Myki 'may be scrapped': My idea for what's next

The Victorian government is reportedly considering scrapping the $1.3 billion myki public transport smart card system.

via theage.com.au

Best news I’ve read in a long time. It’s state of the art 90s technology, being rolled out today. I wonder what the replacement will look like? Here’s my idea:

The government should publish clear and simple specifications for what they want in a ticketing system, and invite other stakeholders (public transport users, operators, police) to comment and modify.

Commission a competition. Any group of Victorians are allowed to enter (with emphasis being placed on university and TAFE groups). They have free reign to create whatever they want, as long as it satisfies the published specifications. Barriers to entry would be big enough to discourage casual entrants. Give the winners ten million dollars, maybe twenty. Enough to make it really worthwhile. Assemble a non-partisan panel to judge the winners.

Intellectual property rights to the technology will be co-owned by the winning group and the Victorian government, and be marketed around the world. Licensing fees would flow back to the owners, funding further sales and system enhancements.

Rather then be dependant on overseas technology from the 90s, Victoria would be a technology leader in transport ticketing, and have ourselves a great system as well.