Re: Flinders St. Metcard barriers

[Mike Alexander <malex@bigfoot.com>]

> Does the passback detection only work if the ticket is used twice in the
same
> machine, or within 10 minutes at any machines?
> 
> ie, if a passenger validates on a tram, goes one stop, and then gets off
at
> Flinders, will the ticket indicate a passback at Flinders Street?

As far as I can tell from observation only, passback only applies if the
ticket is inserted in the same "set of gates" in the same direction within
about 10 minutes.

The definition of "set of gates" is something I'm not sure of however. I
assume it is all the gates which are controlled by the same computer. So I
don't know what would happen if a passed back ticket were taken to another
set of gates (say in the Degraves St subway).

So to answer your question, a passback will not be shown if a passenger has
just validated on a tram minutes earlier.

Passback can be cancelled by exiting through the gates. So the smart
passbacker would just enter the station, put the ticket into an outbound
gate, and then pass it to his mate.

One stupid aspect of the system is that they have installed passback
detection on stand-alone validators as well. It seems a bit pointless, and
leads to confusion on trams where some passengers try and validate a ticket
which they have just bought from the on-board machine (which validates it
for you). The validator then makes the "invalid" noise and shows
"PASSBACK". This will not help to train people that the "invalid" noise
should be a source of worry to them.



Regards,

Mike Alexander
(malex@bigfoot.com)