Re: [Melb] Tram Conductors

[David McLoughlin <davemclNOSPAM@iprolink.co.nz>]

David Lindstrom wrote:

> I really think that there's no getting away from the fact that
> you really do need conductors on trams. Metcard works fine with
> buses and trains, but it's a hopeless system for trams. The
> government really has a responsibilty to either put the
> conductors back or forget about selling tickets on trams.

Nonsense (no offence meant to you David).

Most tramway systems anywhere in the world do not have conductors. They
either have pre-ride ticket purchases validated in an on-board machine
or machines on the trams that sell tickets, or drivers who will sell
tickets, or a mixture of all of these.

Some cities, such as Amsterdam and Sheffield, have reintroduced (or
introduced in the case of Sheffield) conductors for local reasons such
as vandalism, violence on late-night trams or massive fare evasion, but
conductors are not the norm.


What is not the norm in Melbourne is the fact that the on-board ticket
machines on the trams do not sell the most popular ticket (the all-day
one). This was a blunder from the start, many of us in this newsgroup
pointed out this blunder from the start, and until it is fixed the fare
evasion problem in Melbourne will continue massively.

That apart, the other major problem is requring holders of a valid
ticket to revalidate it on each boarding which is also bizarre.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand