Go Card Feedback - tell us of your Go Card experiences!!

[haakon]

If I have repeated problems with the system picking up the stop at the Redland Bay Marina, I'll have to let cubic/translink know.

Yep they definitely haven't programed in my stop. I've let translink know, it will be interesting to see how long it takes to update the GPS database with that location.

[Otto]

my son used his card for the first time on a school bus from Victoria Point to Redland Bay ( Veolia ).
I went to check his account online this evening and it had been disabled. My account was working correctly.. 

Called TL and they reset his account with a new password and it's ok again . No record as yet of his trip home from school..

[Derwan]

No record as yet of his trip home from school..

Unlike trains (where the ticket machines are connected to the network), buses have to "plug in" when they get back to the depot so that trip details can be downloaded (and top-ups can be uploaded).  Once this happens the trip should appear.

[Huggies]

I've purchased a Go Card last night from 7-11 Kedron. After waiting for around ten minutes for the Indian chap to put $10 extra credit on the card he gave me the card back without any credit because the machine wouldn't work.

He also didn't give me any extra items like the so called "Fulfilment Pack". No big deal for me but could be a pain in the butt for someone who doesn't have net access.

When I got home I registered the card via the Translink website & then went for a walk to Clayfield station to add some credit via the AVVM. I attempted to put $40 on the card via EFTPOS but the pin pad on the machine wasn't reacting to me selecting an account. So I put $15 cash on the card instead which I had no problem with.

At this stage I plain to still use Paper Tickets on days when I know that a Daily or Off-Peak will be better value than the Go Card. I will use the Go Card when I travel to work which will be via bus only so it is going to be interesting to see how it goes.

Personally I would like to see the option of purchasing Paper Tickets with the credit on the Go Card.

[ozbob]

Welcome Huggies!

That is a great suggestion about buying paper tickets on the card.  If they don't bring in some further options it would be  handy for those times when the Go card under the present fare structure would be very expensive.

I have managed my Go Card online essentially. That side it of is working well for me, had some issues with the AVVM at Roma St, but eventually managed to topup card second time through.

Cheers
Ozbob

[haakon]

Speaking of the AVVM, you can't top up by more than $100 if you are using the EFTPOS functionality.

[Tejas]

i note i am yet to receive a response to my letter to the Minster.

[Huggies]

I gave the Go Card a go for the first time today.

Boarded route 358 at Stuckey St Stop in Junction Road, Clayfield. Got off at Eagle Junction and proceeded to the Railway Station and clocked on. I then went to the AVVM to add another $5 to my card. I note that if you charge your card whilst you are clocked on your credit will not be added till you clock off at which point it was added and another 90 cents was charge to cover the extra two zones travelled. This happened at my destination of Coopers Plains.

I spent less than One Hour at Coopers Plains (Visit to J&J Hobbies only took 10 minutes) before clocking on again. It noted this as a continuation of journey so I boarded a Ferny Grove train and proceed to Wilston station and boarded a 333 to Chermside. I noted that I was not charged anymore extra for the journey from Coopers Plains to Chermside. So infact I was only charged a single ticket for a return journey. Something to keep in mind if you plan not to be long at your destination.

[Otto]

my son used his card for the first time (monday) on a school bus from Victoria Point to Redland Bay ( Veolia ). No record as yet of his trip home from school..

2 days later and still no record of his trip home... Hmmmmmmm, freebies maybe due to a system error ?

His trip details should have uploaded to the depot computer on Monday at approx 5pm when his school bus is due to return to Veolias Capalaba depot..

[haakon]

I've just had an odd error this morning. When I tagged on the reader flashed red and said "seek assistance". The bus driver told me to ring translink and let me on for free.

[ozbob]

A similar thing happened to me on the 467 bus a few weeks back.
I was charged some penalties which I had to ring up and organise refund.  So might be wise to check your transactions carefully.

It does seem still a number of issues with the buses (and ferries) due to the sort of problems you experienced today Haakon.
So far on rail this week no problems at all with my Go travel.

Regards
Ozbob

[Otto]

my son used his card for the first time (monday) on a school bus from Victoria Point to Redland Bay ( Veolia ). No record as yet of his trip home from school..

2 days later and still no record of his trip home... Hmmmmmmm, freebies maybe due to a system error ?

His trip details should have uploaded to the depot computer on Monday at approx 5pm when his school bus is due to return to Veolias Capalaba depot..

Another 24 hours and still nothing on his account.
He used the card again today and got a free ride. Cubic sys was offline.

I had my first trip using my GoCard today, and my account had been updated by the time I got home..

[Huggies]

Been over 48 hours now since I registered the card and I haven't heard back from Translink yet about registering the card. Are they meant to ring you or email you a password ?

Used the card today on 358 & 320. The bus on route 320 had some troubles with the machine at Eagle Junction bus stop but I suspect it was because the driver was not quite at the stop.

Tomorrow I will use it to go to work again and to visit the hobby shop at Mt Gravatt. I will travel on the GCL at this stage I would say.

[ozbob]

Hi Huggies,

When I received my registered card it was necessary to ring TL 131230 (24/7) and work through the menus to the operator and activate the card and obtain a temporary password.  This is a little confusing but is what you need to do.  Once you do that you can then log in, reset the password to one of your choice and check out the online transactions and so forth.

Cheers
Ozbob

[mrciclismo]

The password change works immediately.  I did it while I still had the operator on the phone just to be sure.

[Huggies]

I contacted Translink this evening to find my card had already been registered and I just required the password to get into the System.

The only issue I had today was the driver of route 200 changing route before arriving at Queen St Bus Station. I got the driver to fix it and going by the website I haven't been charged a penalty. I note that my last trip home on 306 that my touch on has been recorded but not my touch off  .

I noted that I got a maximum of four trip out of the card before it started to charge me for a new fare.

I will monitor it on the web I guess from now on instead of walking the 100 meters to the AVVM at Clayfield  .

Also whilst I'm here I noted that when toping up my Go Card at Clayfield it wouldn't allow me to put $5 in coins for a top up. It wanted notes only despite the display saying full service. Is this the case for all AVVM's ?

[ozbob]

Hi Huggies,

Thanks for the feedback.  There is a maximum of three transfers (within transfer time limit) in any one journey.  Compared to unlimited with a paper daily ticket.  More the reason for daily capping on the Go Card I reckon.

Re the coins topping up at AVVM.  Found this at http://www.translink.com.au/qt/TransLin.nsf/index/go_about under fare machines:

Using fare machines you can:

    * top up your go card with cash (notes) or EFTPOS (debit cards only)

This would seem to indicate that you can only top up with notes.

[Huggies]

Using fare machines you can:

    * top up your go card with cash (notes) or EFTPOS (debit cards only)

This would seem to indicate that you can only top up with notes.

[/quote]

Which is a damn shame because I like to empty my money box every so often. I guess if I'm keen enough I will take the change to 7-11.

[Derwan]

Which is a damn shame because I like to empty my money box every so often. I guess if I'm keen enough I will take the change to 7-11.

Sorry to be a bit off-topic, but I actually put all my change in a container.  Once a year (around my birthday) I count it up, put as much as I can in those little plastic change bags and bank it.  Generally change is not something you miss, so once a year I get a nice little bonus.  It's usually between $100 and $200.  Nice.

Mind you, 2 years ago I went on holidays just before my birthday.  I was going to bank the money when I got back from holidays before I returned to work.  Unfortunately when I got back, I discovered the container and a small backpack missing.  Someone had entered the house and stolen it.  Grrrr!

Anyway - back to the Go Card...  as I've said before, I top up online.  No need to use those silly machines that eat your money.  Less need to get cash out and carry it around.

[PeteH]

I've been excited to see the go card finally here after quite a long time, however a little disappointed with the initial experience that I'd like to share:

Mon 25/02
- received a go card pack from a Translink officer while boarding ferry home
- registered online, and waited for an email so I could log in and put some money on it

Thur 28/02
- still no email, so called Translink (phone menu options were poor)
- found I had registered successfully, but couldn't issue me with a password
- after he spoke to a supervisor, advised I needed to put money on it at an AVVM FIRST, then call back for password!

Wed 05/03
- first opportunity to get to an AVVM, and was able to put money on via EFTPOS
- thought the menu wasn't very intuitive, and with the sunlight a bit difficult to see
- EFTPOS interface had to bend down to use and see
- touched on sucessfully at Darra, beep was soft and green LED difficult to see, had full balance available
- touched off at Central, beep was a bit louder (will be interesting when you have all gates being touched at once), LED a bit better to see, couldn't see the screen clearly as I was being hearded through the gates
- touched on back at Central, again couldn't see screen clearly
- at about Graceville, two transit officers boarded and checked tickets, they didn't have anything to check my card, I just showed it to them and they said it was OK!
- touched off at Darra, couldn't see screen properly at the pace I was going, but heard the beep and saw the green light
- tried to call TransLink at 10pm, they are only open for go card queries 6am-9pm during the week - so I still don't have a password to logon and check my details

In short:
- great to see it here, look forward to not having to go to the train station via an ATM, or raiding my wife's purse, nor stand in lines
- initial setup clunky, and had much higher expectations, may have been better if I hadn't taken the hand-out of the go card pack
- agree the fare system needs improving, I'm lucky to spend 25% of the year on the same journey path for a whole week
- jury is still out on the usability of the touch pads & gates (status indicator, noise and display) but happy it works

Cheers,
PeteH

[ozbob]

Hi PeteH!

Thanks for your comments 

There are a few problems with the initial online activation process and need to get a temporary password and so forth, not explained well at all.  Also online top ups and that aren't added till the card is touched after the online top up processed internally.

The screens on the touch devices depending on light conditions and so forth can be difficult to read I agree. Also if the background noise is high it is difficult to hear the beeps.

The good news is that on rail the Go Card has been working very well for me (the other issues not withstanding). 
There are numerous problems being reported on the buses and the river but hopefully in time these technical issues will be sorted out.

There is a major problem with equipment being used in a situation it is clearly not capable off, for example, the touch devices on the river cats on the forward deck out in the weather, clearly not weather proof. Many of them don't work or work intermittently at best.

My overall experience with the equipment, AVVMs, the touch devices and so forth is that they are not designed that well, and for those with a disability be it vision (which I have some problems with) or hard of hearing can be difficult to use.

I have seen some funny things.  There will be a need for  a huge user education campaign.  I watched a commuter wave their paper daily over the gate touch pads at Roma St yesterday and she was not happy that it didn't work!      Reports of people trying to touch on with ten trippers on the buses too!

Happy GOing!

Ozbob

[Fares_Fair]

Hello all,

I heard a comment about the Gocard from the cameraman who interviewed me last Sunday.
he uses it to catch a Bus for 2 Zones.

He said that he couldn't use the card when he hails a Bus from streetside on the Sunshine Coast.
He said that you had to be at a proper designated Bus stop for the 'dumb' card to work.

He said that he can't rely on it .

Anyone else had this problem, or know of it.

[ozbob]

Hi Fares_Fair,

Yes it has been identified as an issue elsewhere, for example nightlink buses where patrons can request stops not at the regular bus stops.  Also some routes bus passengers have sometimes been let off at places that are technically not stops.

I think the bus driver will have to go to manual mode and 'pretend' to the ticket system that the bus is at a particular stop ...

Maybe Otto or one of the drivers can comment further.

Thanks.

Cheers
Ozbob

[haakon]

Well I've been using the go card for about two weeks now and so far it has worked out cheaper than a weekly. Mostly due to the fact about 1-2 bus rides each week have been free due to out of order card readers.

The number of go card users on vioela buses is low but growing in number each week. I've also noticed people are getting used to how robust the read mechanisim is. I had one lady just wave her habdbag infront of the reader rather than pull the card out first.

[Otto]

Hello all,

I heard a comment about the Gocard from the cameraman who interviewed me last Sunday.
he uses it to catch a Bus for 2 Zones.

He said that he couldn't use the card when he hails a Bus from streetside on the Sunshine Coast.
He said that you had to be at a proper designated Bus stop for the 'dumb' card to work.

Hi Fares_Fair.
Between stops should not be a problem.. The driver only needs to press "GPS" and "enter" (the big round button with the arrow) to open the readers. He can also select any of the stops on route before pressing enter to open the readers.

On a serious note, today I drove a bus where the rear door readers became faulty. I noticed people using GoCards touching off but not checking the status lights as they disembarked.
What was happening was that when they touched off, the readers were not able to read the cards and they respond by beeping loudly 3 times and showing the red status lights. Unfortunately, people are in such a hurry to get to their destination, they assume everything is working. I think about 8 people will be getting a fail to tag off charge. By the time this happens, it is too late for me to yell out as they are gone..

I can't stress this enough, ALWAYS CHECK THE STATUS LIGHTS when touching off and if the lights are red and/or you hear 3 loud beeps, then exit at the front to touch off and let the driver know what happened so arrangements can be made to get the bus off the road and fixed.

[ozbob]

Thanks Otto!   

There is a little bit of a learning curve with the card, and all users should note Otto's suggestions re lights and beeps IMHO.

I have found that it can be a bit hard to hear the beeps  at railway stations because of the background noise at times, but the lights are an excellent confirmatory indication of proper touch status.

Happy GOing!

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Otto,

Thank you for the prompt and informative reply. 
I shall forward that information on to the gentleman concerned.

Kind Regards,
Fares_Fair

[Huggies]

I've had no real issues this week. I'm still charging up at the A.V.V.M. at Clayfield.

I leave my card in my wallet and pass my wallet over the reader with no issues. Brisbane Transport service take not much time at all to appear in transaction history. I tried my card on Veolia 250 this week and it takes a little longer for trips to appear as I guess they have their buses on the road all day.

[Otto]

Update on my sons card..
Now used card for 8 trips home on a Veolia school service and all trips have so far been free..  . He will be doing 4 trips this week so we'll see what happens. At this rate, the card is excellent value !!!

[ozbob]

 

As it turns out, I plan a few bus trips this week.  Might be a low cost week ...

[PeteH]

I've now had the opportunity to do a couple of more trips, only problem was on Friday I took a bus home instead of a train and when I touched off one of the two readers wasn't working, otherwise OK.  I travelled twice beyond the zone coverage of my regular weekly ticket, so very happy I didn't need to find cash to buy tickets for these.

I also just used the website to topup online.  I found a few things very interesting, mainly from a user interface point of view:
- top up procedure not clear that the option only appears once a credit card is setup
- when you top up, you have an two screens that shows the same information, seems superfluous and I got a web page error when pressing the back button within the website
- if you want a receipt, you have to print it out - why not email like most other web-commerce sites?
- when you press done, it logs you out - why did it decide that I was finished using the site?

Given the amount of money & time spent on the infrastructure and technology, I am would have expected the online consumer interface to have been much better.

Has anyone else thought the website interface could be improved?

[ozbob]

Howdy Peter!

Yes, the web site is a bit sloppy in places. 
The dollar sign issue for Firefox is a minor irritant.  Having the auto topup shell there when it is not functional is a mystery to some. 

The instructions re how the top up sits in your account and is only moved to active balance on touch needs some further clarification.
I would like to see the last 20 transactions displayed automatically when you click on history.  You can then select the other options as desired.

An email confirmation of topup would seem smart to me too!

Other than that I have found the site generally OK, but it is certainly convenient to be able to check one's transactions and so forth.  A real plus for the Go Card.

Cheers
Ozbob

[Derwan]

I would like to see the last 20 transactions displayed automatically when you click on history.  You can then select the other options as desired.

My thoughts exactly! Frustrates me every time!

[Otto]

Update on my sons card..
Now used card for 8 trips home on a Veolia school service and all trips have so far been free..  . He will be doing 4 trips this week so we'll see what happens. At this rate, the card is excellent value !!!

He had his 9th trip today and finally he was able to use his card. Checked online and all has gone smoothly !!

[Zoiks]

Is this still the introductory period?
I went to roma and central stations the other day, and they were handing out adult but not concession smart cards. I grabbed a flyer and it said they are waving the startup (not the right word) fees during the introductory period.

Im going to grab one for the days when i forget my change and have not organised a weekly

[Otto]

Update on my sons card..
Now used card for 8 trips home on a Veolia school service and all trips have so far been free..  . He will be doing 4 trips this week so we'll see what happens. At this rate, the card is excellent value !!!

He had his 9th trip today and finally he was able to use his card. Checked online and all has gone smoothly !!

My son has now finally been able to use his GoCard successfully on 3 trips.
On Friday afternoon, he forgot to touch off. He called me to let me know so I could call Translink..
At 5:45, I had a spare 10 minutes to call on my mobile and had all his details ready. A TL operator answered and I explained that my 12yo son forgot to touch off from his school bus. I explained they could look up his history ( 3 completed trips so far ) and see that he disembarks at the same place each time. The TL operator said, 'Sorry, we can't adjust the fares if you forget to touch off. That will be a penalty fare." I said "I think it's a bit unfair to penalize a young child if the child forgets to touch off and you are notified as well as seeing the history of travel and not to mention the 2 zones he travels is the maximum distance he can go on that service". The TL operator would not budge...

Anyway, I called TL again on Saturday and this time I said my son could not touch off as the reader would only flash red lights at him with the message 'Seek Assistance'.. The TL operator then said she would rectify that straight away and so she got my sons card details and after a lot of typing ( that I could hear in the background ), she said it's all fixed !!    So now I know what to say when this happens again.. Fair enough if an adult forgets to touch off, but I think young children using school buses without parent supervision should be given a bit of slack for forgetting.. Children will always be children, they are not adults..

[ozbob]

We have highlighted concerns with children and disabled users using the Go card with regard to penalties before Otto.  It does seem very intransigent of Translink to adopt the attitude that they have, particularly in view of the consistent travel histories.

At the moment, particularly in view of the wide spread equipment issues, the solution is as you point out, straightforward.  System failure!   

[Otto]

This morning, I went to the 7ELEVEN to buy a GoCard for my wife.. The Shopkeeper charged me $20 on my CCard. ($10dep $10topup)
He then grabbed a go card and commenced entering the transaction on a machine with a GoCard reader attached. He placed the card onto the reader and pressed more buttons. He then said "It won't work".. He went and got another GoCard and did it all over again with the same result. He then opened a drawer and got out an A4 size set of instructions on how to issue a new card. Then he got yet another card and followed the instructions and ended with the same result again !! He was quite determined to sell a GoCard, so he tried it with a 4th and then a 5th card before he gave up.. He then had to reverse my CCard transaction.. All up, it took about 8 minutes to NOT buy a GoCard.......... 

Tomorrow, I will try a train station... 

[QRIG]

So far so good 3 weeks in ... it seems the fare structure is suited for the normal business style trips in and out of the city over a 5 day basis so you end up paying the same price as a weekly (without the extra weekend travel) at the end of the week.

The only issue I had was when purchasing it from the 7-11 at Middle Park ... asked to put $30 on the card, the cashier fiddled around with the translink machine and then handed it back saying its all done. I get to the station in the morning, and there was only $10 on the card. I had already thrown out the receipts (stupid I know) so threw out $30 at the same time :-/

[Huggies]

My first Go Card f*ck up happened this morning. I traveled on route 322 from Junction Road to Chermside and was charged $3.20 when it should have only been $2.70.

29-Mar-08 07:56:50 AM     Touch On     Junction Road - 29 [BT011156]
29-Mar-08 08:22:37 AM     Touch Off     Chermside Shopping Centre - Platform B [BT010170]-4     -3.20

Chermside is on the boundary for zone 3 & 4. I might just let this one slide as it isn't worth the 50 cents by wasting my time reporting it to Translink.