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

[STB]

I must admit, this event today brings back memories of when my Go Card started playing up and would read on the station and bus readers but wouldn't read on the mobile readers.  Because of that I was once frogmarched by the TTOs to the readers at Roma Street station to prove to them that I could indeed touch off.

[colinw]

Great customer relations, that!

Treat every passenger customer like a potential criminal.

[SurfRail]

^ Getting heartily sick of "customer" myself.  TransLink is QR's customer anyway, not us.  We just reimburse TransLink (at a rate of around 25% of cost) for the privilege of TransLink paying for trains to run.

[Fares_Fair]

Thank you 

[WTN]

^ Not if the faulty item is the card itself, as I understand it.

Hmmm...  the back of the Go Card clearly says "This card is the property of TransLink.".

Does that not mean that a faulty Go Card is a faulty piece of TransLink equipment? 

Seriously 'though, when a card fails to read are we expected to troubleshoot the root cause of the problem in order to determine whether or not it is acceptable to proceed with boarding. Particularly if the person who is the point of contact (the bus driver) is not authorised to make that determination.

This whole situation is the kind of ridiculous bungle that turns people away from the public transport system.

It's absurd. I think this requires clarification. If bus drivers are not allowed to wave passengers on, they should be told so. But what does that leave? The user guide on page 17 suggests calling Translink immediately, but whilst trying to board a bus? Now, should the person be forced to catch another bus? Should the person buy a paper ticket? Should the person try a spare go card, if they had one? It all sounds pretty silly.

Why not fix the problem by officially authorising the driver to wave them on in cases like this, but report the go card number to Translink. Then the person should be given a period of time to replace it.

[SurfRail]

I think the only fair outcome here is that you cannot possibly be expected to be fined for following the driver's instructions, whether or not the equipment is faulty.  It's an issue for TransLink and BT staff, not the "customer".

[Fares_Fair]

100% agree.

[WTN]

Exactly right. Not the customer's fault.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Andrew ‏@BurandaStation

The goCard reader screens on Platform 2 are unreadable due to condensation. Come see me in the office if you're unsure if you've touched

[techblitz]

wed 13th tagged on salisbury east gcl 599 headed to brookside DCU failed @ enoggera...driver unable to restart gocard reader(DCU)..... bus driver told to return bus to carindale. Myself and 4 others unable to tag off brookside.Told to call translink...Called translink....translink say wait about 24 hours till it appears on account...then give them a call to process refund.

From my previous experiences where the DCU gives an `out of range error`  (and they have been increasing a lot in the last few weeks)......the unit takes on average 3 minutes to reboot. 3 minutes makes a difference when someone has a connecting bus to catch hence why translink to make sure these DCU probs are rectified as early as possible.

[Gazza]

I had the 3 minute reset happen at Boggo Rd...Frustrating!

[Fares_Fair]

Any guesstimates on what the percentage of failure (requiring reboot) is for the DCU's?

[techblitz]

for the last 2 weeks ive had 40 bus touch ons touch off and can clearly remember 3 out of range errors needing reboot....one on the hornibrook 680,599@ sherwood and the other day 599 @ enoggera.
so that would equate just for me at roughly 8 percent of bus trips taken for 2 weeks.

as for the last 10 weeks i have averaged at least 2 free trips (tagon/tagoff) due to a dcu being in low power mode when i board which equates to roughly 5.00 in freebies each week.Never a week goes by where i dont get a free trip. Hey i should be happy for the freebies and im sure virtually all passengers are but im just one of those that take notice i guess.

[somebody]

for the last 2 weeks ive had 40 bus touch ons touch off and can clearly remember 3 out of range errors needing reboot....one on the hornibrook 680,599@ sherwood and the other day 599 @ enoggera.
so that would equate just for me at roughly 8 percent of bus trips taken for 2 weeks.

as for the last 10 weeks i have averaged at least 2 free trips (tagon/tagoff) due to a dcu being in low power mode when i board which equates to roughly 5.00 in freebies each week.Never a week goes by where i dont get a free trip. Hey i should be happy for the freebies and im sure virtually all passengers are but im just one of those that take notice i guess.

Then you are exceedingly unlucky compared to me.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Move to the northside. Must be compensation for awful services and coverage

[STB]

for the last 2 weeks ive had 40 bus touch ons touch off and can clearly remember 3 out of range errors needing reboot....one on the hornibrook 680,599@ sherwood and the other day 599 @ enoggera.
so that would equate just for me at roughly 8 percent of bus trips taken for 2 weeks.

as for the last 10 weeks i have averaged at least 2 free trips (tagon/tagoff) due to a dcu being in low power mode when i board which equates to roughly 5.00 in freebies each week.Never a week goes by where i dont get a free trip. Hey i should be happy for the freebies and im sure virtually all passengers are but im just one of those that take notice i guess.

Can I swap your luck? I've hardly had any moments when this has happened to me and I catch PT a lot!  Up to 15+ journeys with countless trips a week between uni and work, and the last time I had a non paying service due to the DCU not working was months ago!

[Fares_Fair]

for the last 2 weeks ive had 40 bus touch ons touch off and can clearly remember 3 out of range errors needing reboot....one on the hornibrook 680,599@ sherwood and the other day 599 @ enoggera.
so that would equate just for me at roughly 8 percent of bus trips taken for 2 weeks.

as for the last 10 weeks i have averaged at least 2 free trips (tagon/tagoff) due to a dcu being in low power mode when i board which equates to roughly 5.00 in freebies each week.Never a week goes by where i dont get a free trip. Hey i should be happy for the freebies and im sure virtually all passengers are but im just one of those that take notice i guess.

Can I swap your luck? I've hardly had any moments when this has happened to me and I catch PT a lot!  Up to 15+ journeys with countless trips a week between uni and work, and the last time I had a non paying service due to the DCU not working was months ago!

What about waiting for reboots? Can you quantify those?

[somebody]

What about waiting for reboots? Can you quantify those?

I have no idea what this is referring to.  So zero for me.

[Fares_Fair]

What about waiting for reboots? Can you quantify those?

I have no idea what this is referring to.  So zero for me.

Question directed to STB regarding the 3 minute reboot period for the DCU's on the buses.

[Golliwog]

There's been a development in the odd fare arrangment that I've had for the last year (at least) with my travel from Ferny Grove to UQ via Park Rd. I've now had a few mornings where my trip from Ferny Grove to Park Rd has been charged at the correct 3 zone fare of $2.12, although this morning I only paid the 2 zone fare of $1.79.

I have no idea why last week I had a few mornings with the $1.79 fare at the start of the week, then a few with the $2.12 fare (including yesterday morning as well) then back to the $1.79 fare this morning. The only thing I can think of that has been different is which of the 4 readers at Ferny Grove I've used to touch on. Which is quite odd.

[ozbob]

I think there might have been a software update in preparation for the 25th (introduction of 9 journey cap), maybe some other legacy issues sorted.

[Golliwog]

I think there might have been a software update in preparation for the 25th (introduction of 9 journey cap), maybe some other legacy issues sorted.

Fair point, though that still doesn't explain why the fare goes back and forth between 2 zones and 3 zones over the week. See below:

19-Jun-12 06:43:13 AM    Touch off    Park Road    -1.79    *
19-Jun-12 05:50:59 AM    Touch on    Ferny Grove    
18-Jun-12 07:44:45 AM    Touch off    Park Road    -2.12    *
18-Jun-12 07:02:00 AM    Touch on    Ferny Grove    
15-Jun-12 08:29:54 AM    Touch off    Park Road    -2.12    *
15-Jun-12 07:28:21 AM    Touch on    Ferny Grove    
13-Jun-12 08:02:41 AM    Touch off    Park Road    -1.79    *
13-Jun-12 07:09:56 AM    Touch on    Ferny Grove    

[STB]

I've noticed that the touch ons/offs at the station readers have changed slightly as well, with beeps being much faster than previous, and a slightly different font and layout on the messages on the screen.  The time it takes to touch on/off has increased slightly as well.

[ozbob]

What would be interesting Golli is do a trial on the various readers.  It might be a database issue with incorrectly assigned readers.

Do a couple on reader one, couple on reader two and so forth.  And then analyse and repeat.

The problem could be at either end.

[Golliwog]

What would be interesting Golli is do a trial on the various readers.  It might be a database issue with incorrectly assigned readers.

Do a couple on reader one, couple on reader two and so forth.  And then analyse and repeat.

The problem could be at either end.

I'm thinking about doing something like that. I've always touched off at the same reader at Park Rd (next to the P1 stairs) so I can pretty safely assume it's something to do with the Ferny Grove readers.

Although that said, even though I've only been paying a 2 zone fare to get to UQ every morning, I've always paid a 3 zone fare to get back. I'll have a play around anyway, but my last exam was today so I don't have many reasons to go to UQ until next semester starts.

[Fares_Fair]

It's not a 2/3 zone transition, is it?

[Golliwog]

It's not a 2/3 zone transition, is it?

Ferny Grove station is zone 3, Park Rd is a zone 1/2 boundary station but I obviously have to go through the city and therefore zone 1 to get there from Ferny Grove. UQ Lakes is zone 2. Not entirely sure what you mean by "2/3 zone transition"

[Fares_Fair]

It's not a 2/3 zone transition, is it?

Ferny Grove station is zone 3, Park Rd is a zone 1/2 boundary station but I obviously have to go through the city and therefore zone 1 to get there from Ferny Grove. UQ Lakes is zone 2. Not entirely sure what you mean by "2/3 zone transition"

a shared zone boundary, e.g. as at Northgate which is 2/3, or Gaythorne on the Ferny Grove line is 2/3.
You pay one fare zone out and the other fare zone for ingoing.

[somebody]

I also have noticed the issue Golli is referring to.  Not being charged for Zone 1 when coming through the CBD is wrong.

[Golliwog]

I also have noticed the issue Golli is referring to.  Not being charged for Zone 1 when coming through the CBD is wrong.

I agree with this. I sent them a query about it over a year ago now (via go card online account) and they sent back the standard "We've looked into it, any funds owed to you will be refunded" email. I think it may have (finally) come to their attention when I deliberately tried to get them to correct my fare to the 2 zone fare when the readers at Ferny Grove stuffed up and I got two $5 fixed fares. The girl I was talking to had to go and check with her supervisor before telling me that they couldn't give me the lower fare even though that's what the system had been giving me for over a year.

[STB]

After I rang to get my fixed fares refunded from yesterday, I thought I would have to wait 24-48hrs as advised.  Checked out my Go Card account this morning and noticed that the refund was uploaded within the hour of calling last night!    That's a personal record!

[ozbob]

After I rang to get my fixed fares refunded from yesterday, I thought I would have to wait 24-48hrs as advised.  Checked out my Go Card account this morning and noticed that the refund was uploaded within the hour of calling last night!    That's a personal record!

[david]

After I rang to get my fixed fares refunded from yesterday, I thought I would have to wait 24-48hrs as advised.  Checked out my Go Card account this morning and noticed that the refund was uploaded within the hour of calling last night!    That's a personal record!

Didn't TransLink just change over from Serco to that new call centre provider? Perhaps the reason why...

[STB]

After I rang to get my fixed fares refunded from yesterday, I thought I would have to wait 24-48hrs as advised.  Checked out my Go Card account this morning and noticed that the refund was uploaded within the hour of calling last night!    That's a personal record!

Didn't TransLink just change over from Serco to that new call centre provider? Perhaps the reason why...

Yes they did, and they did seem a lot more friendlier on the phone, even asking me about my massive trip yesterday while she was processing my refund request.  Also it's now a phone button menu as oppose to that old (useless in noisy environments), voice activated menu, makes things easier when you're in the middle of the busway with noisy crowds around you.

[Golliwog]

Haven't called and had the new number option, but similar to you I have had the fare corrections processed basically instantly, that was a month or so ago, but allowed me to call back to have it corrected a second/third time after not having the correct ammount given back in credit (the first call back was after the bus I was on had returned to the depot, I hadn't noticed it had also given me a fixed fare after the one at the train station reader).

[STB]

I wonder if they now have a list of things that you can get instant/near instant refunds for that they can refer to and basically process on the spot?  I had another refund given to me of $0.60 the other day after I incurred two separate journeys instead of one after boarding a bus with non-working readers and thus unable to keep the trip counter continuous.  That refund took about 3 days.

[Golliwog]

I wonder if they now have a list of things that you can get instant/near instant refunds for that they can refer to and basically process on the spot?  I had another refund given to me of $0.60 the other day after I incurred two separate journeys instead of one after boarding a bus with non-working readers and thus unable to keep the trip counter continuous.  That refund took about 3 days.

Interesting, could be the case. Just out of interest, did you call or email the issue in? I was quite impressed with the quick turn around. I was at uni and went outside the building to get away from the noisy computer lab and get better reception, but when I got off the phone I went back in and logged onto my go card online and the amount was already there waiting.

[STB]

I wonder if they now have a list of things that you can get instant/near instant refunds for that they can refer to and basically process on the spot?  I had another refund given to me of $0.60 the other day after I incurred two separate journeys instead of one after boarding a bus with non-working readers and thus unable to keep the trip counter continuous.  That refund took about 3 days.

Interesting, could be the case. Just out of interest, did you call or email the issue in? I was quite impressed with the quick turn around. I was at uni and went outside the building to get away from the noisy computer lab and get better reception, but when I got off the phone I went back in and logged onto my go card online and the amount was already there waiting.

I rang up.  The other refund was via my account, and would've taken a few days anyway just to ensure that was what had happened.

[PollyWouldLikeASeat]

I set a new personal record last night, I managed to get fined twice for my trip home.

I went to go thru the gates at the macdonald's side of central the light went green (i thought) and then the gates slammed shut, swiped my card again, it can up with an error message.  Went to the (would like to add lots of unpleasant adjectives here) person operating the gate, he told me to swipe my card again, bang $10 fine and the gates opened.  Got home checked my history on the ticket machine, it said the status of my card was touched off (maybe i misread this, but i don't think so).  So i didn't touch off, thinking that would initiate another journey and get me fined again this morning (wrong).  Touched on this morning got fined.

[STB]

The gates are directional, meaning that when you touch on the gate from the entrance, the only way to cancel a trip is to touch without getting a fixed fare would be to touch on the other side of the gate.  Might be the reason why you got the fixed fares, the system couldn't work out what you were doing touching on and off on the one side perhaps?