Ministerial Statement: Set and forget with go card auto top-up

[Fares_Fair]

I expect this response from you Gazza,
TRANSLink must be proud of you. 

What happens to the left over money on the card when they leave, can they cash it back in ?
Why pay for a card they may use only once or twice ?
How long does the money last on it if everyone should have one, what happens when the card has expired and they pull it out to use it ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Gazza]

What happens to the left over money on the card when they leave, can they cash it back in ?

Yes, that has always been the case mate.

Why pay for a card they may use only once or twice ?

Well, if they are making one or two trips, I doubt they would notice the extra 30% they are paying.

How long does the money last on it if everyone should have one, what happens when the card has expired and they pull it out to use it ?

Really mate, just read the website. Adult GoCards last 10 years. Even the most infrequent PT user should go through their initial $30 or so reload in that amount of time.
http://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card/check-and-change-your-expiry-date


Answer me this anyway FaresFair, what do you think would happen if GoCard and paper were equivalent?

[Fares_Fair]

Gazza,

It's easy, no-one would use the Go card, it is that popular !
Just ask TRANSlink and the Government.
From your response mate, I would think you worked for them, with such ardent support. 

and you didn't answer Q3, is that because they would lose their money ? Great system. 


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Golliwog]

I think they would. Uptake would have been slower, but the time savings are still there. I certainly wouldn't dream of traveling without my go card.

I don't know what exactly happens with your money when your card expires, but I feel it would be the same as un-used giftcards. They keep track of it for a period of time, after which if you haven't asked about it, you probably aren't really missing it. I wouldn't know but I would think if you had a registered card they would email you letting you know that your card is going to expire. It also says you can update your expiry date online. Students/concessions however have to go to a retailer with a valid concession card.

[Gazza]

How long does the money last on it if everyone should have one, what happens when the card has expired and they pull it out to use it ?

One month before the 10 year expiry, it tells you, so you can go to an agent and extend it. Like I said, read the website.
But like I said, you have 10 years to use your inital reload. I can guarantee that over 10 years, even the most hardened non PT user will be riding a lot more in years to come.

But i mean, get real, its an absolute extreme circumstance that you would lose your credit, and it's a lot more generous than say a prepaid phone, where you lose your credit in 30 days!
Extreme circumstances....very few people will be caught out, and it's not worth kicking a stink about.

From your response mate, I would think you worked for them, with such ardent support.

No, It's just that I moved to Brisbane at the start of uni, right when GoCard first came out. The difference in speed on buses like the 412, between the early days when it was paper and 10 trip savers, to today when it is mostly GoCard, is night and day basically. I'd never go back to the old ways.
And that's what it comes down to, sometimes people need a kick in the butt to move into the 21st century, if we're to have an efficient system

Thing is, people just get stuck in their ways, its like the big uproar when they got rid of toll booths and replaced them with GoVia. Anybody can see that clearly it is more intelligent to have a freeway where cars don't stop, but still people moaned that they had to do it a different way.
I remember in Melbourne when MetCard came out, everyone complained about it. When MyKi came out, people loved/prefered Metcard all of a sudden and hated Myki. The cycle continues....

I'm unashamedly progressive, and think people should just get over it. You know, smart card systems have been around for a decade in places like Hong Kong. Everyone's PT nirvana, Perth, was the first in Australia go switch over , and people use them just fine.
But you try to do it here, and everyone complains...I guess I forget that "We're different" here in SEQ
.....WTF is wrong with this country?

[Fares_Fair]

Gazza,

I am not advocating making a stink about it, I merely raise it as an issue.

I can also appreciate your comments on the buses and moneyless system is much quicker.
Thanks for the comprehensive explanation. Appreciated.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Gazza]

I merely raise it as an issue.

Except it's not an issue, because even go card early adopters are still about 7 years away from being affected.

[dwb]

Quote
How long does the money last on it if everyone should have one, what happens when the card has expired and they pull it out to use it ?
Really mate, just read the website. Adult GoCards last 10 years. Even the most infrequent PT user should go through their initial $30 or so reload in that amount of time.
http://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/go-card/check-and-change-your-expiry-date

Gazza, I agree with most things you are saying and tend to think that Fares_Fair has some pretty strong negative emotional responses to Go Card that are lingering due to the fact he's now paying a rather lot more than he was before (not that I think this is a bad thing either)...

BUT i guess what I'm trying to say is that if you have auto-recharge set up and you don't use your card in like three months it reverses the transaction... I know A LOT of people who are primarily car drivers who get caught out by this and don't have any credit when they actually try to travel!!!!! And on BCC buses you can't top up on the bus, so its a double whammy, first your card rudely beeps at you, the driver and other passengers look at you like you're scum and then they charge you twice as much for the paper ticket!!!! It is not uncommon!!!! TL definitely need to do something about this... I swore black and blue to my dad that the card and the credit wouldn't "expire" and then it went and happened to him on a day when he waited more than 45mins counter peak-direction, in-peak for a BUZ. Let's just say the next time we spoke he expressed some distaste with the system!

[somebody]

Thing is, people just get stuck in their ways, its like the big uproar when they got rid of toll booths and replaced them with GoVia. Anybody can see that clearly it is more intelligent to have a freeway where cars don't stop, but still people moaned that they had to do it a different way.
I remember in Melbourne when MetCard came out, everyone complained about it. When MyKi came out, people loved/prefered Metcard all of a sudden and hated Myki. The cycle continues....

This system is a real pain for visitors or people renting a car.  It's not like the go card which has a reasonable paper alternative which only results in a slight inconvenience.

[Fares_Fair]

So in conclusion, infrequent users that don't have a go card and complain about the cost are clearly whingers.

That would be in your humble opinion.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Gazza]

Why am I so wrong then?
What makes an infrequent user in Brisbane different to an infrequent user in say London?

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Gazza,

Because it's your opinion, not right or wrong, same applies for my comments.

You also assume that London is 'right' ?
Again, fully entitled to your opinion, but that's all it is for us both.
We simple agree to disagree.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[Gazza]

London is right because they have a comprehensive, high frequency network with very high ridership and with a very low public subsidy, and from personal experience, it's great to use

Never said you weren't entitled to your opinion, I'm just wanting to know the flip side of the coin.... Can you tell us?