New Fares : Articles, discussion, rants and roses ...

[dwb]

I think before the card can be registered the number must be on the active database, this is achieved (I think) by either a sales report or active use, which is ever first?  Only guessing.

That would explain it.... when I got my first card, I ordered it off the website and it came in the mail and then I had to ring up and get a password and stuff around. This time I had bought a new card due to my other prematurely expiring, used it for a few weeks before I thought I really did want to register it so I could view the online statement, and when I did it was easy as pie to register vis the net without ever talking to Translink... presumably cos I'd been using the card already.

[Nightwriter]

I mentioned this in the Go Card reference group thread, but I thought in the FAQs on the Translink that the cards didn't expire??  As I said in the previous thread, obviously cards deteriorate, but why is it that we have to buy new ones??  Does anyone know what the deal is with this?

[ozbob]

http://download.translink.com.au/go/091223_userguide.pdf  page 17

Cards can be replaced, there is a warranty.  Some exceptions.

[Nightwriter]

Thanks for that, didn't see it until you pointed it out

[ozbob]

Here is a nice rant received via the mailer, anon, thanks!

I can not believe Queensland tries to call it self the smart state! The whole go card for public transport is a total joke! I was catching public transport to try and save the environment. But...... stuff that it's 100% cheaper to drive!

I went to catch the bus the other day. The bus i caught was ten minutes early, i know this as i was 10mins early and it flew straight past me without stopping! (

So i went to catch a bus from the bus tunnel a/c the street. Got on knowing the usual price for 1 zone is $2.40 to be told it was now $3.40. I thought the driver mis heard me so i said no 1 zone, just two stops! She said it's gone up! I said a whole friggin dollar for two bus stops are you serious! she said the govt wants people to get GO CARDS. I said well perhaps they should concerntrait on improving the bus service as i just missed my bus as it was way too early and wouldnt stop and now i have to walk a km to work as well as be ripped off!  

I paid the ridiculous price thinking they should just give you theses damn cards to start you off! I went to news agency to get a go card, had to wait 5mins behind idiots, to be told SOLD OUT> I then went to 4 other news places to be told dont sell them!

This system is screwed! Give the damn bus drivers cards to hand out. ppl dont have time to waist searching for the damn GO CARDS they so desperately want us all to use! But seriously, stuff PT, and our environment, the Govt doesnt seem to want to encourage ppl to use it by putting the ticket price up so much! Screw the planet QUEENSLAND EVERYONE DRIVE INSTEAD! it will save you thousands a year now! QUEENSLAND THE BACKWARD STATE!

[Derwan]

Interesting point.  Will bus drivers be able to sell pre-loaded cards in 2011?  Or will they be forced to turn people away if they don't have a Go Card?

[#Metro]

Derwan, it would kind of defeat the purpose of having GoCards in the first place...
I've never seen so many botches for something like GoCard. 4 years late to begin with, bungled pricing, "still planning" for tourists...

If this was a credit card company issuing cards, it would be broke and everyone would sue it.

[Derwan]

Derwan, it would kind of defeat the purpose of having GoCards in the first place...

Not really.  Once people have a card, they wouldn't need to buy another one - unlike tickets.

Ideally you want to avoid such delays, but what do you do to people who are visiting Brisbane, need to catch a bus and weren't aware of the need for a Go Card?  Leave them stranded?

[somebody]

Interesting point.  Will bus drivers be able to sell pre-loaded cards in 2011?  Or will they be forced to turn people away if they don't have a Go Card?

This is a question that requires an answer from our beloved politicians.

I personally think that the whole concept of removing paper tickets is absurd!  Why won't they retain them for the twice annual user and visitor to our (fair) city.

[Fares_Fair]

My wife and 4 children came down to Brisbane today from the Sunshine Coast for an outing at Roma Street Parklands via train. Bit of a shock - cost was $84.80 ! ( cost corrected 9:34pm, 13.01.10 )

I think they will drive next time as it's certainly cheaper !  

No go Cards available at the station (not that they wanted one).
No EFTPOS at the station.
The AVVM had EFTPOS, but only for the non-available go Card top-up.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[O_128]

My wife and 4 children came down to Brisbane today from the Sunshine Coast for an outing at Roma Street Parklands via train. Bit of a shock - cost was $84.00 !

I think they will drive next time as it's certainly cheaper ! 

No go Cards available at the station (not that they wanted one).
No EFTPOS at the station.
The AVVM had EFTPOS, but only for the non-available go Card top-up.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

From the Wynnum Herald 13th January 2010 page 5

Commuters Slugged

[somebody]

My wife and 4 children came down to Brisbane today from the Sunshine Coast for an outing at Roma Street Parklands via train. Bit of a shock - cost was $84.00 !

Is that 1 adult + 4 kids travelling 16 zones in the peak on paper daily tickets? (=$84.80)

But GO(peak) would have been about 30% cheaper and off peak paper about 25% cheaper.

It's really hard for PT to compete with 5 people in a car for cost effectiveness though.  And the car has the convenience.

[WTN]

I wonder what the taxi fare would be, for comparison.

[CraigT]

I'll rant here, hope you don't mind. My first post. The system is stacked against the customer at every turn, and it's near impossible to make a complaint about poor customers service, which must be Translinks gold standard benchmark.

Firstly fares, GoCard and fares are a day light robbery rip off, made worse by no choice or competition to Government bloody-mindedness.
Zone 1 Brisbane GoCards $2.30 per trip, paper $3.40. Zone less than 1 to 4 km from no defined point in CBD, coupled with poor service frequencies and destinations. Compare this to Melbourne public transport, Zone 1, 10km radius from GPO, Myki maximum daily charge unlimited trips $5.88, saturation trains, trams, and busses taking you to every hospital, Government Office, major corporations and entertainment and sporting precincts, from 5am to 12am. Brisbane all public hospital's, the Gabba is Zone 2, $3.90 one way on paper. I live in Kangaroo Point near river, (ferry, how can that get me to and from the Valley at night?) and no bus service inbound after 6.30pm or out of town from 7.20 pm weeknights here - but at these prices, cheaper to drive or share taxi. No chance to enjoy the limited entertainment of inner city living without driving.
See Myki fares and zones here - http://www.myki.com.au/Fares/Fare-types/Fare-tables/Metro-fares/Metro-fares/default.aspx

Then today, trying to lodge a complaint. After putting up with a closure of the Shafston Ave Salstone St inbound bus stop since start of Dec '09 I thought I would lodge a service complaint about the half full route 221 bus that drove right past the new bus stop (also 5 mins early) without stopping to pick up the dozen customers waiting in the hot sun. I had been waiting longer than normal as the express bus I was catching went past me 5 mins early as I was walking to bus stop. The existing Salstone St bus stop was closed for no reason, has been open for all the tunnel building, a poorly worded piece of paper affixed stating stop shut until late March '10, hessian bag thrown over the Bus Stop sign. This now requires customers to walking up the unsafe road 400m to the top of Shafston Ave new bus stop called O'Connor St, which only got a timetable on it 5 weeks after opening, but has no shade for customers, or a bin, but a metal seat that is hip high off the hot footpath facing the sun. Okay, trees have been put inj this week, but a massive fence keeps you away from them. So I dial 13 12 30, voice recognition system answers. Apparently these systems can't decipher voice when you are beside a busy noisy road, where by design most bus stops. A bus arrived 4 minutes into this pre-recorded "I am sorry, I can't understand your command...", by now as soothing as hearing nails down a blackboard shrieks from the voice recognition system. Minister must be proud of his mandarins using state of the art technology. But Minister, how convenient in guarantying most people using a mobile phone would give up making a complaint by now. I squeezed on to this bus determined to lodge the complaint, and the voice recognition system could now hear me. Got through to operator, nearly on Story Bridge now, and she needs the bus stop to register the bus route against. Guess what, the new bus stop isn't on the system, after 5 weeks in operation how convenient Minister. But GoCard readers work (well sometimes). How very convenient Minister, your mandarins designed a system that having got through the first barrier can not record the complaint. Poorly for myself, I was not in the best of moods dealing with the matter while jammed on a bus sweating profusely, and swore several times about the situation. But I persevered, bus at Wharf and Adelaide streets' by now. The operator seemed fussed, now looking for Salstone St bus stop, to register the 221 route against, but it had also been removed from system as it is now shut temporarily. How very convenient this must be keeping the complaints statistics low Minister. But the operator, how well trained she was, offered me the option of giving up making a complaint. Minister, parts of the education system are working if you want to produce mindless drones that don't understand my need to lodge a service complaint by calling and putting up with government funded incompetence. But again, how very convenient, people must be getting big taxpayer funded bonuses for thinking up and foisting this disgusting system on the CBD professional and working classes, businesses must be ecstatic how their employees arrive motivated for a big day at work.
I pushed on, as the operator had to now make a written complaint. Mid way through this a timetable ws found for the bus stop and the time due confirmed (this bus was also 5 mins early when it didn't stop) now disembarking at King George Square. The operator checked the details of my complaint and if there was any more. I said yes, and listed in order this terrible ordeal to register a complaint, which by now had taken over 10mins on a mobile, travelling my full trip and disembarking. The issues in the end became the:
-Voice recognition system not capable of working when caller is beside busy noisy roads
-Poor standard of new O'Connor St Shafston Ave bus stop being only partly ready to an acceptable standard (no morning shade, bins) after 5 weeks since opening,
-closure of the more convenient bus stop,
-Translink system for not being able to identify the bus stop – imagine if there was an emergency yet the system can not identify the location
-failure of the route 221 bus to stop when hailed by a dozen people, and
-time it takesTranslink to lodge a customers complaint being a disincentive for any commuter to contribute to improving the public transport system.

I left my details with the operator requesting a response to my complaint. I can't explain how much I am look forward to hearing back from them.

[Fares_Fair]

My wife and 4 children came down to Brisbane today from the Sunshine Coast for an outing at Roma Street Parklands via train. Bit of a shock - cost was $84.00 !

Is that 1 adult + 4 kids travelling 16 zones in the peak on paper daily tickets? (=$84.80)

But GO(peak) would have been about 30% cheaper and off peak paper about 25% cheaper.

It's really hard for PT to compete with 5 people in a car for cost effectiveness though.  And the car has the convenience.

Hello Somebody,

Yes, 1 Adult + 4 kids travelling 16 Zones, total was $84.80.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[#Metro]

I live in Kangaroo Point near river, (ferry, how can that get me to and from the Valley at night?)

Walk over the Storey Bridge. I've done it many times, including late at night. Seems fine.
Otherwise a taxi can easily be found and such a short trip does not cost a lot. If you are lucky there is also 475/476 buses as well.

I would support a BUZ via Storey Bridge to Wynnum using Shafston Ave. That route only has peak buses and nothing on the weekend which simply isn't acceptable.

[ozbob]

Opposition Statement
http://www.fionasimpson.com.au/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=636

Heads roll but the minister keeps hers

Monday, 11 January 2010

JUNIOR staff have been made scapegoats for the go cardfiasco while Bligh Labor Transport Minister Rachel Nolan has again survived unscathed.

Shadow Minister for Transport Fiona Simpson said that after a horror week of go cardbungles, Minister Rachel Nolan should be the first to be stood down.

"The first person to go for the go cardfiasco should be the Minister, not junior staff," said Ms Simpson.

"Yesterday the acting premier stepped in to announce the Bligh Labor Government was standing down two junior operators in its go card call centre over a security breach with a commuter's go cardaccount.

"Having been missing in action since January 1 when the whole go card disaster began unfolding, Minister Nolan has once again been sidelined while the Bligh Labor government attempts to place the blame elsewhere.

"Given the endless blunders from the transport minister over the go card roll-out, it is Rachel Nolan who should be the first to go.

"It seems however that Minister Nolan has a charmed life and is being protected by Premier Bligh to limit any further public relations damage to an incompetent government clearly in crisis."

Ms Simpson said the security breach which saw money from a go cardcustomer's account transferred without authority to another person's account was completely unacceptable and raised doubts about the security and integrity of the whole go card system.

"It is the Minister who is ultimately responsible for ensuring the system works but Minister Nolan has been in denial about every problem which commuters have had to suffer," she said.

"Thousands of commuters over the last 10 days have paid the price for the minister's ineptitude for a go cardsystem with limited outlets which then charges them up to 40 per cent more if they have to use a paper bus or train ticket because they cannot buy the cheaper option, a go card, in their local community

"We warned Minister Nolan before Christmas that there weren't enough go cardretail outlets. She ignored that advice and pressed on

"Then when it hit the fan after January 1, she went to ground for more than a week.

"Now she has suddenly offered to increase the number of go card outlets at rail stations but it is too little too late and bus commuters are still left in the lurch.

"Fare price penalties for using paper tickets must be removed immediately until Minister Nolan and her department can sort out the mess and guarantee the security and integrity of go card."

[ozbob]

Welcome CraigT!  Thanks for sharing your comments.  Very valuable and will continue to inform all our efforts for better outcomes.

Best wishes
Bob

[ozbob]

From Quest Community News click here!

No-go card causes problems

No-go card causes problems

14 Jan 10 @ 10:30am by Bianca Sullivan and Bernie Dowling

PINE Rivers and Caboolture commuters have been left confused and out-of-pocket as a result of new ticket pricing for public transport introduced last week.

Lobby group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said the roll-out of the new public transport strategy which has seen paper tickets increase by 40per cent and go card fares up 20per cent was done poorly.

He said an online survey of rail commuters found most rated the new system "below five out of 10''.

And a poll of bus passengers at Strathpine found some people were still unsure how to use the controversial go card system.

Mr Dow said reported problems included a lack of go card "readers'' at train stations, particularly for people "touching off'' during peak hours, and a lack of community education from Translink about the go card system.

Other complaints centred on a lack of discounts offered for weekly or monthly users.

"They have introduced off peak fares on the go card for those who travel between 9am and 3.30pm, weekends and public holidays. But there is no weekly or monthly discount,'' Mr Dow said.

A TransLink spokesman said as part of the new structure, three, six and 12 month tickets were withdrawn from sale on January 1.

"Go card users who travel two zones will pay an extra 76 cents per day or an extra $3.80 per week (10 trips to and from work),'' he said.

"All go card users receive a 50 per cent discount once they have taken 10 trips in a week.''

[ozbob]

Some more feedback received.  Again this highlights why the education and support for users needs some major work ...

Anon:

Purchased Go Card Strathpine Station 4/1/10 paid $5.00 plus $10.00 credit, asked the question how do I use it, taken out to swipe box Card taken from my hand and swiped on I was then asked where are you going to-day Sir and I said nowhere, OH Here's your ticket back then.  Not knowing what had happened went on internet to register it and discovered that her swipe on had deducted $5.00 from my credit and I'd been nowhere.  Proceeded to work on registering and discovered I had an adult card and I'm 70 yrs of aga and should have been issued a Seniors card.  I was asked no questions on purchase as to what I requred and not having any understanding of proceedures was not aware of all different kinds of cards. It's my opinion that there is NO information prior to purchasing such cards even the sales people are not skilled in this as I have not discovered had the attendant swiped a second time I would not have lost this money from the card.  That is only the start of my FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH GO CARD.  When registering online I gave details of my Credit Card for immediate topup then discovered on my journey that it had not happened.  When swiping I had red messages at Bruinswick St also on bus journey I did not have reading glasses on while travelling on transport so didn't know what it said and have been told after a phone call to Translink that it can take at least 48 hours for the so called immediate topup to occur WHATS THE USE OF THAT WHEN YOU ARE ON YOUR JOURNEY AND ITS EMPTY when I understood I had topped it up with $20.00....now I've added $30.00 credit and NOW I'm told it has a 30 day useby date THIS IS CRAZY as I'm an aged pensioner and won't be using it every day so what happens to my $30.00 ROBBED AGAIN!  GO CARD NO CARD CRAZY SYSTEM GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER TRANSLINK. 

[somebody]

Hadn't heard that credit on GO expires!?  Is this part true?

[ozbob]

No, he has misinterpreted the bit about having to touch a card within 30 days ( I think that is now 60 days by the way) following a topup, but there is probably conflicting information out there hence the confusion on that point.

Many folks don't understand it all.  They need to be carefully shown what it is all about.

There is another situation though, I did hear during the week and I am still trying to confirm that if you have money on a go card and it is not used for two years then the money is no longer accessible for travel on the card and you need to claim it back.  I can understand why that might be as they would end up with an ever expanding database of cards if there was not some way of terminating non active cards.

[somebody]

No, he has misinterpreted the bit about having to touch a card within 30 days ( I think that is now 60 days by the way) following a topup, but there is probably conflicting information out there hence the confusion on that point.

Many folks don't understand it all.  They need to be carefully shown what it is all about.

Which is exactly the part where adding options like monthly pre-loading a la Oyster is a dumb idea.  Why add more complications than you need to?

Even capping makes the fare structure harder to understand.  Most people don't care about PT except for getting to/from work.  Going on about capping doesn't help make RailBoT look relevant to Joe Public IMO.  I hope I didn't put that too severely.

[ozbob]

Capping actually resonates very strongly with the general public.  It is something that comes up regularly in my conservations, letters I note, blog posts and communication with work colleagues and students.  The general public understands capping well, and it is something that other places have in spades and is one of the reasons most folks do understand that.  They know well the difference between a single and daily ticket.  Just track through any CM blog on go card.

We also receive feedback highlighting the lack of capping and periodical options from the public.  Yes, they know all right.

It is 60 days too re touching card following touch up, it was originally 30 days.  Seems some of the operators/staff flogging the go cards don't know that.  Education re go is not good at all levels.

If you top up online or by phone, please allow up to
48 hours for your payment to be processed. After your
payment has been processed your go card account
balance will be updated the next time you touch on to
the system. If you don't touch your card on the system
within 60 days your transaction will be reversed.

http://download.translink.com.au/go/091223_userguide.pdf  page 11

[somebody]

Well capping is a whole lot better than pre-loading.  You shouldn't have to think about getting the best price for your PT use.

[ozbob]

I am looking forward to see how the myki settles down in terms of how many commuters take up myki pass (periodical option).

Melbourne has always been a very high rail periodical ticketing place.  It will be very high right from the outset.

I do expect a periodical option to be made available for the go card perhaps later this year. Possibly a monthly based on 20 days at two peak journey costs for the zones desired. Outside the zones normal go fares as applicable  (unrestricted travel in zones as for myki pass).  This will suit probably less than 5% of users initially , but I would expect it would slowly increase as a % of users.  I would also expect that these further ticketing options would only be available to registered users of cards for obvious reasons.

I do expect to see corporate go cards introduced as well. Employers will be able to pay a fixed sum for a go card that will have unrestricted travel.  What price that turns out to be don't know, or whether it will be zone capped or not.  It could also form part of remuneration packages for employees  (good!).

The base fare structure (peak, off peak, 50% after ten journeys) we have now is just a start, and it does do fine for most.  But further options will encourage more use of public transport and in turn improve revenue.  Everyone's patience has been tested with the slow roll out but they are finally committed now.  So look for improvements.

It is good to discuss these things.  Nothing is perfect, everything should be on the table.

[#Metro]

Whatever TL does with fare schemes they had better do some very thorough consultation with focus groups and market testing experiments/research or risk yet another PR disaster.

Well capping is a whole lot better than pre-loading.  You shouldn't have to think about getting the best price for your PT use.

This could be tested in a live field trial. Actually, as Melbourne has 3 fare schemes (Myki Money, Myki Pass and Paper ticketing) it would be useful to know what % preferred using the automatic caps vs the pre-loaded caps and whether the people using it were similar or different (i.e. do rail users favour pre-loaded caps, do bus users favour automatic caps?).

[Paul.Zenon]

Seems some of the operators/staff flogging the go cards don't know that.  Education re go is not good at all levels.

My observation of all of this mess is that it doesn't matter, the whole thing has been a fiasco: the actual fares regime imposed on us, the lack of setting up of the supporting agents to sell go cards, the public relations and marketing, communicating correct usage and benefits messages, lack of understanding by both passengers and operators staff and the subsequent scramble to try and cover this mess and make it look ok, the whole thing has been a joke.

If this was a private company, heads would roll.

If TransLink escapes this without not having staff sacked it will be a travesty of justice.

And if they don't, I think we can be assured that the government will at the next election.

I have never in my 60yrs seen such a shameful disgusting botched affair.

Bring on the election - please.

[ozbob]

G'day Paul!  Well summed up.  We keep on trying for improved outcomes.

There is no doubt both TransLink and Government have been surely exposed re the lack of proper preparation, and certainly a PR disaster of mega proportions.  Also a negative impact on public transport which makes me and I guess many members here and the wider public transport commuter community not very happy either.

The community is clearly not happy.  Unless there is a dramatic turnaround, improvements to the ticketing and evidence of increased services, rail bus and ferry there clearly will be heavy political damage in south-east Queensland.  I expect many labor MPs don't sit well with recent events.

[somebody]

In fact, I'm not completely sure what the reason for implementing the Go card was.  We had integrated ticketting via paper tickets which worked adequately well.  The Go card does allow faster bus boarding and better statistics, but do these advantages justify the cost??

But it's here now.  Might as well make it work as well as possible.

[#Metro]

GoCard (when it is competently rolled out) would:

1. Allow multi-door boarding (this will become more important in the future)
2. More effective ticket checks at stations (no ticket, no exit)
3. Adaptive pricing (a paper ticket can't count how many trips you have taken)
4. Less paper use
5. All cash handling is electronic (drivers less of a target, $50 and $20 notes not a problem), drivers don't need to know fares or cash handling skills.
6. More accurate statistics and therefore planning (though much is desired...)
7. Auto-top up
8. No waiting for fumblers or mumblers on the bus (I am really noticing how long it takes for people to buy a paper ticket now)

The other thing I suspect is that they can charge you for every single trip that you take.
This might be why the capping idea is having such a difficult time in being adopted by TL even though it is so obvious.

I don't have a problem with GoCard. I have a problem with the fares, the lack of places to top up and the errors.

[somebody]

Capping actually resonates very strongly with the general public.  

I do wonder how much this is people just thinking that they'll pay less with capping.

[ozbob]

A large part no doubt, same reason folks seek out discount petrol chains, select high value mobile phone plans.  Human nature ...

[ozbob]

In fact, I'm not completely sure what the reason for implementing the Go card was.  We had integrated ticketting via paper tickets which worked adequately well.  The Go card does allow faster bus boarding and better statistics, but do these advantages justify the cost?? ....

For interest here is the inaugural statement from 2003

==========================

http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=20730

Transport/Main Roads
The Honourable Stephen Bredhauer

Friday, July 18, 2003

Cutting edge transport ticketing for South-East Queensland

South-East Queensland commuters are poised to become the first in Australia to use smartcard technology to transfer between integrated bus, train and ferry services, Transport and Main Roads Minister Steve Bredhauer today.

Mr Bredhauer - who was officiating at the signing of a $130 million contract after today's Budget Estimate Hearings at State Parliament - said the Smart State initiative would see commuters at the forefront of transport ticketing nationally.

He said the 12-year contract between the Government and Cubic Transportation Systems would incorporate the design, building and operation of the Smart State's new integrated ticketing system using cutting edge technology not currently in use in Australia.

Mr Bredhauer said: "With today's announcement, the Beattie Government is well on the way to achieving what Queensland Governments have tried to do for almost four decades."

"From July 1 next year, all operators will charge the same fares and concessions using the same set of ticketing products across one of the biggest integrated transit systems in the world - north to Noosa, south to Coolangatta, and west to Helidon.

"The new smartcard system will see many fares reduced and will complement, what is in essence, a total overhaul of public transport, to deliver a fully integrated system with smartcard integrated ticketing as its centrepiece."

Mr Bredhauer said he was delighted with Cubic's decision to establish a key regional presence in Brisbane, involving the relocation of staff from Sydney and San Diego, and 40 to 50 new high-tech jobs for Queenslanders.

"Cubic is a world leader in smartcard ticketing systems, and they are very welcome in the Smart State," Mr Bredhauer said.

"The company has prime responsibility for smartcard systems in Washington DC, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, and London and supplies equipment to smartcard systems in Singapore, Hong Kong, and San Francisco.

"In Queensland, the smartcard will complement a simple zonal system integrating bus, train and ferry services across the state-of-the-art system making public transport easier for everyone to access and understand," he said.

"Unlike other states where integrated ticketing has been introduced, in Queensland we are not simply overlaying the new ticketing system on top of an existing transit system.

"With work now underway, we are developing an entirely new network that will see Queensland Transport centrally planning all major routes and services for 18 public transport operators, therefore ensuring services with better connections and minimum waiting times.

"By developing a system that sees the services of different operators connect, based on overseas experience, we can expect a significant increase in public transport use in South-East Queensland.

Mr Bredhauer said once smartcards were introduced, passengers travelling on the new system will simply tag on and off using their smartcards at over 8000 readers on buses and City Cats, or at South East Queensland's railway stations.

"Passengers will no longer need to fumble in their pockets for loose change or wait for their ticket to be validated - in fact, they won't even need to remove their cards from their purses or wallets, making boarding times faster and reducing overall trip times," Mr Bredhauer said.

Mr Bredhauer said commuters would be able to load their cards and check their balances by using the internet, and at major rail stations and other agents at many convenient locations across south-east Queensland.

He said the smartcard would initially be introduced in parallel with a paper-based ticketing system as the smartcard was rolled out, and commuters became accustomed to its use.

[ozbob]

"The new smartcard system will see many fares reduced and will complement, what is in essence, a total overhaul of public transport, to deliver a fully integrated system with smartcard integrated ticketing as its centrepiece."

[somebody]

Sounds like they only ever viewed the integrated paper ticket system as a stop gap until the Go card came in.

[longboi]

That's right. Ever since TL started they have stated that paper tickets won't stick around.

[ozbob]

Feedback received, thanks.

A fare increase of about 40% is in breach of the govermnent's guidelines on cost increases and if done by a private employer would result in action by the appropriate department.

Sunday trains from Caboolture have been up to 10 minutes late last 2 weekends. The railways could do themselves a public relations favour by announcing late arrivals and the cause, at present one can only surmise that it is not just sloppy management.

Yesterday I caught a train from northside to southside. The "connection" involved a 29 minute delay, the train I was on waited for the Cleveland train to clear the tracks, when with a little intelligence could have allowed a transfer at Central between platforms 1 and 2.

[Fares_Fair]

During the original "Say No To Go Card" campaign of 2 years ago I investigated whether the then 23% fare increases ( now seen as chicken feed in comparison) breached the Trade Practices Act (especially since QR Passenger was a monopoly, competition wise).
I discovered that the Act specifically excludes Passenger Rail services.
Why do you think that is ?

Freight Rail interestingly enough was included under the Act !

Regards,
Fares_Fair.