Article: Forgetful go card users stung $1m

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Forgetful go card users stung $1m

Forgetful go card users stung $1m
Georgina Robinson | July 8, 2008 - 5:07AM

Converts to Translink's go card have been slugged up to $1 million in flat fares after failing to "touch off" their electronic smart cards.

Translink figures show public transport users have either forgotten or failed to properly swipe their cards at the end of their journeys 221,488 times since the go card launched.

The figure represents less than eight per cent of the 2.8 million go card journeys made since January 29.

A Translink spokesperson said the exact dollar amount generated from charging passengers who did not touch off was unavailable.

But with penalties ranging between $1.50 and $5 on trains, buses and ferries - and extending to $25 on the Airtrain - brisbanetimes.com.au understands Translink has collected between $330,000 and $1.1 million in default ticketing revenue.

The new system requires users to swipe their card over a machine at the beginning and end of each journey.

But if a passenger does not touch off their card, Translink will deduct a flat fare from their balance the next time they try to travel.

Adult users are charged a $5 "fixed amount" on trains and $3 on buses and ferries, while concession travellers pay $2.50 for a train journey and $1.50 on a ferry or bus.

All fines will rise when the "introductory period" finishes, although Translink has not yet specified the date that will occur.

A Translink spokesperson said the number of fixed amounts charged had fallen as consumers became accustomed to the system.

"Now that the entire go card network has been rolled out Translink will begin to focus even more attention on educating users on how the go card system works," he said.

"It is expected this will help reduce even further the number of fixed amounts charged."

Meantime, Transport Minister John Mickel said improved go card sales last week proved the announcement of a new fare structure had been a success.

From August 4, all fares will go up by 3.9 per cent.

However, go card users will pay a minimum 20 per cent less per single trip than their paper ticket counterparts and discounts of up to 67.5 per cent will apply to some long-distance travellers.

Mr Mickel said nearly 3000 go cards were sold in the week following the fare announcement, compared to 1600 cards sold the week before.

"Now that the system is fully rolled out across South-East Queensland we'd like to see every public transport user consider switching to go card," he said.

"We knew that bringing go card discounts into line with existing ticketing products would be popular and this week's sales prove it.

"Before the new fares have even come into effect people are making the switch to this new way of travelling."

[ozbob]

Hidden away in these figures are penalties that people are not aware of.  Eg. unregistered card users, or even registered users who have not bothered to seek reimbursement of incorrectly debited penalties.

Also balanced against this would be the times when the due fare may have been greater than the actual touch penalty.

The only penalties I have had are on buses and due to the 'double touch' problem well documented on buses and I was refunded that.

So far, I have managed to remember to touch on and off as necessary ....

[haakon]

Some of those failures to tag off maybe deliberate. One of the passengers on my bus route deliberately fails to touch of as the penalty is cheaper than the correct fare ($3 versus $5)

[GOody]

Some of those failures to tag off maybe deliberate. One of the passengers on my bus route deliberately fails to touch of as the penalty is cheaper than the correct fare ($3 versus $5)

Yep, I have a friend who shrugs off non-touch off issues because the penalty is less than their regular fare. They do the right thing (ie don't just walk off the bus without touching off), but won't go out of their way to ensure that they were touched off.

[ozbob]

There was mention of 'serial non toucher offers' being identified and perhaps even having their cards withdrawn.  This is a bit difficult with non-registered cards -They will just move to another 

[haakon]

This is a bit difficult with non-registered cards -They will just move to another 

Bingo!

[Fares_Fair]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

From August 4, all fares will go up by 3.9 per cent.

However, go card users will pay a minimum 20 per cent less per single trip than their paper ticket counterparts and discounts of up to 67.5 per cent will apply to some long-distance travellers.

Am I missing something here ?

The talk of fares increasing by only 3.9% is simply untrue for me - perhaps I am being pedantic,
but we were told via the media release that fares went up 3.9%, plus rounding
off to the nearest 10c.
e.g. My fares went up ( compared to current weekly ticket price ) by 4.13% and that included rounding off to the nearest 20c.

Whatever happened to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ?
I see this (sadly) as more 'spin'.

The fact is that weekly paper tickets are cheaper if you were to do more than 10 trips in 7 days and monthly paper tickets are cheaper still due to the extra 2 or 3 days in a calendar month compared to 4 weeklies.

Whilst it is good that the Government has listened and acted upon concerns -
there is more listening to be done with respect to off-peak fares and GoCard
equivalents to the QR 3, 6 and 12 month tickets.

They are great value and leave the new GoCard discounts way, way behind.

A QR Annual Ticket for Zone 16 = $3094.00  ( would cost $4191.20 with new GoCard price )
A QR 6 Month Ticket for Zone 16 = $1624.40 ( would cost $2095.60 with new GoCard price )

The savings under these cards are ideal if one can afford the up-front cost.

I hope the Government continues to listen and act to encourage discounted
and off-peak travel further.

May ALL fares continue to be made fairer still.

Regards,
Fares Fair.

[ozbob]

There is still more that can be done to improve the fares and the uptake for sure.
We will continue working towards these goals, off peak and capping, and further incentive travel options.

eg. --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1109.0

[dwb]

The QR 3, 6 & 12 month tickets do not offer the same facility as Go card as they can only be used on trains and do not allow transfer to buses.  As far as I know there has been no attempt to remove the QR tickets yet (although there may be in the future). Oyster in the UK offers travel cards such as quarterly tickets added to it, however there may be alternatives that could work better in Qld such as the implementation of a "caps" scheme.  When I say caps, I mean a pre-chosen value that gives a certain level of discount but also includes a minimum charge, much like a mobile telephone cap rather than a zonal based maximum charge with no minimum.