Melbourne AFC and Non-gated Barriers

David Goll (golldm@nabaus.com.au)
Mon, 14 Jul 1997 10:46:47 +1000

I have a query regarding the OneLink implementation of Automatic Fare
Collection in Melbourne. Why are there no 'gated' barriers at major city
and suburban railway stations? In Sydney, city underground stations and
some of the major suburban stations have gates installed at the
barriers, which require the passenger to insert their card through to
get into or out of the station. The Melbourne implementation appears to
require that the card is only 'validated' when entering the station, be
this a city station, or an unmanned suburban station.

So when I alight at Parliament station in the morning, I simply walk
through (along with the old ticket cardholders). If there are
station/revenue enforcement staff there, I need to show my card (the
rear of the card actually which is a real pain). Can someone please
explain the logic in this approach if this is to be carried through with
full implementation? This doesnt seem to negate the need for gate staff
at major railway stations to check tickets, as I thought one of the
objectives of this venture was supposed to provide (or am I reading too
much into it?).

The implementation for Buses/Trams appears the same as Sydney pretty
much, but the rail aspect just leaves me stumped, as to why they dont
appear to be planning actual gates at the barriers like Sydney, London,
Hong Kong ..... etc.

Thanks

David