RE: [Melb] Ticket machines 'overused'

[Vaughan Williams <ender2000@MailAndNews.com>]

>===== Original Message From RC <richy@yahoo.com> =====
>This pre-purchase rubbish has got to stop - for good

Agree. There are several fundamental flaws to it, but the most pervasive is 
that people shouldn't be expected to go somewhere else to pay for their 
goods 
or services before going to the point of sale to actually use or collect 
them. 
This is inherently inconvenient, and I can't think of any other industry 
where 
small purchases are dealt with in this way. For some services you need to 
book, like aviation and some restaurants, and some of these require payment 
in 
advance, but this is limited to buying over the phone or internet by credit 
card rather than going to a milk bar to buy a restaurant voucher or movie 
ticket. You can still turn up and pay with legal tender.

Do we buy a carton of milk by going first to the cinema to buy a milk 
voucher? 
Are we expected to go to a newsagent to pay for our petrol before going to 
the 
servo?

If they want to provide pre-purchase options then that is fine, but the 
primary mode of ticket sales should still be onsite. People should be able 
to 
buy the full range of tickets at normal prices with a wide range of payment 
options (cash, credit card, EFTPOS at stations, cash only with notes below 
$20 
accepted on trams and buses). For periodicals, its not practical to sell 
these 
on trams or buses so people should have the option of buying from a train 
station, a retail outlet, or ordering over the phone (or the net).

Vaughan

Vaughan Williams
Secretary
Public Transport Users Association
247 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000
http://www.ptua.org.au