Those travelling from Echuca station can now pay for their trip with a myki, bank card, phone or smartwatch, but with the information that the station’s new readers were switched on only announced the day of the change, many travellers The Riv spoke to were none the wiser about the new options.

Tap and go on the Echuca line was activated on Sunday, August 16, giving commuters four new ways to pay for their ride in addition to paper and digital tickets.

The rest of the V/Line network will have new readers switched on by November 22, enabling tap and go payments across Transport Victoria’s entire rail network.

While the remaining paper ticket lines have had their switch-on dates revealed ahead of time, a spokesperson from the Victorian Department of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed to The Riv that no date was published in advance for the activations on the Echuca line.

The spokesperson said that Victoria’s tram network also had tap and go announced and activated on the same day, but that the Echuca line appeared to be the only train line in the state not to receive at least a day’s notice that the technology was arriving.

This isn’t unprecedented, with the original activation of myki in Melbourne announced and rolled out on the same day in 2009, but the lack of clarity appears to have blind-sided some commuters, with many unsure of the details, and some unaware of the new payment options all together.

One of those was Echuca resident Nathan Accurso, who nonetheless welcomed the readers being active.

“A lot of the time I come (to the station) pretty late,” Mr Accurso said.

“So being able to just quickly go and tap in, I honestly think it will be very convenient.”

That sentiment was echoed by Moama local Karen Sage, who also was unaware of the change, but said it was good to have another option.

“(I hadn’t heard) about it, not at all,” Ms Sage said.

“(Tap and go) is definitely (something I’d use), absolutely.”

Steve and Ruth Carr had heard about the activation of the readers and were visiting the station to get themselves concession myki cards.

“It might make travel a little easier,” Mr Carr said.

“What we’re concerned about is still getting concession, hence why we’re getting these (concession cards).”

A spokesperson from the Public Transport Users Association told The Riv that while the changes were clearly welcomed, there should have been more notice given before the roll out and that the primary issue V/Line commuters had continued to be the reliability, capacity and punctuality of services.

The PTUA representative said that now the changes were live, there needed to be more information about what they actually are and what practical effects they’ll have.

Bank card, smartwatch, and mobile payments will charge travellers a full fare, with concession passengers, seniors, and those under-18 having to use a concession or youth myki to get the benefits they’re entitled to.

The new payment methods are not replacing digital or paper ticketing.

Passengers are still able to buy reserved seats on long-distance services ahead of time, with myki and tap and go payments enabling the purchase of unreserved fares at stations.

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