Metcard was the brand name of an integrated ticketing system used to access public transport in Melbourne, Australia.

The Metcard was a credit card-sized ticket made out of cardboard and used a magnetic strip to store fare data.

Metcard was operated by OneLink Transit Systems under a contract with the Government of Victoria which was managed by the Transport Ticketing Authority.

[2] In July 1983, the Metropolitan Transit Authority was formed to integrate Melbourne's tram, train and bus services.

Under the arrangements, the Government of Victoria collected all revenue from the sale of multi-modal tickets, which was then allocated to the various operators on the basis of an agreed formula.

[5] Contractual issues between OneLink and the Victorian Government were not settled until May 2002 with the payment of up to $65 million in a staged settlement.

Controversy surrounded Metcard at its introduction, due to cost over-runs, the abolition of tram conductors and the unreliability of ticket purchasing and validation machines.

The ticket vending machines were frequently attacked by vandals (often by pouring liquids into the coin slot), and underwent several revisions to their design.

[8] An audit released by the Victorian Government in 2001 showed over 1 in 4 (27.2%) of machines at railway stations did not work, and 11.9% of mobile equipment in buses and trams were non-operational.

[9] The State Government renegotiated with ticketing network contract operator OneLink Transit Systems to improve the service to commuters.

Following these improvements, a 2002 audit showed an increase in availability of machines to 92.1% at railway stations, and 98.3% on buses and trams.

Subsequent validations of most types of tickets did not print extra times but the data was intended to be used to count passenger numbers (in order to improve transport services).

Revalidation of already validated tickets, whilst functionally unnecessary, was and is still required by law[1] and occasional campaigns continue to remind passengers of this.

With most railway stations not having ticket-operated barriers and trams not having conductors, enforcement was and is still the responsibility of roaming Authorised Officers (ticket inspectors).

[20] However, in February 2008, Victorian Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky announced that the full roll out of the system would not begin until the end of 2008.

[20] Following the change of government in November 2010, an enquiry was held into the future of myki, with various options considered including whether to proceed with it, modify its introduction, or scrap it altogether and retain Metcard.

In June 2011, the Victorian Government confirmed that the roll-out of myki would continue and that Metcards would no longer be available after December 2012.