Ministerial Statement: go card goes multi-platinum - 2,000,000 and counting

[ozbob]

Transport and Multicultural Affairs
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk
09/06/2011

go card goes multi-platinum - 2,000,000 and counting

go card has just gone multi-platinum with the issue of the two millionth card this week.

Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the milestone was achieved with the support of the many retailers who were an important part of the largest smart card retail network in Australia.

"There has been significant investment across the go card distribution network resulting in a 150 per cent growth in the past 18 months," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"The support of our retail agents is vital to the continued success of go card and we are celebrating the two million milestone by recognising our highest performing go card retailers.

"These retailers are the face of our go card service and it is their smiles that people see as they buy or top up their cards."

Ms Palaszczuk said go card growth has led to improvements to the public transport network.

"The travel data provided by go card is helping us provide more frequent and reliable public transport, including the 150,000 weekly train seats and 50,000 additional weekly bus seats as a result of new timetabling this week," she said.

Member for Brisbane Central Grace Grace, who has lobbied heavily for more go card retail outlets, said the product is now easily available to commuters.

"There are now 560 locations to buy a go card and more than 1500 places where you can top-up a go card," she said.

"It's important our public transport network is easily accessible for commuters and that means the go card must be easily accessible as well."

Managing Director of go card delivery partner Cubic Australasia, Matt Cole, said the Queensland Government and TransLink deserved congratulations for the two millionth go card milestone.

"Cubic is delighted to have played a part in the success of the go card system, which richly deserves the title awarded last year as the best smartcard ticketing scheme for public transport in Australia," Mr Cole said.

Other recent milestones for the go card include:

    * used for more than 3 million trips each week

    * used for more than 80 per cent of weekday travel on the TransLink network
    * more than 500,000 registered go cards
    * more than 100,000 customers using auto top-up.

[dwb]

My guess is there are only ~350k active cards.

If you imagine the most likely people to use the cards are commuters, who travel 8-10trips/wk for 48wks/year and there are ~170mil trips/year on the network right?

So 170,000,000/(10*48)=354,000

Even if you assume 20% only travel half as frequently, it's still not that many cards in use, I know I've gone through about 6-7cards myself! I'd really like to see that graph that shows cumulative cards issued and number of cards in active use month by month since Go card was launched. Now that would be interesting!

[mufreight]

Translink sources have said that they are unable to obtain the statistics of the numbers of cards used each month only the number of trips made and did not appreciate my comment of that being utter bu****it.  If the system is in fact unable to supply that data that then gives the lie to many of the media espousals of Translink management, more one would think a case of Translink management and the government not wanting the public to know the more realistic actual levels of usage of the Go Card system.  At one stage I had seven Gocards sitting unused in my drawer that had been given out free that have never been used, so much for the numbers of cards given out.  The card that I use has now been replaced three times but no doubt is counted as three cards issued.
More duplicity by a desperate government and Translink management attempting to present a mediocre performance as a resounding success.

[dwb]

Translink sources have said that they are unable to obtain the statistics of the numbers of cards used each month only the number of trips made and did not appreciate my comment of that being utter bu****it.  If the system is in fact unable to supply that data that then gives the lie to many of the media espousals of Translink management, more one would think a case of Translink management and the government not wanting the public to know the more realistic actual levels of usage of the Go Card system.  At one stage I had seven Gocards sitting unused in my drawer that had been given out free that have never been used, so much for the numbers of cards given out.  The card that I use has now been replaced three times but no doubt is counted as three cards issued.
More duplicity by a desperate government and Translink management attempting to present a mediocre performance as a resounding success.

I wouldn't be surprised if the contract with Cubic only accounts for certain statistics and not others. I doubt TL themselves would have open slather to the info and everything would have to go through Cubic.

[somebody]

I wouldn't be surprised if the contract with Cubic only accounts for certain statistics and not others. I doubt TL themselves would have open slather to the info and everything would have to go through Cubic.

I'd be very surprised if that was the case.  It isn't really Cubic's data, it's Translink's.

It really is the secret state, that such a thing would be suggested.