Re: Another hint to scrap Metcard?

[Peter Parker <parkerp@alphalink.com.au>]

"Andrew Box" <boxy@bigpond.net.au> writes: > > I saw the original newspaper article and thought 'what a pathetic


> It's not the machines fault people will not buy a ticket, it is a problem
> with the society.

Even when the machine does not offer tickets that people want?  EG: 
on-tram machines do not sell daily tickets.  In my view this is an 
open invitation to evade fares - who will buy an unwanted 2-hour ticket
from the on-tram machine, and then a daily ticket from a railway stn?  

Also machines are quite picky when it comes to the money they will 
accept. 

If you use coins that are too small (5, 10, 20 or 50c pieces) the
machine will often time out and not give a ticket. This would be a
particular problem with older people or those whose fingers are not
nimble. Timed-out machines usually refund your money, but not always!

Likewise, the coin and note machines are quite picky with the size of
notes that they will accept as there is a maximum change limit. Some
tickets cannot be bought with a $20 or $50 note, as dispensed by ATMs.

The multimode zonal fare system based on Metcard is much better than
the outdated separate mode systems used in Sydney. However the inability
of Metcard machines to accept all legal tender and provide the tickets
that people want means that the machines do not serve users.  Fix the
design, make it easy to comply and only then blame the people if they
don't pay. 


Peter