Several plans are being considered to replace the Metcard system, the most popular of which involves smart cards to deduct pre-paid points every time the chip is scanned.

Under the draft public transport blueprint, the Victorian government wants to improve access to public transport with a particular focus of the needs of the aged, young and disabled, boost safety and security, improve transport frequency, co-ordination and reliability, and develop a better relationship between public transport users and operators.

A Victorian government source referred to the current Metcard system as an ‘extremely unpopular disaster.’

The source told the Herald and Weekly Times said the current system is driving people away from using the state’s public transport system.

‘We will develop a new system but there must be improvements to the present system to make it more workable before it can be replaced.

‘The technology we are using for Metcard is several levels below what is being used elsewhere… We need to provide a much more efficient system,’ the source said.