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he schedule of staff-only and commuter trials has been delayed consistently. The card was to be fully available by last November. Then it was to be in place by April this year.

Under the latest timetable, it will not happen before the end of 2009 - if it happens at all. By the time Scully toured Hong Kong, it was already five years after a large-scale trial of smart card technology had proved a great success in Newcastle. Presided over by the Greiner government, the card was used on buses and trains, as well as shops, cafes and clubs.

In transport terms, the card was to provide several benefits. Commuters would travel with just one card, queues for tickets would be a thing of the past, and bus travel times would be reduced because passengers would no longer have to buy paper tickets.

The 1995 trial, administered by ERG, was to be the first step toward a Sydney-wide roll-out. But after Bob Carr's election victory, the card disappeared from the agenda. It was not until August 17, 2000, that a Transport Ministry evaluation committee recommended ERG as the company to deliver the card to Sydney.

Scully's ambivalence cost the project a year. The technical review he ordered nine days later meant ERG was not confirmed as front-runner until August 2001.