[Melb] Public to be trained to buy tickets from shops rather than ticket machines

["david lindstrom" <d_lindstrom@bigpond.com>]

Newsagency hitch on tickets

By STATHI PAXINOS
Wednesday 13 June 2001

Melbourne's train and tram companies have struck another
obstacle with the Metcard system newsagents want a better deal
for selling the tickets.

They get a 5 per cent commission on Metcards. They also get a
rebate if their sales exceed a target based on previous figures.

But they will want a better deal should they become the main
point of sale. At present more than 80 per cent of train and
tram tickets are sold through machines but there is a push for
sales from other points.

Some newsagents, in a survey by The Age yesterday, said they
refused to stock Metcards or stocked only a limited range
because there was too much paperwork and "hassle" for limited
returns. There was also the security risk involved in keeping
tickets worth thousands of dollars.

The Victorian Authorised Newsagents Association said it wanted
to negotiate a bigger commission for members. "It's not
something that we have taken up yet ... but obviously if
newsagents were the main supplier one would hope we would have
some bargaining power when talking about margin," member service
officer Julie Hunt said.

This comes after a government-commissioned audit of the $330
million ticket system revealed on Sunday that 27 per cent of
automatic machines at railway stations were unable to issue a
ticket or malfunctioned in other ways.

Automatic ticketing system operator OneLink, and the Association
of Transport Franchisees Victoria, representing private
operators, said the public had to be trained to buy tickets from
shops rather than ticket machines.

Association spokesman Bob Annells, who is also chairman of rail
operator Connex, was aware of newsagents' demands and that
commission levels may have to be renegotiated.

Mr Annells said train and tram companies were also considering
introducing a system-wide loyalty program for transport users
who regularly buy tickets from shops.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Paul Mees said it
was unreasonable to expect retailers, whose main business was
not selling Metcard, to have a full range on offer. "It is a
fundamental flaw of the retail network concept," Mr Mees said.

John Oliver, manager of Balaclava Newsagency, said he would not
stock the tickets because demand was so small.

He said there was also a concern with insurance cover and ticket
buyers could be turned away when the store's supply of small
change was stretched.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/state/2001/06/13/FFXNRQ1KUNC.html


--
Regards,
David Lindstrom
D_Lindstrom@bigpond.com