16 Oct 2007: Smart card ticketing still surrounded by a ?cone of silence"

[ozbob]

RAIL Back On Track - Media Release 16 October 2007

Brisbane: Translink smart card ticketing is still surrounded by a ?cone of silence?

RAIL - Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community organisation for the promotion of rail throughout Australia has again called for clear accurate and detailed explanations how the Translink Smart Card will operate.

Robert Dow said:

?Why is it that Translink cannot or will not reveal the specific details of how the Smart card ticket will work?  RAIL Back On Track has been asking for months and months in response to feedback from concerned commuters and we are still no wiser (Reference 1).

?When is the Smart card ticketing system going to be rolled out?

?Many commuters are very concerned that based on the way the Smart card pilot project operates they appear to be facing huge increases in their regular cost of travel on the Translink network when paper tickets such as ten trip savers, weekly and monthly tickets are finally withdrawn.

?Some assurance as to how the fares will be calculated is urgently needed.  Will there be a daily fare cap, and will it cap to the present weekly and monthly fares? If it doesn't, the cost increases will be very significant.

?Vague descriptions of  'frequent traveller discounts' will not substitute for the practical utility of weekly and monthly tickets.  Ten trip saver tickets are being phased out.  People who use these two or three times a week will also be disadvantaged whilst the Smart card is not available and in any case they will probably not qualify for the 'frequent traveller discount'.

?Promises that other paper tickets will be retained for a period are not reassurance, particularly when we have ?the Translink cone of silence? in place.

?What is needed is a clear articulation of how the fares will be calculated using the Smart card, as it is obvious that Translink intends to eventually remove weekly and monthly paper ticket options without any real choice for commuters.

?Is the fact that the project is now about 5 years late have something to do with the way it is limited in how it can calculate fares.? The Cubic website - http://www.cubic.com/cts/ says it's systems are 'turnkey'.  Why is the project taking so long?  Five years to implement a turnkey system?

?The TransLink Smart Card will be the ?face? of public transport in SEQ.  If it is as problematical as it appears to be, it will be a major disincentive for maximising public transport use. There are enough road congestion problems as it is now, we don't need more people being forced back into cars because of huge increases in public transport costs and poor ticketing options.

?RAIL Back On Track believes that the public transport commuter community of South East Queensland is entitled to clear, accurate, detailed explanations.

?We are after all living in a democracy. With a federal election looming we would suggest that increases in the cost of public transport  may well influence how people vote.?

Reference 1:

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


Contact:

Robert Dow

Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track
http://backontrack.org