Article: One in 16 go for go card

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

One in 16 go for go card

One in 16 go for go card
Georgina Robinson | June 9, 2008 - 1:10PM

The number of people using the new transport smart card on South East Queensland trains has climbed seven-fold since its launch early this year, Translink figures reveal.

However, the State Opposition says the go cards are still being used on only a fraction of total daily Citytrain trips as commuters stick to paper tickets.

Translink figures show travellers clocked more than 298,000 train journeys using their go cards in April, up from 42,300 in February.

But shadow Transport spokesperson Tim Nicholls, who requested the figures in Parliament, said the cards were being used on just 10,000 out of a possible 158,000 train trips per day on average.

Mr Nicholls said the slow uptake proved the go card's rollout in January this year had failed.

"By all accounts the system is more expensive and less reliable than the popular paper tickets, a fact proven by today's figures," Mr Nicholls said.

A Translink spokeswoman said the figures were in line with the government's strategy to gradually introduce commuters to the new system.

"Translink has always maintained the introduction and take up of the go card technology would be a gradual process as commuters embraced the new ticketing system," she said.

"As of last Friday there were more than 67,000 go cards in circulation, with almost 2.2 million journeys taken."

More than $6 million had been loaded onto existing go cards, she said.

Mr Nicholls said the figures showed passengers travelling through more than 11 zones - between Brisbane and the Sunshine or Gold Coasts, for example - had panned the system.

Just 3,700 of the 298,000 go card trips in April were longer than 11 zones.

[ozbob]

Figures for the buses would be very interesting too!

My own observations and feedback suggest the use of go cards on buses is a bit lower than rail.  Some areas bus uptake seems higher but BT regions the ten tripper still holds sway. 

Should be fun when the ten trippers are withdrawn 

67,000 cards in circulation, how many in active use?

Lot less than that. 

Despite the spin, the roll out has been bit of a flop really.  Shame, I like the convenience of the go card but I guess if I had the constant issues other users have had on the buses I would be a bit reluctant to keep using it too.

[ozbob]

The 50,000 go card was issued on 17th April

(see --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=768.msg3267#msg3267 )

It is now 9th June.  Another 17,000 cards further on.  Not a very impressive roll out rate.

The go card needs incentive fares desperately.

[stephenk]

One in 16 go for go card
Georgina Robinson | June 9, 2008 - 1:10PM

The number of people using the new transport smart card on South East Queensland trains has climbed seven-fold since its launch early this year, Translink figures reveal.

This has got to be one of the most useless statistics I've seen in a long time. It's like saying mobile phone usage has increased since the year 1900.

For comparison, Hong Kong had sold 3million Octopus Cards within 3 months of it being introduced!

[curator49]

Not sure which would be the best thread to put this comment in but here goes.

My son is going to purchase his GoCard today with the 10-trip Saver paper ticket finishing soon. However, he doesn't have a lot of confidence in the system. He is a regular traveller on the 129/131 services from Algester to the City and return.

Yesterday (Wednesday) he was to work until 6.0pm so left home at a later time. The 129 he wanted to catch didn't show up and the next 129 was packed, so he waited for the next following 129 which arrived soon after and which was almost empty. Travelled on his 10-Trip paper ticket. When he got on he saw that the GoCard reader on the bus had failed. The bus driver did not stop again but travelled express all the way to the city ignoring people the bus would normally pick up waving for him to stop. He told passengers as they alighted in the City that as the GoCard reader on the bus had failed he had been instructed to travel express and not allow on any more passengers. One wonders about those who had pre-paid paper tickets waiting at those bus stops or even for that matter those holding GoCards. It is not their fault the reader had broken down and other than a bus that is too full to safely fit on any more passengers they surely have a right to expect the bus to stop and pick them up if it is scheduled to stop at that stop.

Is this a new policy "Don't allow any free passengers if the system fails"?

I know my son has been on several buses recently with no GoCard readers at all as they were brand new buses and the readers had not yet been fitted. GoCard holders travelled free on these services.

We'll see how my son goes when using his new GoCard.

[Otto]

BT policy is that if the goCard readers have failed, then the goCard holders travel free. By the fact that the bus bypassed waiting passengers, I would think the driver had been instructed to run 'blank' to the city, most likely because he was running late and to try to catch up time for his next trips OR his 5 hour driving limit was nearing (due to lateness) and he would be required by law to take a break ASAP..