20 Oct 2007: Queensland - Smart State or Secret State?

[ozbob]

RAIL Back On Track - Media Release 20 October 2007

Queensland: Smart State or Secret State?

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 or the Minister for Transport cannot or will not reveal the specific details of how the Smart card ticket will work? The Opposition highlighted the secrecy surrounding the Smart card this week in Parliament.

?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).

?Is the secrecy because of increased fare costs on general roll out and possible implications for the Federal Election?

?There are a number of issues with the Translink Smart Card, least of which is the fact that is years late and an ?official state secret? by the look of it.  Many issues with the card are documented at the RAIL Back On Track website.

?What is urgently needed is a clear articulation of how the fares will be calculated using the Smart card.  There is a growing sentiment of concern by commuters,? said Robert Dow, spokesman for RAIL Back On Track.

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

[ozbob]

Smartcard - what?s the secret?

From  Coalition News
http://www.qldcoalition.org.au/news/article.aspx?ID=1754

Tuesday, 23 October 2007

With the news that Sydney?s own Smartcard system is not only having problems, but could go bust, Queenslanders have to ask whether the delays experienced in our own program could be masking similar issues.

In scenes that seem all too familiar, NSW Transport Minister John Watkins refused to answer 13 consecutive questions about the time-frame and cost of the Tcard electronic ticketing project during NSW parliamentary estimates committee hearings last week.

The incident followed revelations the NSW Labor government was already having problems with the yet to be implemented electronic ticketing system and had taken legal advice on whether it could safely terminate its four and a half year contract.

Shadow Transport Minister Tim Nicholls said Mr Watkins must be taking lessons from Queensland?s own Transport Minister John Mickel who had so far been unable or unwilling to answer questions about Smartcard?s progress.

"Mr Mickel has so far refused to reveal when the system will be fully operational, how the tickets will work when the system is finally rolled out, and whether the Smartcard will be as widely available as the current paper tickets," he said.

"Last week when I asked Mr Mickel to explain the controversial decision to drop the ten-trip tickets and how the alternative frequent traveler discount would work, he again followed Labor?s policy of keeping quiet.

"Mr Mickel?s continual silence bids the question - what has the government got to hide and why won?t they come clean?"

Mr Nicholls said it was worrying that Queenslanders know so little about a system that had been on the books for over four years.

"We?ve been waiting on the delivery of this so called Smartcard since it was first announced in 2002. At the time we were told it would be rolled out by 2004/05, which was quickly pushed back to September 2005, then the end of 2006 and when they couldn?t make that deadline ? it became early 2007," he said.

"While there was originally a lot of fanfare when Smartcard was first announced the government has since become relatively quiet ? Queenslanders deserve to know why."