Split thread from Re: Go Card Feedback - tell us of your Go Card experiences!!

[Mobility]

When the Go Card was introduced Translink increased paper ticket prices by 40% in one jump purely (they stated themselves, on their own handbills) to make the Go Card "competitive" with paper tickets, to force people to switch to the Go Card.

This means that the fares we are paying now are 40% higher than they need to be.

[longboi]

When the Go Card was introduced Translink increased paper ticket prices by 40% in one jump purely (they stated themselves, on their own handbills) to make the Go Card "competitive" with paper tickets, to force people to switch to the Go Card.

This means that the fares we are paying now are 40% higher than they need to be.

But that would only be true if you're still using paper tickets...

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Police turn to go card information to track witnesses and investigate major crimes

[Mobility]

When the Go Card was introduced Translink increased paper ticket prices by 40% in one jump purely (they stated themselves, on their own handbills) to make the Go Card "competitive" with paper tickets, to force people to switch to the Go Card.

This means that the fares we are paying now are 40% higher than they need to be.

But that would only be true if you're still using paper tickets...

They increased paper ticket prices 40% because that's how much more expensive Go Card fares had to be to pay for the new system. They increased paper ticket prices to be about the same price as the Go Card.

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

It is not better in any of those ways.

[Mobility]

Couriermail --> Police turn to go card information to track witnesses and investigate major crimes

One of the great benefits of a state monopoly on transport: The movements and activities of all individuals can be tracked and monitored.

BTW In the Queen Street Mall, the cameras are now monitored and there are loudspeakers in place for the monitors to talk to people in the mall. I witnessed someone being told to stop smoking and warned that it is an offense. It felt like being in a POW compound.

What kind of society is it where we are treated in this manner? What kind of culture?

The state grows ever more powerful.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Hey, next time youre on a SMU260/IMU160 just know that the guard has the ability to watch and talk to you as well 

[STB]

Couriermail --> Police turn to go card information to track witnesses and investigate major crimes

One of the great benefits of a state monopoly on transport: The movements and activities of all individuals can be tracked and monitored.

BTW In the Queen Street Mall, the cameras are now monitored and there are loudspeakers in place for the monitors to talk to people in the mall. I witnessed someone being told to stop smoking and warned that it is an offense. It felt like being in a POW compound.

What kind of society is it where we are treated in this manner? What kind of culture?

The state grows ever more powerful.

You better destroy your mobile phone, cut your credit cards, get off the Internet, and go and live in the bushland, on your own on someone else's land without them knowing that you are even there, and you'll be fine.

Here's the reality - welcome to the 21st Century, if you have a problem with that, do what I just suggested.

[longboi]

When the Go Card was introduced Translink increased paper ticket prices by 40% in one jump purely (they stated themselves, on their own handbills) to make the Go Card "competitive" with paper tickets, to force people to switch to the Go Card.

This means that the fares we are paying now are 40% higher than they need to be.

But that would only be true if you're still using paper tickets...

They increased paper ticket prices 40% because that's how much more expensive Go Card fares had to be to pay for the new system. They increased paper ticket prices to be about the same price as the Go Card.

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

It is not better in any of those ways.

I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that fares were increased to 'pay for the new system'?

The paper ticket fare was increased in order to more or less price people onto go card because the intention was (and still is) to remove paper tickets entirely.

[Gazza]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

[STB]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

There's only one real way of dealing with that.  Do some progress and remove paper tickets altogether.  Sure, they'll jump up and down, whinge, but hey people move on, life goes on.

[Mobility]

Hey, next time youre on a SMU260/IMU160 just know that the guard has the ability to watch and talk to you as well 

Not the same thing. Yes there are police patrolling the streets but that is not the same as centralized, wall-to-wall monitoring of the city, where everyone is constantly watched and directed from one room.

[Mobility]

You better destroy your mobile phone, cut your credit cards, get off the Internet, and go and live in the bushland, on your own on someone else's land without them knowing that you are even there, and you'll be fine.

Here's the reality - welcome to the 21st Century, if you have a problem with that, do what I just suggested.

Having technology is good, having it monitored by the government is not. Doesn't matter what century.

[Mobility]

When the Go Card was introduced Translink increased paper ticket prices by 40% in one jump purely (they stated themselves, on their own handbills) to make the Go Card "competitive" with paper tickets, to force people to switch to the Go Card.

This means that the fares we are paying now are 40% higher than they need to be.

But that would only be true if you're still using paper tickets...

They increased paper ticket prices 40% because that's how much more expensive Go Card fares had to be to pay for the new system. They increased paper ticket prices to be about the same price as the Go Card.

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

It is not better in any of those ways.

I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that fares were increased to 'pay for the new system'?

The paper ticket fare was increased in order to more or less price people onto go card because the intention was (and still is) to remove paper tickets entirely.

I didn't say paper ticket prices were increased to pay for the Go Card system. I said the Go Card fare prices were set to cover the costs of the system and paper ticket prices were set to match it, purely so that people would not opt for the far cheaper paper tickets and not pay by Go Card at all.

If the Go Card is 40% more expensive, then what is the point of having it at all? It has no financial benefit. It was promoted as being able to save users money yet is actually far more expensive.

Nor does it save time, cut staff, increase convenience of use, etc. - it is the same or worse in all those respects.

[Mobility]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

Being "old fashioned" doesn't make people want to continue doing things a more expensive and difficult way after someone gives you a cheaper and easier way.

No financial disincentive was needed to get people to use cars, washing machines, computers, mobile phones and so on. No genuine technical and economic advancement requires people to be "pushed" to use it.

The Go Card is technically more sophisticated than paper tickets, yes, but it is not an advancement - it is not a beneficial technology. It is more expensive, slower to use, more open to the human error of users, more prone to system errors and damage, inherently less convenient, requires the same or greater number of staff to attend it.

Let's see: more expensive, more manpower, less convenient, more complicated, more prone to error and failure. Nope, not a technical advancement. That's why the artificially imposed financial incentive was needed: there is no other incentive to use it.

It's not a case of people being old fashioned, it's a case of the system itself not being progressive.

People are constantly bringing real complaints about the Go Card which are nothing to do with being "old fashioned". It's not because they like the old way, it's because there are numerous problems with the new way.

[Mobility]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

There's only one real way of dealing with that.  Do some progress and remove paper tickets altogether.  Sure, they'll jump up and down, whinge, but hey people move on, life goes on.

True progress does not need to be imposed on the market. If something is truly progressive, people want to buy it and they don't have anything to whinge about.

[Mobility]

BTW how do I multi-quote on this board?

[ozbob]

Just copy and paste.

[ozbob]

Just topped up my myki, heading to Melbourne for a few days in a couple of weeks.  No paper tickets there at all.

Fares and system in Melbourne though actively encourage public transport use.

Withdrawal of paper tickets in SEQ is inevitable, and will probably occur when go mark 2 is rolled out (2016?) if not sooner.  It simply comes down to costs. 

[HappyTrainGuy]

Hey, next time youre on a SMU260/IMU160 just know that the guard has the ability to watch and talk to you as well 

Not the same thing. Yes there are police patrolling the streets but that is not the same as centralized, wall-to-wall monitoring of the city, where everyone is constantly watched and directed from one room.

Ever seen the security room at Mayne or know about the expansion going on in regards to live CCTV across the whole network?

[Gazza]

Sorry dont agree that Go Card is slower to use.
Ever boarded a 412 at UQ and seen how a full bus can be loaded very quickly.
Imagine how much slower it would be if each passenger was paying cash.
And dipping the old 10 trip savers was slower than go card too.

STB can probably give more info, but a lot of routes had timetables revised after the introduction of go card due to thetime savings found.

Also, why are you making the assertion that go card needs more people to run it?
It would be less, due to more transactions being computerised.

[James]

Sorry dont agree that Go Card is slower to use.
Ever boarded a 412 at UQ and seen how a full bus can be loaded very quickly.
Imagine how much slower it would be if each passenger was paying cash.
And dipping the old 10 trip savers was slower than go card too.

STB can probably give more info, but a lot of routes had timetables revised after the introduction of go card due to thetime savings found.

Also, why are you making the assertion that go card needs more people to run it?
It would be less, due to more transactions being computerised.

I have to agree. go card is far faster to use - for individuals who find boarding slower with a go card, obviously either have a faulty reader or take far too long to get off the bus.

Paper tickets require excessive fiddling with change (I know I avoid having coins in my wallet as they often fall out) which will take 20-30 seconds. The ten-trip savers, while somewhat faster, still took a lot longer than go cards. And if you had to put them in twice (e.g. for a one-zone trip saver, you had to put it in twice for a two-zone trip), that made things even slower. Both paper tickets/ten trippers also rely on honesty. I can purchase a paper ticket and just say I am only travelling a few stops, yet actually travel multiple zones. This isn't a huge issue on most bus routes, but on rail it is. go card whacks you with a fixed fare.

Disembarking would be faster, but not by a huge amount. Most of the time wasted in getting off I find is people dawdling and waiting until the bus has stopped to walk from the back of the bus to the door.

People are constantly bringing real complaints about the Go Card which are nothing to do with being "old fashioned". It's not because they like the old way, it's because there are numerous problems with the new way.

Can I ask what problems you are having with the go card? Personally the only problems I have with the ticketing service are when people spend 5 minutes buying a paper ticket and make me miss my connecting service.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Sorry dont agree that Go Card is slower to use.
Ever boarded a 412 at UQ and seen how a full bus can be loaded very quickly.
Imagine how much slower it would be if each passenger was paying cash.
And dipping the old 10 trip savers was slower than go card too.

STB can probably give more info, but a lot of routes had timetables revised after the introduction of go card due to thetime savings found.

Also, why are you making the assertion that go card needs more people to run it?
It would be less, due to more transactions being computerised.

Try jumping on the 680. Every god damn person has a $5 top up! Instead of buying paper tickets they get on the bus to recharge their gocard with 5 bucks because its enough to get you to and from the shops. This is why I want onboard top ups on buses banned. Those that use BT buses don't get to experience the thrill of a bus stopped by the side of the road for a couple minutes (can be longer if your bus only has 1 door) because a few people want to top up but all they have done is shifted people from buying tickets to recharging their gocard. Biggest waste of time. And there are massive black holes in the timetable. 5 minute dwells at North Lakes, Petrie and Strathpine? 30-40 mins North Lakes to Strathpine? What a joke!

[newbris]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

There's only one real way of dealing with that.  Do some progress and remove paper tickets altogether.  Sure, they'll jump up and down, whinge, but hey people move on, life goes on.

True progress does not need to be imposed on the market. If something is truly progressive, people want to buy it and they don't have anything to whinge about.

Being a universal change means not only do you have to convince those open to change but also those not open to it. I think it is different to new tech like mobile phones in this way where people can come around in their own good time, and some not at all.

Anecdotal, but my elderly parents were saying to me this morning how great it is to get around armed with just a GoCard...I know many who think it is a lot more convenient to have a card in your wallet always topped up that charges you for the zones you travel through....don't have to pre-plan zones/coins etc.

[ozbob]

Yes newbris, the elderly once they build their confidence find the go card useful.

During the initial roll out of the go card I conducted informal go card instruction sessions at Oxley.  More formal ones on the Sunshine Coast.

Feedback has always been very positive.  They just needed to be shown.

TransLink also did some great work in this space as well with their Go Ready Sessions, mainly for Seniors.

[techblitz]

Try jumping on the 680. Every god damn person has a $5 top up! Instead of buying paper tickets they get on the bus to recharge their gocard with 5 bucks because its enough to get you to and from the shops. This is why I want onboard top ups on buses banned. Those that use BT buses don't get to experience the thrill of a bus stopped by the side of the road for a couple minutes (can be longer if your bus only has 1 door) because a few people want to top up but all they have done is shifted people from buying tickets to recharging their gocard. Biggest waste of time. And there are massive black holes in the timetable. 5 minute dwells at North Lakes, Petrie and Strathpine? 30-40 mins North Lakes to Strathpine? What a joke!

I think with the 680 ( brisbanes longest bus route and probably worst delayed route!)....There is a demographic issue where people on low incomes are only carrying small change. You will probably find (just like other regions such as logan,browns plains,ipswich) that a large amount of users are in the lower income bracket.

Teenagers around these suburbs aint rich and don't have the smarts to be as organised or forward thinking as their adult counterparts. Hence why I am seeing a decent amount of attempted fare evasion by youngsters (and some adults) on these private operator routes who don't like to keep their gocard maxed out and usually have it running on almost empty.
Also HTG you need to remember.......cashed up inner city commuters are usually better off financially than their outer city counterparts (house prices are a good guide) You can never expect both of them to be the same ...with the same purchasing or budgeting habits.

Over time after using the private operator buses at logan,ipswich,inala,bplains.... ive come to a conclusion that the current system of outer suburb bus top-ups needs to be retained. Reinforced by the lack of 24 hour go-card top-up machines in these areas at major interchanges. where the connection between routes is too close that the customer does not have time to walk up to the newsagency etc. Can you imagine being a bus driver and telling a customer he is not allowed to board because he should have walked over to the newsagency and topped up his go-card? I can tell you now...the bus driver will just let the customer on if they are in a bad enough mood.

PS: To overcome the 680`s issue with this then shorten the route perhaps? to make up for the delays by gocard topups.

[ozbob]

Yes, tend to agree Techblitz.  My own observations around the west on the bus, the topups are not that bad and are pretty quick as a rule.

Not that many accessible topup locations as there are around Brisbane town ...

[HappyTrainGuy]

Tried looking at housing prices around North Lakes? Haha. For sure there might be some but besides the elderly most of the people I see are just doing it as their way of buying a paper ticket. There was on particular service that I caught for a little while at the start of the year and you start to see patterns forming from the regulars.

I asked one woman in her 20's (iphone in hand, usually has a ton of jewellery and expensive designer sun glasses) why she always topped up with $5 and she said because that's how I've always bought tickets on buses since I was a kid. I also got a similar response from an older lady that got on at the RSL both of which referred to it being cheaper than buying a ticket.

The worst ones are those smartasses that get on at Petrie Railway Station usually after having waited 10-20 minutes and want to top up.

Some students might cry poor but when you suddenly have a whole school load of children getting on after shopping at Westfield wanting to top up along with others the dwell time just blows out.

[techblitz]

I think an incentive based discount could encourage a lot of people/families to top-up their gocards online. Especially in the low income bracket.

HTG...you got me there re house prices
However doesn't deny the fact that there are a lot of low incomers/unemployed that use the 680.
Good news thought as that entire region will see a surge un-heard of for jobs growth in the next few years. Hopefully many jobs will be given to local residents!

[HappyTrainGuy]

Maybe but there's the risk of just throwing away more money like that... what is it now? 6 minutes on a bus and free for a month I think just plain and simple enabling more places to top up would be the easiest way to go about it. For starters having gocard machines at Interchanges/major stops/shopping centres would go a long way. For a massive place like chermside there's only 2 top up locations in the whole area. The bus interchange and 1 newsagent at the far reaches of the shopping centre. North Lakes was worse as it only had the 1..... still might even be 1. I can't recall if there is one at the interchange or not.

The 680 is a weird route as it services alot of mixed uses for those with different incomes. People using it to catch the train from Petrie to the city, to Westfields at North Lakes, Chermside, and Strathpine, the multiple schools along the route, businesses along the entire route route, Kippa Ring and Redcliffe shops, the shops/businesses near the pier, housing and the tons of points of interest.

In regards to shortening the route once the railway line is up/the northern loop routes around Scarborough the 680 should be cut at the pier stop. Pretty sure the North Lakes/Mango Hill to Strathpine leg by train would be 17-18 minutes from memory which is very comparable to a car. Peak would be a real advantage.

[SurfRail]

My own anecdotal observations for Surfside are that on-board topping up is not a problem.  Drivers down here tend to be much more of a dab hand at selling tickets and working people through what might be an unfamiliar ticketing system (and at times with passengers with no or limited English).  The problem will be even less to be concerned about when the light rail starts up.

[Mobility]

Hey, next time youre on a SMU260/IMU160 just know that the guard has the ability to watch and talk to you as well 

Not the same thing. Yes there are police patrolling the streets but that is not the same as centralized, wall-to-wall monitoring of the city, where everyone is constantly watched and directed from one room.

Ever seen the security room at Mayne or know about the expansion going on in regards to live CCTV across the whole network?

Sleep tight tonight, your rail guards are awake.

[#Metro]

This is tricky. The purpose of GoCard is to stop wasting time in the bus, the wasting time component comes from the cash handling. Those who say that top ups would waste time do have a point, as it involves cash handling. Perhaps not as much fussing around as a paper ticket, but still not ideal at all.

What's the solution??

[HappyTrainGuy]

Hey, next time youre on a SMU260/IMU160 just know that the guard has the ability to watch and talk to you as well 

Not the same thing. Yes there are police patrolling the streets but that is not the same as centralized, wall-to-wall monitoring of the city, where everyone is constantly watched and directed from one room.

Ever seen the security room at Mayne or know about the expansion going on in regards to live CCTV across the whole network?

Sleep tight tonight, your rail guards are awake.

Most are asleep due to Caboolture, Nambour, Gympie, Shorncliffe, Airport, Doomben lines being closed.

This is tricky. The purpose of GoCard is to stop wasting time in the bus, the wasting time component comes from the cash handling. Those who say that top ups would waste time do have a point, as it involves cash handling. Perhaps not as much fussing around as a paper ticket, but still not ideal at all.

What's the solution??

Remove ticketing. Make transport free across the state. Include a PT tax. 

[Mobility]

Sorry dont agree that Go Card is slower to use.
Ever boarded a 412 at UQ and seen how a full bus can be loaded very quickly.
Imagine how much slower it would be if each passenger was paying cash.
And dipping the old 10 trip savers was slower than go card too.

STB can probably give more info, but a lot of routes had timetables revised after the introduction of go card due to thetime savings found.

Also, why are you making the assertion that go card needs more people to run it?
It would be less, due to more transactions being computerised.

When it works, which is not every time, and it only takes one time to slow everyone else on/entering the bus. Or maybe the holder uses it wrong, which is very easy to do - the system makes it easy to make mistakes. That's either bad design or an inherent flaw in this type of technology.

Remember weekly and monthly tickets? You don't have to buy one of those every trip you make. Regular bus/train commuters all bought them. Quicker than a go card, because a person reads them instead of a machine which has to communicate with the central computer for the SEQ-wide network, which all other readers are simultaneously communicating with.

If there is a problem with reading my card, I have to ask the person at the gate for help or go to the counter to get a print-out to find out what happened. If I was charged, I have to phone Translink to get the $10 back.

In peak times you have to queue sometimes behind thirty people to leave the platform. Add problems with reading to this mess. Where there are gates, especially at the big stations, the gates slow down the queue even more. With paper tickets, you just walked off the platform or walked through the gates and showed your ticket without even stopping..

With paper tickets, people just walked off the bus. With Go Card everyone has to swipe the reader as they leave the bus.

The time saved by eliminating cash handling is canceled by all these other aspects of Go Card.

The same number of staff are needed for Go Card because of the problems people have with it or because they don't know how to use it. Staff have to be present to assist people. (Also to watch that people don't jump the gates, share cards, go through gates two at a time, etc.) It is complicated to use in many respects. Even bus drivers and rail staff often can't tell me what to do. I'm still learning after using it for years. It's not as simple as top up, swipe on, swipe off.

Add to that, counter staff are busier because half their customers are making complaints or queries about Go Card. I'm standing in line behind a person making a complaint or query more than half the time.

[Mobility]

I have to agree. go card is far faster to use - for individuals who find boarding slower with a go card, obviously either have a faulty reader or take far too long to get off the bus.

Yes, often.

Paper tickets require excessive fiddling with change (I know I avoid having coins in my wallet as they often fall out) which will take 20-30 seconds. The ten-trip savers, while somewhat faster, still took a lot longer than go cards. And if you had to put them in twice (e.g. for a one-zone trip saver, you had to put it in twice for a two-zone trip), that made things even slower.

Weekly and monthly tickets. Buy them once per week or month and other times you just show the driver, who can read a ticket faster than a Go Card reader can read a card.

Both paper tickets/ten trippers also rely on honesty. I can purchase a paper ticket and just say I am only traveling a few stops, yet actually travel multiple zones. This isn't a huge issue on most bus routes, but on rail it is. go card whacks you with a fixed fare.

Anyone can get on an unattended station and travel to another unattended station (i.e., all stations besides Roma Street, Central and Fortitude Valley) and not swipe on and off. Or if you get on at one of the city stations, get out of the train at Milton, Bowen Hills or South Brisbane, swipe off, get back on the train and continue to Caboolture, Ipswich etc. Can do the same if traveling to the city from a suburban station.

Disembarking would be faster, but not by a huge amount. Most of the time wasted in getting off I find is people dawdling and waiting until the bus has stopped to walk from the back of the bus to the door.

Can't do anything about that.

Can I ask what problems you are having with the go card? Personally the only problems I have with the ticketing service are when people spend 5 minutes buying a paper ticket and make me miss my connecting service.

See above post. That's not even all of it.

[Mobility]

The question is why did they need to increase the price of paper tickets this much if the Go Card is inherently the better choice, in terms of price, convenience, speed and other factors?

The issue is the old fashioned people won't adopt new tech unless pushed, "because that's the way they've always done it", so unless you create a financial disincentive, they'll continue to pay the bus driver every time, slowing it down for everyone else.
It's bad enough as it is when paper ticket buyers stand in the doorway such that go card users can't continue to file past.

There's only one real way of dealing with that.  Do some progress and remove paper tickets altogether.  Sure, they'll jump up and down, whinge, but hey people move on, life goes on.

True progress does not need to be imposed on the market. If something is truly progressive, people want to buy it and they don't have anything to whinge about.

Being a universal change means not only do you have to convince those open to change but also those not open to it. I think it is different to new tech like mobile phones in this way where people can come around in their own good time, and some not at all.

How is that different? If Go Card were as simple and easy as some people claim, nobody would have a problem with switching. Nobody would prefer paper tickets if they were really a more difficult system

Anecdotal, but my elderly parents were saying to me this morning how great it is to get around armed with just a GoCard...I know many who think it is a lot more convenient to have a card in your wallet always topped up that charges you for the zones you travel through....don't have to pre-plan zones/coins etc.

Weekly and monthly tickets. Even easier. You don't even have to take them out of your pocket, except at city stations.

[James]

Yes, often.

No, not often. I use the bus twice a day every weekday and sometimes more often. It is very rare that I come across faulty go card readers. (BCC drivers who intentionally run late however, are a far more common occurrence!)

Weekly and monthly tickets. Buy them once per week or month and other times you just show the driver, who can read a ticket faster than a Go Card reader can read a card.

Weekly and monthly tickets are designed for commuters, and commuters only. Yes, they make up a lot of the amount of travel, but what if they don't travel enough to justify a weekly ticket? Then they'd be buying a paper ticket every time they travel.

And with regards to weekly tickets - lets say you can purchase them on the bus. Guess what happens to the buses on Monday? They all run 10 minutes late because everybody is buying weeklies.

Anyone can get on an unattended station and travel to another unattended station (i.e., all stations besides Roma Street, Central and Fortitude Valley) and not swipe on and off. Or if you get on at one of the city stations, get out of the train at Milton, Bowen Hills or South Brisbane, swipe off, get back on the train and continue to Caboolture, Ipswich etc. Can do the same if traveling to the city from a suburban station.

The difference here is if you can paper, you can fare gate every single railway station on the network. People can top up their go cards after passing through the fare gates. By putting fare gates at every single station, and putting cameras there, it becomes very f***ing obvious when someone fare evades and jumps the gates. CCTV/go card data can then be used to track down the fare evaders. Heck, if people get caught just find the go card data and charge them $20. That will slow them down.

Right now even at gated stations like Helensvale, I can just walk through the 'paper ticket entry' and travel for free.

Can't do anything about that.

I'm aware you can't do anything about that, but my point is, the time spent touching off is diddlysquat. There are much larger gains to be had by educating the PT users of Brisbane on how to get on and get off a bus in reasonably quick time. If it is just me getting off the bus, I can get off (with a go card swipe) in under 5 seconds. I do this because I recognise how much of a PITA it is when people fiddle around with their go card trying to touch off.

See above post. That's not even all of it.

To be honest, most of your complaints seem to mostly relate to technological ineptness on the part of users rather than genuine system faults.

[techblitz]

james...

ive never ever come across any bus driver be it BCC,westside,logan,or hornibrook that intentionally runs late.
Get over yourself with your plain as day obvious BCC/BTT itch on the shoulder you cant seem to scrape off.

[James]

james...

ive never ever come across any bus driver be it BCC,westside,logan,or hornibrook that intentionally runs late.
Get over yourself with your plain as day obvious BCC/BTT itch on the shoulder you cant seem to scrape off.

Oh, to the contrary.

I have actually spent 8 minutes waiting for a late-running 427 at UQ (Chancellors Place). This bus, and this bus driver - I could see just sitting in the layover zone. There was no reason why he could not have departed on time. I've had similar issues with numerous 428s at both Indooroopilly and UQ. At Indooroopilly, the bus will just sit in the spot where the P88s used to lay over. You can see the bus, and there is no reason why it should be held up. But it just sits there.

It is an especially big issue when dealing with the large loads the UQ buses deal with. Especially if a 428 goes out completely full and a 427 almost empty, passengers at intermediate stops get frustrated seeing a half-empty express bus pass them.

I have a beef specifically with BCC as the way they operate the bus network is not in the best interests of customers. Now I have not used many other bus carriers, but I can say Surfside does very well. It isn't common for buses to run late, and I've certainly never come across the farce situation of bus drivers leaving late.

[Gazza]

Weekly and monthly tickets. Buy them once per week or month and other times you just show the driver, who can read a ticket faster than a Go Card reader can read a card.

Weekly and monthly tickets have their own difficulties too, because they require you to predict your travel in advance for the next month, and are difficult if your travel isn't in set patterns (Eg during undergrad I'd study at UQ during the week in St Lucia, but I worked down on the GC on weekends, but lived in zone 40

To be honest, most of your complaints seem to mostly relate to technological ineptness on the part of users rather than genuine system faults.

This, the reason some people don't use go card is because they are afraid of technology in general, not because GoCard is actually that bad.

Quicker than a go card, because a person reads them instead of a machine which has to communicate with the central computer for the SEQ-wide network, which all other readers are simultaneously communicating with.

Is a person really reading them? My memory of monthly tickets is people waving them in the drivers face for a fraction of a second from a distance away. How many people would wave any old ticket at the driver and get away with it because it was hard for the driver to see, or the driver was running behind?

Or maybe the holder uses it wrong, which is very easy to do

How? The card works in any direction, upside down or right way up.
Can you give examples of people using go cards wrong?