FIFTY million paper myki cards in storage will never be used, after the Baillieu government decision to dump all short-term tickets when the Metcard system is shut down.

The government has confirmed it owns the single-use paper tickets, which are on hundreds of pallets in warehouses in Altona and Rowville.

Melbourne will be one of the world's only cities where visitors and occasional users cannot buy a short-term ticket.

The tickets - designed as single-use myki fares for people who did not have a permanent plastic smartcard, and did not want to spend $10 buying one - have a microchip. Each ticket cost taxpayers 31¢, or about $15 million in total.

In June Premier Ted Baillieu - acting on advice in a report by consultants Deloitte that has been kept secret - said short-term tickets would be eliminated when Metcard was switched off. Myki and Metcard are now both valid for travel in Melbourne.