Article: Merry go round

[ozbob]

From Brisbane mX  16 May 2008  page 1 not online

Merry go round

Merry go round
Extra card penalties swiped - for now

Ursula Heger

Commuters angry with the beleaguered go card system have had a small win, with the State Government today pushing back an increase in misuse penalties indefinitely.

Transport Minister John Mickel has also delayed the dumping of the Ten Trip Saver to a later date.
After stating late last year that commuters would be charged $10 and $5 fees for failing to touch off from July 1, a spokesman for the minister said the introduction of the penalty had not been finalised.

"The touch-off flat fare will increase some time after July I. No date has been set (but) the fee will rise to $10 for rail and $5 for buses and ferries," the spokesman said.

The TransLink go card website has a different date again, stating that the fixed amount for failure to touch on or off will increase from next month.

Present fees for adults are set at $5 for trains and $3 for buses and ferries as commuters adapt to the procedure of swiping their cards at the end of their journeys.

Mickel's spokesman said the introduction of extra fees for failure to touch  on or off had been extended because of  a delay on the system rollout for buses on the Gold Coast due to a problem with NSW manufacturers.

"It was never set in stone? he said. Despite this, the spokesman said users would still be charged a go card "issuance fee" of $5 from July 1.

Commuter Interest group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said the introduction period should be extended for six months to fix problems with the system.

?We felt it should be delayed six months to allow them time to sort out problems with the GPS systems and other problems," Dow said.

"The simple fact is that people are having a lot of trouble using the system.

"The bottom line is that the system needs to be fixed."

Dow said the Ten Trip Saver could not be phased out before the system was fixed.

"There are still too many ongoing issues to do away with the Ten Trip Saver. It will just put an extra burden on commuters," he said.

Many thanks to the mX for highlighting these issues.

[ozbob]

This is sensible decision of the Minister and Translink in view of the ongoing issues with the equipment on the buses and ferries.

Hopefully it will be sorted, some further fare incentives introduced, and then the go card will be the preferred ticketing option with the gains for transport efficiency.

A small win for common sense too!