Melbourne commuters are using an independent iPhone app to spot and report Myki ticket inspectors on the Victorian public transport network.

Developed by a computer science student at the University of Melbourne, PtvAlert describes itself as a “public transport companion app” which provides real-time updates and community-reported alerts around service changes, delays and incidents.

Officially launched on 23 April, PtvAlert exploded in popularity after its developer made a post on Reddit titled ‘I made an app to track Myki inspectors’.

The post attracted some 1,100 upvotes before being removed by moderators of the ‘r/unimelb’ subreddit for being self-promotional, while developer Piripi Martin told Information Age PtvAlert had reached 10,000 downloads as of Sunday.

The app meanwhile reached number 6 on Australia’s App Store charts under the ‘Navigation’ category, just behind the likes of navigation app Waze and Google Maps.

“PtvAlert serves as a community orientated system for public transport riders to report to others of incidents, delays, and anything public transport related,” said Martin.

“Recently, users have taken to reporting sightings of Myki Inspectors on trams, which has caused the app to amass a lot of popularity.”

Public Transport Victoria (PTV) was contacted for comment but did not respond prior to publication.

How does it work?

The app’s design is fairly straight-forward: users can make a location-based report on PtvAlert under a category of either ‘delay’, ‘animal’, or ‘incident’, alongside a user-submitted description of their alert.

The app's report categories are denoted by emojis of hourglasses, dogs or sirens respectively, though most user reports typically relate to inspector sightings regardless of which emoji is chosen.

These user alerts — which often include a description such as "inspector spotted" — then stay on the map interface for 30 minutes, while users are limited to making a report once every 12 hours.

Users can use the PtvAlert app to report where inspectors are roaming. Photo: PtvAlert

Information Age was able to create a test alert on an inner-city tramline with the description “Inspectors – Test”, which was then successfully observed on another instance of the app at the same location.

“If you make a report, it shows up on a map of Melbourne for everyone who has downloaded the app to see,” said Martin.

User-generated alerts on Monday included one labelled “inspectors” at a tram stop on Swanston St, another labelled “Inspectors RMIT” near the end of the city’s free tram zone, and another labelled “3x on the inside of Melbourne Central Coles/Swanston Street end”.

Further alerts were observed across Carlton, around Preston’s Northland Shopping Centre, at South Yarra Station and as far from the CBD as Mernda Station.

Uni students fed up

PtvAlert doesn’t advertise itself as a fare evasion tool – in fact, an update in the App Store’s version history states the app does not promote “fare evasion in any form”.

Martin suggests the app’s metrics, however, demonstrate that of 844 user reports made since 23 April, over 98 per cent related to Myki inspectors.

Martin said he “took a lot of inspiration” from Facebook groups which note reports related to public transport, one of the most popular having attracted more than 133,400 members with the name “myki inspector alert space”.

Martin added that fellow Melbourne University students are generally accustomed to “the predatory nature of Myki inspectors” in Melbourne, stating “most students” can name instances where inspectors were “overly aggressive or authoritative”.

“Additionally, I know a lot of the students of Melbourne Uni complain about the tendency of Myki inspectors to target international students, often walking straight up to them rather than other students,” they said.

Martin also emphasised the “safety of PTV” as a motivating factor for designing the app.

“Too often I can think of trams or tram stops I would have rather skipped due to the behaviour of one or two inside,” said Martin.

“With the app, those at risk can check for possible danger along their tram route before they travel.”

According to PTV’s most recent survey findings on fare compliance, 2024 saw $28.1 million in “estimated revenue lost to fare evasion”.

In Melbourne’s metropolitan network, where daily fares can cost as much $11, PTV found an estimated 3.8 per cent of surveyed commuters had committed fare evasion in October, with the most common forms of fare evasion being “no ticket” and “runners”.

Martin has meanwhile confirmed an Android version of the app is underway.