Article: New pricing regime proves a boon for Go Card

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

New pricing regime proves a boon for Go Card

New pricing regime proves a boon for Go Card
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Patrick Lion

October 31, 2008 12:00am

THE number of commuters using the Go Card has doubled in the few months since the State Government admitted its pricing structure was too expensive.
The Courier-Mail can also reveal TransLink has again delayed plans until at least March to slug commuters with higher penalties for touching on and off incorrectly.

About 97,000 commuters held Go Cards early in August when fares were slashed by at least 20per cent and longer trips by 35per cent.

But the number of cards now in use sits at 184,220 less than three months later.

Transport Minister John Mickel yesterday said the surge had put sales figures on track to reach the mid-2009 target of 208,000 cards six months early.

"I'm delighted with the public's acceptance of TransLink's Go Card which has skyrocketed since the rollout across the TransLink network was completed in the middle of this year," Mr Mickel said.

But the State Opposition has insisted the uptake proves the Government bungled the initial introduction with glitches still plaguing the technology.

The Government repeatedly rejected calls from the Opposition and public transport groups demanding fare relief for the first six months under the Go Card.

Now a leaked TransLink memo, obtained by the Opposition, reveals a $1.3 million marketing campaign will be rolled out across television, radio and print during summer.

The memo also forced TransLink to admit a raft of amnesty-period expirations would now be delayed again until March. It includes plans to increase touch penalties from the present $5 for adults on trains to a figure tipped to be upwards of $10, a move originally proposed earlier this year.

Questioning the expense of the summer campaign, Liberal National Party transport spokeswoman Fiona Simpson yesterday said the patronage increase proved Mr Mickel had bungled the card's roll-out.

"If they hadn't botched the introduction of Go Card in the first place, they would have less damage to undo," she said.

"It is questionable whether you need to spend more than $1 million on something that could have been avoided by simply getting the basics right."

[ozbob]

My blog comments:

The go card roll out was botched. Fact.

I have been using the go card since early this year and it is generally fine on rail, stupid fare structure not withstanding. There is an urgent need for capping and off peak and incentive fare pricing.  It is still to dear for many commuters compared to the daily, weekly and monthly tickets.

Two major issues remain with the go card. It is still not working reliably on the buses and ferries, and no amount of Minister Mickel's spin will disguise that.  Problems with intermittent failures of equipment also impact on go card users attempting to get a refund.

Go card users have apparently resorted to photographing malfunctioning equipment to support their claims for refunds of incorrectly debited fines. Other Go card users on the buses are reporting ever escalating numbers of free rides.  This must be impacting adversely on revenue from the buses as the ten trippers are replaced by Go cards.  Will this loss of revenue lead to fare increases?

Well done CM on highlighting the go card.  Readers might be interested to visit RAIL Back On Track's forum  http://backontrack.org where there is a lot of information on the go card, a whole forum is devoted to it.  Here is the evidence of the botched roll out and details of the present on going issues.

If there was an increase in the touch penalties right now I suspect there would be a user revolt.  Many people have been denied refunds when clearly it was a system fault.  It is time the Minister for Transport got the system fixed. 

I support the go card as it promises improved loading efficiency on the buses and ferries particularly, and will assist in obtaining real time load data to fine tune timetables. BUT it must be reliable and have an equitable fare structure for all.

How about it Minister Mickel?

[ozbob]

Media Release 31 October 2008

SEQ:  Go card spin just won't do, will it?

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has consistently highlighted the botched roll out of the go card and the myriad of ongoing issues (1). Despite this we do support the roll out of the go card as it will in time lead to improved efficiency of public transport.  But, the system must be reliable, which at present it is not, and go card fares must equitable for all, presently they are not.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The Courier Mail has an article today on the go card highlighting the increase in the number of users (2). The fundamental reason for this is the withdrawal of the ten trip tickets, rather than intrinsic merit of the present faulty go card."

"We invite you all to visit our Go card forum at RAIL Back On Track (3). Here is a chronological systematic account of the botched go card roll out, and evidence of the myriad problems that the go card system is presently plagued with."

"It is little wonder that the increase in the touch penalties has again been pushed back. If it wasn't, it is highly likely there would be a user revolt; as there are many go card users who have received touch penalties due to equipment failures but have been denied refunds on application. This has upset many go card users, to the extent that many letters and comments have appeared in the Brisbane media."

"Why is it that Go card users need to photograph the faulty equipment to prove that the intermittent equipment failures are the cause of their fines?  Is it not time that Go card users are treated with some common decency and trust?"

"Other issues recently reported by RAIL Back On Track members include phantom fares; being debited for a trip they never actually took, and penalties due to clock errors on the system."

"The questions that need answers are:

1.  How many users have been denied refunds?

2.  What is the estimate of lost revenue due to faulty equipment on the buses and ferries?  Does the TTA have any real idea of the number of free rides?

3.  Of the Go cards issued, how many are actually in use?

4.  When will Go card users be treated with some respect and courtesy?  Rather than be accused of incompetence and inferred deceit when they describe intermittent failures of equipment?

5.  Is the Go card system ever going to work reliably, particularly on the buses and ferries?"

6.  Has the Queensland taxpayer been landed with a dud?

7.  Is there any redress for the Queensland taxpayer under the Go card contract?"

"Let's get over the spin and start on real facts.  The public transport community deserves a system that is reliable and equitable. After all, it is the Queensland taxpayer that has paid for it."

References:

1.   http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?board=27.0
2.   http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24576463-952,00.html
3.   http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?board=27.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[Derwan]

I support the concept of a single-fare touch-on only system (from England I think - Stephenk can confirm) as someone blogged about.  It would then be easy to "cap" daily fares as it would be a simple count instead of determining which zones were travelled in.

Of course people would have to get used to the idea of someone travelling from Nambour (or even Gympie) paying the same amount as someone travelling from Milton to the city.

[ozbob]

There was a follow up article  of sorts in the Brisbane mX 31st October 2008 page 4



It is a pity they miss the obvious, withdrawal of ten trippers, the problems on the buses and ferries and free rides and impact on revenue, and the farce with the refunds ....

[ozbob]

I think a simple solution is to equip the ferry terminals with the same equipment used on the rail network.

For the buses, simple flat fares for go card, touch once.  This is done in London, ie. the buses have a flat fare.  The complexity of the mobile system is never going to be overcome based on the evidence of this year.

Most bus rides are not that long eg. 5 or 6 zone maximum.  So a flat 2 zone fare would work, sometimes you win, sometimes you don't!

[stephenk]

I support the concept of a single-fare touch-on only system (from England I think - Stephenk can confirm) as someone blogged about.  It would then be easy to "cap" daily fares as it would be a simple count instead of determining which zones were travelled in.

Of course people would have to get used to the idea of someone travelling from Nambour (or even Gympie) paying the same amount as someone travelling from Milton to the city.

In London (Oystercard) the buses are all one zone, and thus one fare everywhere. Thus you only touch on. The Tube and DLR have a zonal system, and thus you have to touch on and off.

In Hong Kong (Octopus Card) the buses and ferries are all one fare, however each route may have a different fare. The MTR is a pay per distance system where you touch on and off.

[dwb]

Pragmatically the bus system is never going to be one zone in Brisbane, and nor should it necessarily be one zone. I believe in paying for what you use and what you benefit from. I think people should pay a reasonable fare for their journey -this generally means if you do a longer journey or more often journeys you should pay more. This is why I have some issues with daily fares and one zone systems. It is also why I have an issue with some commentators suggesting that all costs should be covered by revenue despite those people in cars benefiting from each and every person on a train or on a bus.

I think that ideally there could be some kind of monthly cap on offer (based on mobile phone caps - selected in advance with a certain level of included value and a minimum fee). I think that those who travel further or much more frequently shouldn't necessarily be subsidised by those who travel short distances or infrequently.  The broader community (even if they don't use trains or buses) should help contribute to the cost of running these services as they benefit from them (and the do but I think it should be more). And then perhaps everyone could get a free travel allowance on PT covered by general rates but then pay excess fees or high usage?  After all it would be cheaper to the community to more broadly subsidise a shared public system than inefficient roads which you need a car to use.