18 Aug 2007: Brisbane: TRANSLink Smart Card - A dud!

[ozbob]

RAIL Back On Track - Media Release 18 August 2007

Brisbane: TRANSLink Smart Card - A dud!

RAIL ? Back On Track (http://backontrack.org)  a web based community organisation for the promotion of rail throughout Australia has called for the Cubic  TRANSLink Smart Card to be junked, and a decent system implemented!

Robert Dow said:

?The TRANSLink Smart Card is dead in the water.  Presently undergoing yet more pilot studies with bemused commuters, it simply fails to deliver.  Plagued by inflexible software, it is unable to cope with the present fare and ticket options throughout the TRANSLink network.  The ramifications being that there will be significant cost increases for most regular commuters when it is finally rolled out.?

?Two hundred million dollars are already spent, how much more before this farce is foisted upon the travelling public?  Small pilot studies are not representative of the stress that will be placed on the Smart Card system when rolled out.  If a small pilot is struggling, how much more the real thing?  The project is about four years behind schedule already, a sure sign of the mediocre nature of the ticketing system. Or, perhaps the initial contract was struck from the comfort of taxpayer funded luxury cars by a bureaucracy that never actually ventured onto 'public' transport, hence the full ticketing requirements were not understood and made clear initially??

?Repeated requests to TRANSLink and the Minister of Transport and Main Roads for clarification on specific points has not resulted in clear unambiguous answers. (1).?

?Queensland Taxpayers are entitled to know what the justification is for the delays and the massive expense.  They also need to be informed in unequivocal terms that the cost of this ?dud? system is not going to borne by the travelling public if and when it is rolled out.  A public already suffering because of chronic congestion and service shortfalls.?

Reference:

1.  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=135.0

Contact:

Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track

http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

A much better option would have been to support Australia and it is companies.

http://www.erggroup.com/

The successful designer of the Hong Kong Octopus card. ERG is an Australian-based company, listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and employs 900 people in 11 countries.

Good one Queensland!    What a mistake ...

[ozbob]

Check out the Smart Card thread here too --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=135.0

[ozbob]

Also some issues with the new TRANSLink Ticket Machines ...

--> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=217.0