Readers on the train sounds good to me. It works on trams just fine.
It sounds like you really want a smart ticket. I went to Radelaide for a long weekend a few years back, I suppose I just used paper tickets on the train. I don’t remember. I don’t remember hating the train system, either though.
I love your rant, and how much you care about stuff. But yeah, I go about the world utterly oblivious to that sort of thing. I wouldn’t notice terms and conditions on a bus stop, for example.