I think that's reasonable, especially since the big TVMs will sell you a ticket
with EFTPOS. Tram conductors won't normally change a $50 unless they've had a
busy day. I remember one guy who got on offering a $50, obviously expecting the
conductor to give him a free ride. Got a shock when the conductor gave him
change!
>> - all ticket types should be sold by all tvms (in particular the on--tram
>> ones). Melbourne has only a limited range of ticket types, so this should
>> be easy.
>When the PTC provided information of the most bought tickets on trams
>they stated that 2 hr tickets and short trip tickets were the most
>commonly bought ones on trams.
Sorry Chrystal, but I don't for one moment believe that the PTC sold more Short
Trip tickets than Dailies on trams before the machines started running. When I
used to catch the 67 in to work in St Kilda Road every day, probably 70% of the
ticket sales in the morning would be for dailies.
Remember back in 1990 when they introduced scratch tickets - and suddenly daily
tickets weren't available on trams (and buses!)? I'd say the same beauraucrats
who made the decision back then have made it this time round too. And my theory
as to why it is so is that it's to encourage retail outlet sales. I think
there's no way you'd get a large network of willing retail outlets if they
didn't have the prospect of lots of Daily ticket sales.
>> - validation should be necessary only ONCE.
>The information gathered from the validators is used when planning
>upgrades and where to put more trains etc etc. They are also necessary
It'll be interesting to see what they discover about travelling patterns. I was
surveyed (using a paper system) yesterday about my travel patterns. A lot of the
information on the form would be available automatically through MetCard.
I think the initial validation of train tickets is something a lot of people
don't know about, so perhaps more emphasis should be placed on this. I know it
is seen as inconvenient, but the plus of being able to buy tickets from station
TVMs in advance far outweighs it, IMHO. (This should probably be pointed out to
more people too - it would help with the long queues at machines on weekday
mornings if people knew they could buy tomorrow's ticket on the way home
tonight.)
>Also (and I'll goon more about
>this down below) many many people try to use expired 2 hr tickets, old
>tickets etc. By validating each time yor ticket is accepted or marked
Very true. I know people who would travel around on the train with an
unscratched Scratch Ticket and only scratch it if they came to a manned barrier.
>The metcard brochures which the friendly Hosts try to
>give you have a wide selection of languages at the back where they
>invite you to contact the PTC on the 1800 number and request a brochure
>which is in your native tongue. However as a large proportion of people
I'd just like to mention that the hosts I've had contact with, and the MetCard
help line have all been very helpful. Though they never did call back with an
answer to my question about Glenhuntly station being closed with the machines
inside it when unmanned, the problem was solved - the station is now left open.
Perhaps they were waiting for video cameras to be mounted inside the building.
>swan right past the hosts with their noses in the air, maybe they didnt
>get a brochure..i doubt those who took them actually READ them. 3/4 of
>the people I have seen trying to use the machine try to force money into
>it first. *shrug* i like the system.
I think with a few caveats, it's pretty good. Not sure it should've been so
expensive or taken so long, but it's pretty good.
Something I do want to find out about is that given the loss of conductors, are
the tram drivers going to do a little customer assistance with regard to prams
and the like. I got a 67 tram driver yesterday who seemed very reluctant to get
out of his seat to help with my son's pram. A friendly fellow-passenger came to
my aid instead.
I know the drivers are probably still in shell-shock from this big change to
their work environment, but we can only hope that corporatisation/privatisation
brings some more customer-oriented drivers. At the moment they seem to be off in
their own little world - a far cry from the drivers used by MetBus, NBC, etc.
Daniel
-- Daniel Bowen, Melbourne Australia. Remove the spam bait to email me personally...