Re: Melbourne's Automated Ticketing

[Michael Walker <walker@hotkey.net.au>]

Anthony Tubbs wrote:
> 
> Hi
> 
> Will people stop moaning about the automated ticketing system now
> being introduced on the public transport system. If you went to Europe
> and wanted to use to trams in Warsaw you would be confronted with a
> ticket machine and the instructions aren't in english. What would you
> do?  At least here the instructions for use are well set out in
> english. The ticketing system is here to stay so you better get use to
> it.
> 
> Anthony Tubbs

I think most people's issue is not with the concept of automated
ticketing, which as someone else pointed out should lead to a far more
flexible system. I think most people think the system is not as well
thought out as it should be. Which seems strange given the long time
spent designing it + 3 or 4 years (which is now how late the system is).
The only new concept in the system is the contactless Metcard Xpress,
even that aspect of the system is rapidly becoming as off the shelf as
everything else should have been.
	Not to mention the system is now even more inconvenient and inflexible
to use than the previous system due to political (no dailies on trams),
commercial (the rushed design and lack of thought into machines and
validators) and other reasons.
	To take up another point, it is interesting the brochures come in many
different languages (and presumably there are people in the Onelink
Helpdesk who can speak the languages printed on the back of the brochure
that advise to ring the help number for Metcard - although my cynical
side says 'I doubt it') yet the machines only have instructions in
English. Given the large amount of big writing and blank space on the
front of the machines, I don't think it would be hard to have some
instructions in other languages on the machines. The logical place is
beneath the buttons for each step. Whilst it would be impractical to
include every language on every machine, surely ones common to the area
would be fine (eg Brunswick trams have Greek instructions, Elsternwick
station and Glenhuntly depot trams have Hebrew, etc).