Re: Ticket Machines on Melbourne Trams

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

I'm not paranoid but - something's out there, call Mulder and Scully...

> > >Whilst on the topic of our new wonderful, improved, out of sight
> > >ticketing system - A few things of interest.
> > >1. Upon starting my new job in Canterbury yesterday, I notice that
> > >Canterbury station as yet does not have their machines turned on. Does
> > >anybody know if any other station between Box Hill and Camberwell (these
> > >two excepted as they both obviously do) does?
> >
> > Last time I looked, no.
> > And the Canterbury machine must have only just been replaced - for a while it
> > looked like someone had attacked it with some kind of firey weapon! - it was all
> > blackened and useless!
> >
> > I can only presume that they do the stations in stages because they need all
> > those red-jacketed people to help people with the machines!
> >

The Redcoats were at Canterbury today, so was a large sign next to the
Canterbury Road steps from the island platform - 'Automated ticketing is
here from tomorrow' or whatever it says. Also, in several of the poster
holders were the ubiquitous 'Metcard - Buy, Validate, Travel' posters.
On the way home, no Redcoats but several posters at Chatham, Surrey
Hills and Mont Albert.

> 
> These machines looked quite OK both the two on the island platform and
> the one on platform 3.
> 
> > >2. A quirk in the interim system I noticed is in relation to the fact
> > >that the cards are not validated with an expiry time/date is that it
> > >would be relatively easy to fare evade. eg Yesterday in order to see how
> > >good the system is, I purposely only bought a 2 hour ticket in the
> > >morning on the 293 bus and then on the journey home, I bought a weekly
> > >Zone 2 ticket from Box Hill (as Canterbury wasn't staffed and machines
> > >not on). I then caught the 293 home and again the next morning and the
> > >first the system knew of my ticket was the validator at Box Hill. Now I
> > >wasn't fare evading as if you buy monthlys/weeklys after 3pm, they are
> > >stamped for the next day but it did give me a thought...
> >
> > Yep, route 293 does not have ATM.
> > According to the conditions in the MetCard brochures, any unvalidated ticket is
> > NOT valid on any non-ATM service. Obviously the bus drivers don't know this.
> >
> > If it doesn't have an actual expiry date (as opposed to a purchase date), it's
> > not valid.
> >
> How stupid - I would happily have bought a ticket at Canterbury,
> validated it at the validator and validated it leaving Box Hill - except
> that the machines at Canterbury weren't going and there was no staff to
> sell me a ticket and no sign pointing me to a local store to buy a
> ticket. The only reasons I bought from the Box Hill ATM was to try the
> system out and because it is the first opportunity to buy a ticket in my
> journey (which I believe is stipulated in the Transport Act 1984 and
> subsequent amendments). Indeed the person at the gate had he noticed I
> didn't have a ticket would no doubt have made me buy one from the ATM.
> So I was damned because I did and damned if I didn't (short of walking
> through the validator twice for the sake of validating the damn thing
> and missing my bus in the process). As for the bus drivers not knowing
> this, he probably couldn't be bothered squinting from his seat to find
> the expiry date amongst all the tiny print on the ticket.
>         Also I doubt NBC care that much - after all, every time the driver
> presses the button on his Datafare 2000 machine, it still registers me
> as having travelled on the bus regardless of whether I have a validated
> ticket or not.
> 

Apparently NBC do now care, the driver on the way home checked my
Metcard VERY carefully, not to mention every other Metcard waved past
his nose.

> > >< snip blurb on valid Metcards>
> 
> >
> > >3. In reference to the above does anybody know when National Bus Co will
> > >get validators? It strikes me as odd that our local buses (Bell Street
> > >and Dysons) have had validators on their vehicles for a while even
> > >though ATMs are not due to be turned on in our area for a while but NBC
> > >which is a lot closer to the action have no validators on any of their
> > >buses I have seen.
> >
> > Don't know. I noticed the other day Ventura are now using theirs.
> 

I saw the first evidence today that NBC are getting validators. The
5.27pm 293 bus on the way home had the black backing plate installed
ready for the green validator. (As an aside more appropriate to
misc.transport.etc, I saw a new low floor Merc NBC bus today - obviously
looks weren't high on the design priority list...)

> <snip blurb on Ventura buses>
> >
> > >4. Whoever said their tickets are flimsy weren't wrong. Even after 2
> > >days, it is starting to wear. No way will I buy a Metcard monthly until
> >
> > I haven't had the misfortune of having a Metcard monthly yet - mine's still
> > paper, at least for a few more days! I'll see how I go.

The only non-spooky thing that happened today is that my Metcard is
still wearing out albeit slowly with a little TLC (although I pity
anyone trying to keep a monthly ticket from destroying itself before the
month is up...)