[LINK] Tcard 2.0?

[Marghanita da Cruz]

Scott Howard wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 6, 2008 at 9:21 PM, Marghanita da Cruz 
> <marghanita at ramin.com.au <mailto:marghanita at ramin.com.au>> wrote:
> 
>     My understanding of the problem was the variable fares. The article
>     is still
>     talking about flag fall and km fee. This is impossible unless the
>     ticket is
>     scanned at entry and exit as is the case for train and ferry
>     stations, but not
>     buses. Ofcourse it causes delays at ferry and bus stations and isn't
>     feasible on
>     buses.
> 
> 
> Every other country in the world that uses electronic fares has come up 
> with a solution for this problem.
> 
> For some the solution was the remove variable fares, which probably 
> isn't a good solution for Sydney (but will work fine in Newcastle, where 
> they did away with distance-based fares about 11 years ago).

Why isn't it a good idea for Sydney?

> 
> Other systems simply make you swipe on entry as well as exit, and if you 
> don't swipe on exit then you're charged the maximum distance for that 
> trip.  Singapore (and Hong Kong?) have been using this method for well 
> over 10 years, and it works incredibly well.

Is this on buses as well as the metro?

> 
> Still others allow you to select the distance you intend to travel 
> before swiping your card on entry (in a similar way to how "sections" 
> currently work on Sydney buses).
> 
> Yes, this will require a behavior change from the consumer, but with a 
> change such at this that's inevitable.  It's certainly not an unworkable 
> problem - just look most anywhere else in the world!
> 
>   Scott.


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