[LINK] (Sydney) Travel card delayed yet again

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Firstly, I am going to declare a my interest as a shareholder in an Australian 
ICT company- though not a significant shareholder.

Apparently, one of the issues with public transport cards is the complexity - of 
the ride length. Like a lot of projects involving ICT, this probably needs a 
higher perspective and a decision about what is realistic.

There are a number of ERG projects elsewhere see:
http://www.erggroup.com

Note there is a suggestion that all public transport should be free - 
particularly if the billing gets more expensive than the revenue.

> The case for free public transport
> 17 March 2007
> NSW’s big cities, especially Sydney, are poisoning the environment and making us all sicker and more stressed. The longer we continue with the state’s “transport model” — where cars carry 78% of people to work and trucks 60% of goods — the worse things will get. 
<http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/703/36537>

and more from google:
> A free ride is just the ticket - National - smh.com.au
> A coalition of public transport activists will today launch a report, ... smh.com.au Sydney Morning Herald 2007-08-16 A free ride is just the ticket Linton ...
<http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/a-free-ride-is-just-the-ticket/2007/08/15/1186857596836.html 



Marghanita

Bernard Robertson-Dunn wrote:
> <brd>
> It's the day for announcing delays in government smart card projects.
> 
> This one was supposed to be ready for the Olympics - the Sydney 
> Olympics. Remember them? in 2000.  So this project is running about a 
> decade late. Makes the Access Card delay look like a slight hitch.
> </brd>
> 
> Travel card delayed yet again
> August 24, 2007
> SMH
> http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/travel-card-delayed-yet-again/2007/08/23/1187462441696.html 
> 
> 
> SYDNEY'S public transport smart card has been delayed further after 
> poor-quality software mangled small-scale trials of the technology on 
> the bus and rail network.
> 
> Already seven years overdue, the Tcard has been a continuing 
> embarrassment for the State Government, which promised integrated 
> ticketing in time for the Sydney Olympics.
> 
> The Perth company contracted to introduce the card, ERG Limited, told 
> the sharemarket this week that the project had to be put back yet again 
> "to ensure high levels of system quality".
> 
> With the Olympics come and gone, full commuter trials of the technology 
> were then meant to begin in November 2004, but were delayed again until 
> the middle of last year. This week ERG's chairman, Colin Henson, said 
> the latest problems would postpone the technology yet again.
> 
> "This will delay the planned start of a broad-based public trial on the 
> rail system until the beginning of 2008," he said. "This public trial, 
> including performance evaluation and system tuning, will be conducted 
> over a six-month period. The full-scale deployment of bus and rail 
> equipment will then take a further 12 months to complete."
> 
> The new head of the Public Transport Ticketing Corporation, Elizabeth 
> Zealand, said tests would continue until all problems were ironed out.
> 
> "Testing has been extended as a consequence of the generally 
> unacceptable quality of software delivered by ERG," she said.
> 
> The introduction of integrated ticketing now faces a further delay. In 
> last year's budget the project's completion date was 2008, but in this 
> year's papers it was moved to 2009.
> 
> Transport experts say the Tcard is crucial to the reform of Sydney's 
> ailing public transport network. Since 2002 the Government has spent 
> $63.7 million on the project.
> 
> ERG has attempted minor trials on State Transit buses leaving the 
> Kingsgrove depot, and on CityRail services leaving Ashfield station.
> 
> In June, 420 bus drivers boycotted the trial because they had to 
> repeatedly stop driving to fix the Tcard reader when it crashed.
> 
> Despite this, ERG says a bus-only public trial will be ready next month.
> 
> But technical problems have also plagued the rail tests that have taken 
> place since February. The complexity of fares across buses, trains and 
> ferries has been a major stumbling block.
> 
> Ms Zealand said the full commuter trial, when it eventually takes place, 
> would not attempt to tackle the 70-odd fare products which are currently 
> offered.
> 
> "The trial will be on the basis of a simple discounted single fare, 
> similar to Travel Ten fares," she said.
> 
> The delay will also mean further debt servicing for ERG, whose financial 
> performance has been in the spotlight. "With higher than expected 
> financing costs due to delays in receipt of some milestone payments, the 
> company now expects to report a net loss after tax of approximately $15 
> million [for the financial year]," Mr Henson said.
> 
> The Opposition transport spokesperson, Gladys Berejiklian, said the 
> Tcard was an essential piece of Sydney's transport puzzle.
> 
> "The lack of integration is causing huge problems in relation to 
> patronage and efficiency," she said.
> 
> "Ask a rail commuter how long they have to wait to buy a ticket on a 
> Monday morning."
> 
> 


-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://www.ramin.com.au
Phone: (+61)0414 869202