Article: Buses go cashless in bid to cut waiting times

[david]

Hmmm...what I'm about to say may offend some people...

I really think that these seniors/pensioners have been misinformed, possibly due to a lack of education about these pre-paid services.

Firstly, there will be alternative services for these people to catch in the event that they do not have a go card/prepaid paper ticket. Although these alternative services may take longer to get to their destination, they'll still get there and they are probably more frequent than the prepaid services anyway.

Secondly, I've hardly ever seen seniors/pensioners travelling on peak-hour rockets. They are more likely to travel off-peak, so they shouldn't be affected anyway. For those who do travel during peak (probably a mistake anyway if they just want to go to the shops/doctors), they will probably catch the bus that they are more familiar with (e.g. 333) and hence won't be affected anyway. It is also my belief that they might put a ticket seller at Chermside during AM peak anyway...

These stories seem to be a beat-up for some unknown reason. I understand that people do not want to use a go card because of its problems but only a few services will be prepaid, which are aimed at those travelling into the city and if you don't have a prepaid ticket/go card, you can catch a higher frequency alternative bus. Seems like a win-win for everyone to me.

As for the campaign for more ticket machines at bus stations - I support this. The different zones for train stations and suburbs (e.g. Oxley, which is a zone 4, but the station is zone 3) might prove to be a difficult hurdle to overcome though. My suggestion is that there should be no fare increase in the upcoming fare increases, but rather, making train station zones the same as the suburb zone.

[ozbob]

I have mentioned that a number of times that the prepaid peak express bus routes are not normally used by Seniors and alternative services available when making comments.  I suppose they are still concerned with a continued ramp up which is the longer term plan.  Hence our initiative for free travel on Sundays with the red go card, this will assist in go card uptake, and then folks more likely to use it during the week as well.  We have raised this directly with the authorities (red go card) and you never know something might happen to hasten uptake one day. 

The other issue is many senior citizens may not use the internet routinely either.

Ticket machines are to be placed hopefully sometime in 2010 in the major bus stations and then progressively rolled out hopefully to other key bus change points.  The number of go card agents needs to be increased as well. 

[Jon Bryant]

2010 is just too late.  Roll them out now.  Make very newsagent a Co Card outlet, plus Supermarket, Local Stores, etc.  This has been mismanaged.  The not machine at a Busway is just bad bad management.

[#Metro]

For the majority of people, this will have benefits:
- faster boarding
- faster trips
- can pay whenever you want, no fumbling in queue

Seniors may take some time to become accustomed and adjust to the new scheme.
This is expected and warrants measures to cater for these needs, rather than the abolition of the pre-paid routes themselves (which the article appears to give the impression of). Translink has put measures in place (i.e limiting the prepay system to peak hour rockets, ensuring alternative routes are available, placing an amnesty period of 2 weeks, and advertising).

Seniors may not have used a computer, the internet, paid for things over the phone (they might not own a mobile phone) or have a credit card. Their local news agency might be a bit far off. They may have always been accustomed to paying cash for everything.

Measures to help:
- Post out a go card with credit on it: TL already posts out their privacy policies, so why not GoCard?
- Have more outlets for GoCard: Australia Post, Woolies, Coles, and 24/7 convenience stores
- Sell GC at the transport information centre at KGS
- Automatic ticket machines across the network
- Cut down the packaging and excess literature/advertising that comes with GoCard.
Literature should be offered, otherwise you should just get the card and go.

In due course, more prepaid routes should be added.
Other non-prepaid services would become prepaid upon entering a busway corridor, and sell only single/daily tickets.

[ozbob]

When the new AVVMs appeared on our local railway station, I often spent some time helping senior citizens with using them.  They are  now are comfortable with them.  The go card and the AVVMs is a new experience for many (particularly the touch screens with the parallax errors!  :-) ). 

We have been suggesting necessary improvements - education, help booths, amnesty period for new users and many such things for years.  Slowly the system is taking shape.

I agree with your comments above Jon, it was kind of amazing that ticket machines were not put in the bus stations etc. from the outset.  There is a commitment now to place them from 2010 so that is a big gain. 

Time to GO fowards! 

[#Metro]

What TL really needs is a YouTube video explaining this.
Seniors (or anyone) could go and watch it- anywhere.

[ozbob]

There are some video clips on the TL site here Tramtrain --> http://www.translink.com.au/go_downloads.php#clips

These are of some assistance but only if folks have the easy net access. 

Best thing is to get people using the system.  If they cop a fixed fare or two in the first month or so of use why not allow a 'no questions asked refund' on request?  It is very clear if someone is not touching off to avoid high zone fares. 

Eventually the fixed fare will be increased I suspect.

[STB]

What TL really needs is a YouTube video explaining this.
Seniors (or anyone) could go and watch it- anywhere.

There is...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHKUksAJ6Ls

Brought to you from Vicky Darling MP.

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?id=141

Services start on Monday 16th November.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

The not machine at a Busway is just bad bad management.

Agreed. They might be a good idea for some major on-street stops (such as Sunnybank Plaza), and bus interchanges not on the busway system (such as Indooroopilly). In Zurich, you'll find TVMs - accompanied by timetables and full system maps - at termini in the suburbs! All-door boarding would speed things up as well, although I'm not sure how suitable the door configurations of existing bus models are.

[justanotheruser]

I guess this works well on BCC buses but on private operators it is not unusual to have to ask the driver to activate the machine so you can touch on and touch off. Yep just another example of lining up with Go card depite the ads saying keep moving with Go card!