FRUSTRATED commuters have given the trouble-plagued myki ticketing system a resounding fail a year after it took over on Melbourne's trams, trains and buses.

Slow and faulty machines, an inability to top-up at most tram stops and the lack of a short-term option topped the list of gripes.

Visitors struggled to understand how the $1.5 billion smartcard system worked.

The Sunday Herald Sun this week spoke to travellers outside Flinders Street Station to get their myki verdict.

HAVE YOUR SAY: How would you fix myki? Leave your comment below or on twitter at #fixmyki

At best it scraped through with a pass.

Ascot Vale man Jackson Hutton said he had resorted to buying a new card at $6 a pop each time he travelled because the others kept going dead in his wallet.

"I put it in and it just won't work,'' he said.

Trouble touching on and off was a common bugbear, while top-up machines often didn't work and retail outlets were too far away.

"It's a horrible system,'' Newport's Lauren Wight said.

"There is always a complication with it.

"It's not convenient at all."

Fitzroy North 26-year-old Freya Bennett said even staff at retail outlets had been unable to top up her account due to faulty equipment.

"I feel like myki never works - there is always a problem,'' she said.

"It's terrible."

Myki became the sole ticket to ride on public transport on December 29, 2012 when the previous Metcard system was switched off.

University of Melbourne lecturer Dr Chris Hale said while the public had become more accepting of myki it hadn't realised its potential.

Similar systems in the UK and Hong Kong were far more successful and been extended to other applications like purchases at shops and cafes.

"It really transforms in a sense the way people use and move around Hong Kong or London and experience shopping and those sorts of things,'' he said.

A lack of options for those who left their myki at home and a more sensible fare structure - especially for people making short trips - were key problems holding the system back.

"My question mark is all about where they take the ticketing system as a whole from here,'' Dr Hale said.

"The fare structure is literally 20 years old and no one in a sense has touched it in 20 years."

Public Transport Victoria customer services director Alan Fedda said the authority had rolled out a series of improvements to myki since assuming responsibility for it in January last year.

These included introducing top up and card sales on metropolitan buses, on-the-spot card replacement, installing machines at Melbourne Airport and making a pack for visitors more widely available.

"The system records more than 7 million touch ons per week, processes close to 1 million top ups and collects around $15m in fares each week - the system works,'' Mr Fedda said.

"PTV is proud of the progress that has been made in the rollout of the system and delivery of customer enhancements in the past 12 months, and recognises we need to continue to listen to customer feedback and deliver further improvements."

wes.hosking@news.com.au

>> STING FOR SYDNEY VISITORS

THE Versace family didn't bargain on the myki ticketing system when they tried to make the short trip from Flinders St to Richmond's discount outlets.

The Sydney trio initially tried to buy their tickets from a top-up machine before dad Rocco waited in line at a customer service window and forked out $40 for the 6km round trip.

"It's not going to kill us but if I had known I would have just got a cab,'' he said.

"I didn't know you had to pay $6 for the card as well."

Mr Versace tried to get a refund after realising a taxi was cheaper, but staff refused.

Wife Sharon said buying a card was of little value because the family was due home two days later.

"I just think it's ridiculous,'' she said.

Daughter Rachael said she had found it easier to negotiate ticketing systems in countries where residents didn't speak English.

Sydney transport was far from perfect but visitors could buy an all-day pass for $5, Ms Versace said.

The family was among many summer visitors struggling to understand myki.

Debbie Arthur, 48, from New Zealand, contacted the Sunday Herald Sun about her experience. The Christchurch resident thought she had her travel sorted after keeping two mykis from a visit last year - only to have them declined.

Each had been deactivated due to a negative $2 balance, even though Ms Arthur topped up each with a $35 seven-day pass.

"It's very inconvenient for visitors, especially non-English speaking travellers,'' Ms Arthur said.

Fellow New Zealanders Sam O'Malley and Shelby George found myki easier after seeking help at an information kiosk, but were still trying to work out how much money they needed to keep on their cards.

The Versace's family trip from Flinders St to Richmond

> 3 myki cards @ $6 each: $18

> 3 daily adult tickets @ $7.16 each: $21.48

> Total cost: $39.48

> Estimated cost of a taxi to Richmond: $12 each way

MYKI QUICK FIX

3 steps to make myki better

1. Make myki cards free

We say: If you went into a bakery to buy a loaf of bread and were told you'd have to pay $6 for the bag to put it in, you'd walk out of the store laughing.

PTV says: Every smart card ticketing system requires customers to purchase a card before they travel. A Myki lasts for four years and is replaced for free after this time, meaning customers only ever have to purchase a card once.

2. Introduce a short-term option

We say: The myki card system is almost impossible for interstate and overseas visitors to comprehend and far too expensive. There should be paper tickets allowing occasional users to take short trips.

PTV says: A customer only needs to get a Myki once and they are able to travel over most of Victoria whenever they want, even if it is for a short trip.

With a Myki in your wallet customers never need to know what ticket to purchase because the system works out the lowest fare for every trip, whether that be once a year or every day.

3. Have more ticket machines

We say: It's too hard for many tram and bus travellers to buy a ticket. More machines are needed and options for buying tickets onboard should be explored.

PTV says: There are more than 800 retail outlets across Victoria, with many of these positioned near tram routes. Tram passengers should consider setting auto top up. More than 40 Myki machines are installed at tram stops across Melbourne, with a further 12 to be installed in the coming months.

Answers: Public Transport Victoria