I ordered my myki card online. When I received my free card, the accompanying letter incorrectly said I had ordered a concession card. However, my myki deducted full fare amounts when I used it.

Myki spokeswoman Jean Ker Walsh said an error made in the letter distribution process had since been fixed.

Some people might be reluctant to divulge their personal details, but Ms Ker Walsh said anonymous myki cards were available from their call centre.

I activated my myki at a recharge machine at the Dandenong railway station and had no problems adding credit.

However, there were problems when trying to "touch on" my myki so the barriers would open. The barriers also accept Metcards, with mykis to be validated on the side of the machine.

I was able to validate my card on the third attempt but it took four seconds for my card to be accepted and the barrier to open.

Ms Ker Walsh said the dual myki/Metcard gates were temporary but response times on gates were "about the same" as stand-alone myki readers.

At Clayton station, I tried to "touch off" with my myki in my wallet, having previously done so while using Singapore's transport system, but that didn't seem to work.

Ms Ker Walsh said it depended on the contents, such as other smartcards you may be carrying. I took my myki out and tried again but after a couple of attempts the screen read "out of service".

Another scanner I used was successful, and $2.02 was deducted from my myki - a 78cent saving on the usual Metcard fare.

The next day, I wanted to add credit to my myki at Ringwood station but found there was no recharge machine there despite it being an interchange for the Belgrave and Lilydale lines.

Ms Ker Walsh said Ringwood was among 21 stations which was yet to have the machines. However, cabling and wiring had been installed and the machines would be installed "in the coming weeks".

My initial impression was that myki was slow at worst and inconsistent at best.

When people go back to work and decide to use myki, the pressure will really be on the system to cope.