Re: New logic on Metcard

[arthur marsh <marsh@ties.itu.int>]

Adelaide solved the problem ages ago:

1) Plastic multitrip tickets.

2) Any bus driver sighting a damaged ticket will write their number and
the date on the ticket, informing the passenger that the ticket would be
accepted on that day only, and to get a credit on the remaining journeys
from a Trans Adelaide ticket office or by mailing the ticket in an
envelope available from any ticket vendor.

Regards,

Arthur.

On Sat, 13 Mar 1999, John Wayman wrote:

> I drive buses in Melbourne, and out of say 400 passengers a day, probably at
> least 20 tickets don't work as they have been damaged through normal wear
> and tear. Many of these are periodical tickets.
> 
> Some are Metcard 10 or whatever they are called. Theses are a pain, as when
> they are damaged, we have to manually record the expiry date and time.
> Theoretically these tickets should be rejected, but someone who has paid a
> lot of money for such a ticket is going to be pissed off at buying another
> ticket when it is the Metcard ticket system at fault, not them! Passengers
> on National Bus Co. buses also usually have their Metcards manually dated!
> They can then be used for another day using Metcard validators that can't
> read handwriting!
> 
> People with these damaged tickets can probably use them for months and
> months, because the validators don't read them. Also these tickets won't
> work on one bus, but they will on another, giving extra trips to the lucky
> ticket holder.
> 
> School kids have a number of techniques for obtaining free travel.
> 
> I pick up several groups that travel for free on the trams and trains , then
> just buy a short trip  to get to school.
> 
> As someone who works with the system, I view it as a farce. There are still
> stupid flaws in the software, and I am continually annoyed at some of these.
> 
> When will Melbourne get a proper ticketing system that is attractive to
> customers?
> 
> Cheers
> John Wayman
> 
> Christopher_Martin GORDON wrote in message
> <7cb6g2$emd$1@mulga.cs.mu.OZ.AU>...
> >
> >: It does when people are claiming to have constant troubles, and I did not
> >: experience a single problem in an entire fortnight. The only reason I
> stated
> >: my travel pattern was so that I could not be accused of being a tourist
> and
> >: only using it a few times a day. What I did was typical of a Melbourne
> >: resident (apart from using it when I wanted to go out :p)
> >
> >Let me know next time you are in Melbourne I will take you and show you
> >a few things about automatic ticketing that will change your mind.
> >You might not have had problems (try a monthly) but just watch a busy
> >station for 1/2 an hour and watch how many problems people have.
> >
> >: That gets back to my point about the plastic coated tickets. They would
> last
> >: (they last for a year in Sydney) yet judging by your comments, you (and
> >: others) would still not validate. Maybe if you all did, and the Gestapo
> were
> >: unable to read the details, and this was to become the norm, then they
> just
> >: might introduce these tickets until Metcard Xpress comes in.
> >
> >Well it doesn't take much to work out that Metcards are thermal printed and
> >this is done with heat, a plastic coated ticket will melt, and then you
> >will have no writing on it.
> >
> >I validate when I have to, ie each morning to get onto the station (so I
> >can get out at the other end) through the barriers, going home through
> >the barriers, at Ringwood through the barriers (sometimes, through the
> >opened barriers because someone has pushed the button to open them, and
> >they don't take tickets till reset by a quarter turn of the button)
> >never on the bus (National Bus) and not on trams (hardly catch them)
> >
> >You get pissed off when you get to a station the barriers are open and off
> >because someone has pushed the button to get out because they don't have a
> >ticket, you can't validate yours, and then next time you see an open
> barrier
> >you just walk through.  Why bother validating? it didn't work last time.
> >
> >
> >--
> >Chris Gordon
> >http://www.ecr.mu.oz.au/~cmgord
> 
> 
> 
>