Opposition statement: Commuters dudded by go card failures

[ozbob]

http://www.fionasimpson.com.au/Pages/Article.aspx?ID=643

Commuters dudded by go card failures

Thursday, 21 January 2010

THE go card fiasco continues with up to an estimated 60,000 commuter trips experiencing go card scanner malfunctions each week, the LNP claimed today.

Shadow Minister for Transport Fiona Simpson said Transport Minister Rachel Nolan continued to defend go card while commuters' complaints are flooding in telling her that the system is a dud.

"Transport sources are reporting that five per cent of commuters could be experiencing difficulties with go card" said Ms Simpson.

"With more than 1.25 million trips a week, that means 60,000 commuter trips could be experiencing a malfunction.

"Minister Nolan might try to dismiss this figure as insignificant but such a huge number of errors in what is supposed to be a hi-tech system is simply unacceptable."

Ms Simpson said commuters were being over charged, under charged or not charged at all, all of which inconvenienced those affected.

"If commuters are overcharged and can actually identify that they have been, they have to sit in a phone queue to claim a refund, an expensive exercise on a mobile phone," she said.

"If the card is not read properly and they are not charged, or if they are under charged, then they risk a substantial fine.

"Minister Nolan needs to stop dithering and stop procrastinating and step in to remove penalties on commuters and those who don't trust go card and would prefer to use paper tickets until she can sort out this mess."