrs

Scene/setting:

The Connies- live in social housing in Richmond (4 kms from city). go out to the movies in city. travel by tram.

The Holdens- live in same street as The Connies. go to city by car shopping.

Story: The Connies meet the Holdens by chance in city. The Connies offer to take both girls home with them to play for the afternoon. The young Holden girl has a myki card on her school bag that isn’t with her. There is no way for the girl to go home with the Connies without buying another myki card. The girl ends up driving home with her parents as it becomes to hard to get a ticket.

Side story 1- it is cheaper to go to city by car.

Side story 2- after the days travel one child card is out of funds. When they get home they have no way of knowing which card is the one out of funds and which is the one for their daughter to travel to school with the next day.

Side story 3- The Connies are organizing a birthday party at the same cinema and wonder how they are going to get seven girls to the cinema by tram for the party now they realize the shortcomings of myki- they can’t afford to purchase a myki for each child and don’t want to have to ask parents to arrange a myki just to go to the party.

-----------

"I thought this was interesting- the screen shots of the two systems.  Myki communicates to 'master' your myki with the imperative being on you to work it out. Whereas Octopus helps you to  make everyday life easier- thanks Octopus. Words on Myki- 'buy' 'top up' 'register'- all requiring 'you' to do something whereas Octopus offers 'products', 'rewards' 'customer service' 'offers' 'enhanced versions of reward scheme' etc."

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by Lee Ryan on February 20, 2013 at 12:38
Fare evasion is an interesting design challenge beyond advertising and fines

A sign warns of the abolition of ticket sales on trams in Melbourne. Photo: Ken Irwin
Ticket inspectors have been busy since myki cards became compulsory on December 29.

Almost 7900 fines were issued on trains in January this year, nearly double the 4318 fines issued in January 2012.

However, ticket offences on trams and buses are down slightly this January, compared with this time last year.


Photo: Matt Golding
President of the Public Transport Users Association, Tony Morton, blamed this disparity on a ticket inspector blitz on the trains, saying the figures look like "active targeting on the train system, which seems to be Metro's focus".

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"There was a period of leniency during the initial introduction of myki, but now that Metcards have been switched off, the government has taken the opportunity to clamp down on fare evasion," he said.

He said more staff present at stations would be a better solution to stopping fare evasion.

Public Transport Victoria confirmed that trains were being targeted, with 350 of 550 authorised officers working the metropolitan rail network.

"We warned that there would be more checks, more fines, more often. If you fare-evade, you will get caught," a spokesperson said.

Fare evasion was widespread on trams last May, when one in five tram passengers was caught without a valid ticket. In October 2012, the figure fell to one in 10.

Fines
TRAIN

JAN 2012 - 4318

JAN 2013 7878

TRAM

JAN 2012 - 1882

JAN 2013 - 1807

BUS

JAN 2012 - 157

JAN 2013 - 109

V/LINE

JAN 2012 - 170

JAN 2013 - 526

TOTAL

JAN 2012 - 6527

JAN 2013 - 10,320



Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/fareevader-fines-soar-under-myki-...
Permalink Reply by Anna Lee Anda on February 20, 2013 at 13:06

I find it hard to know when I have the right balance to travel or not, often I am rushing around trying to find a place to top up the card in order to catch the tram on time and not every stop has a place to top up. I resisted a long time because the paper has the visibility of the charge and when the ticked got "punched as such". I feel like with the new system I'm never quite sure or confident.

This whole "touch on touch off" is not a clear message and I have heard there are now public messages called "winning at MYKI".

Permalink Reply by Anna Lee Anda on February 20, 2013 at 13:13
Permalink Reply by Harry Buskes on February 20, 2013 at 13:30
Yep .... good article and he's only touched the tip of the iceberg. There should be a further investigation into the background of this system. I'm sure that the road to Myki is peppered with incompetence and rushed decision making.. but I'm sure that most of the culprits will have been promoted to repeat their efforts .... at taxpayers expense
Permalink Reply by Natasha Dwyer on February 28, 2013 at 7:52

Sarah Drummond from Snook Workshop – Feb 2013

 

Two days after Sarah’s inspiring lecture, a workshop was held to learn about the practical details discussed. The workshop followed on well from the lecture. There wasn’t the expectation that lecture attendance was required, but those who did attend the lecture didn’t have to sit through a re-hash.

 

In the workshop, Sarah generously took us through techniques she uses in her consultancy, Snook. The aim of her consultancy is to . Prototyping, as Sarah points out, helps develops products, services etc that are effective and meet the needs of those who use them, and also saves company and government money. The techniques include:

 

  • Experience blueprints. On a very very long piece of brown paper, a timeline was written of the commuter’s experience of the myki system, starting with familiarisation of what a myki card is and finishing with the expiry of the card. Each segment of the timeline was broken down further into categories. This technique allows designers to pinpoint possible problems in the experience and question why some features are the way they are. For instance, why should a Myki card expire after 4 years? An experience blueprint also allows us to understand an experience in terms of entry and exit points a customer may have.
  • Circle of influence.  On an A4 sheet, the aim is to breakdown who the stakeholders are and who is influencing their regard for myki. This exercise helps us to breakdown the different categories of users and to wonder about the validity of them. For instance, casual users may be one category, but on closer examination casual users are a very large set of people with different needs, who with the right encouragement may become regular users.
  • Personas. This exercise is to detail our notion of a typical user of a system. By concentrating on the user’s idiosyncrasies, as well as what the user may share with others, the designer develops empathy while gaining insights into the complicated needs of people.
  • Mapping. Overlaying a map of the transport system, we sketched a time during the week and how people might use the system, predicting bottle-necks, volumes, and mass movements. Friday 6 o’clock drinking seemed to be a popular time amongst the groups.

 

 

In Sarah’s workshop, we worked in groups on one exercise, and then rotated to the next exercise. One group would work to embellish the contribution of the previous group. Joining together as one large group, we categorised our insights and to developed innovative ideas (either incremental change or process change through radical concepts). We explored via the lens of POPI; problems, opportunity, principles and insights. The aim was to look for patterns  and opportunities to re-frame the problem of transport for a large city.

 

The workshop focused on Myki as a design problem. Although the workshop was a mock exercise, there is a discussion of the project continuing further...

 

Sarah was also very generous in her response to questions from attendees. I asked her what skills people need to have to be able to prototype... Sarah’s reply included imagination, empathy, and storytelling .

 

Thank you Yoko and Sarah for an informative and fun evening!

Permalink Reply by Paul Rogan on May 9, 2013 at 23:12

Ha. Got 'caught' in exactly the same fashion, even though I added myki money to be able to tap on and the record would show that I have not attempted to fare evade.

The suggestion?! Write a reply to challenge the penalty...seriously.

Tania Ivanka said:

A friend thought she swiped on at the train station, but didn't realise what the beeps meant so when she arrived at the other end she was trapped by not having swiped on. She went to ask for help, and was slapped on the wrist for "fare evasion" and fined. She had to argue by letter why she should not have to pay the fine for an honest mistake, the fine was revoked but the attitude was still that she was completely in the wrong.

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