AFR: Train-loving Turnbull not a Melbourne Myki man, backs Sydney’s Opal →

Patrick Durkin, Australian Financial Review, 16/09/2015:

Our public-transport loving Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken a swipe at Victoria’s much-maligned Myki card, telling his first press conference as PM that he prefers Sydney’s Opal card.

While Tony Abbott always polled badly in Victoria, Mr Turnbull will endear himself to the southern state by joining Melburnians’ pastime of bemoaning the frustrating public transport ticketing system.

“I’m as passionate about water as I am about technology or indeed the NSW Opal card … or the Myki card, I think Opal is better actually, more functionality,” Turnbull quipped while flanked by NSW Premier Mike Baird and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Mr Turnbull is is well known for using public transport and tweeting about it on social media. He even made headlines after taking the train to Geelong following Bronwyn Bishop’s infamous $5000 chopper ride to a Liberal Party fundraiser in Geelong.

Mr Andrews planned to use his visit to Canberra to lean on Mr Turnbull’s love of public-transport to prize open the $3 billion “locked box” for the dumped East West Link road and argue it should be applied to Labor’s vaunted $11 billion Melbourne Metro Rail project. “He’s an undoubted fan [of public transport],” Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday.

The Sydney-Melbourne rivalry was renewed last month following the Big V’s $20 million rebrand and new slogan “the best of everything“. “*offer excludes harbour, infrastructure and sunshine,” Mr Baird tweeted. Mr Andrews tweeted back, “You’re just grumpy because you haven’t had a decent coffee since you were last in Melbourne!”

Despite his public transport credentials, Turnbull has some way to go to convince the everyday punters he also gets the game of AFL, much-loved in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

“I have to confess I vote for, I support, in Australian Rules the Roosters, who of course aren’t in the grand final – sorry the Swans,” Turnbull told Radio National when asked back in 2008.

The Age: Too much myki is barely enough →

There are 10 myki cards in circulation for every weekday public transport user, with the massive over subscription blamed on a lack of short-term tickets.

There are 10 million myki cards in circulation, almost double Victoria’s population of 5.8 million.

It’ll be interesting to see if NSW manages to issue short term Opal cards – which already has a section in the Opal Terms of Use.

In the future, we will be issuing different types of limited life non-reloadable Opal Cards. They will be subject to special terms and conditions which will be published (including on the Opal Website) as and when they are issued. Customers who use these non-reloadable Opal Cards must inform themselves of and comply with their special terms and conditions. You cannot add value to non-reloadable Opal Cards.