News & Discussion: Trams

[ginzahikari]

It's quite stupid that they have a separate validator that doesn't work for normal Metrocards...

[Spotto]

Could the new validators also be a step towards transitioning to RFID paper tickets like Sydney (tap not insert) or doing away with paper tickets entirely like Melbourne? The Crouzet magnetic stripe tickets have been with us since the 80s.

[rubberman]

It's quite stupid that they have a separate validator that doesn't work for normal Metrocards...

Yes, but it's a lot cheaper. Most people use metro cards. So, this is just for a small mumber of people, maybe.

The present trial only has to use a variation of the card reader used in every shop round town...cheap as chips and simple. The trams already have internet, so it's a cheap add on.

If you want to make something that combines both, it's a lot more expensive.

If it's a lot more expensive, then the government needs to know that enough people will be using it. Why go to all thst expense if it's ten people per day?

So, the smart thing to do is to do what they are doing initially. Then, once they've got figures on numbers of people wanting to use it, they can decide what to do system wide.

[PeFe]

The Sydney Opal card readers have been modified to accommodate credit cards/apps......no need for an extra validator in Sydney.

[kymbosa]

The Sydney Opal card readers have been modified to accommodate credit cards/apps......no need for an extra validator in Sydney.

Most countries have been able to link their tap and go machines to both the public transport card and a debt card.

The Uk, Tfl has been doing it since 2013; it’s not new technology.

Again Adelaide, instead of doing things right, makes it more complicated and waste money on a trail, instead of seeing what other systems have done and implemented it here from day one.

I laughed in 2013 when the labor gov said, this is new and world leading, all the while I was using my debt card in London to get through the gates to board the Tfl.

[PeFe]

The Sydney Opal card readers have been modified to accommodate credit cards/apps......no need for an extra validator in Sydney.

Most countries have been able to link their tap and go machines to both the public transport card and a debt card.

The Uk, Tfl has been doing it since 2013; it’s not new technology.

Again Adelaide, instead of doing things right, makes it more complicated and waste money on a trail, instead of seeing what other systems have done and implemented it here from day one.

I laughed in 2013 when the labor gov said, this is new and world leading, all the while I was using my debt card in London to get through the gates to board the Tfl.

The London tap and go using credit cards is linked to the technology provided by the original smart card provider (Cubic) so if you buy Cubic technology as your smart card transport card then the tap and go credit card technology will integrate with the system.

This comes at a price.....the Opal card cost the NSW government over 1 billion dollars, I have never heard how much the "extra" tap and go credit card technology cost.

Adelaide bought "off the shelf" smart card technology from ACS for $40 million. I do not know where this new "tap and go" technology has come from.
I did a quick internet search and the ACS website didn't seem to offer contactless integrated with a smart transport card...

[SRW]

Yeah, I don't think our ticketing upgrade can be seen as anything but responsible and successful. It might not be the most advanced, but it was affordable, on budget and without disaster. I'm happy to have missed out on the slight benefits of higher spec tech to avoid the farces that played out in other cities.

[claybro]

Yeah, I don't think our ticketing upgrade can be seen as anything but responsible and successful. It might not be the most advanced, but it was affordable, on budget and without disaster. I'm happy to have missed out on the slight benefits of higher spec tech to avoid the farces that played out in other cities.

I'm not sure many people realise that supposedly enlightened transport destinations like Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna etc, with their amazing metros and surface rail and millions of commuters still rely largely on paper tickets, dispensed from coin machines on platforms. Adelaide is actually quite advanced with ticketing if nothing else.

[PeFe]

I'm not sure many people realise that supposedly enlightened transport destinations like Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna etc, with their amazing metros and surface rail and millions of commuters still rely largely on paper tickets, dispensed from coin machines on platforms. Adelaide is actually quite advanced with ticketing if nothing else.

Not Tokyo......I was there in 2014 and used the Suica card, and from my memories 90% of the locals were using a card on any of the train systems.
One really smart thing the Japanese did was make cards interoperable in other cities transport systems. I used my Tokyo Suica card in Kyoto, Osaka and Hokkaido (where I could use the card on the metro but not for the bus, I had to buy a ticket from a vending machine, but use the Suica card as method of payment)
Also the Suica was able to be used on ANY JR train (not bullet) train in the country.....

Berlin and Vienna definitely yes......paper tickets...2 stops, 2 hours, after 9am, all day, zone a, zone b, zone ab..........so many options and really very confusing. Germans and Austrians seem to have a "mistrust" of public transport cards that can "track" their movements (despite the fact they all have mobile phones which does a far better job tracking your location than smart transport cards)

I read somewhere that China is introducing a smart transport card that will work in all Chinese cities....now that's convenience (and easy tracking)

And remember New York City is just introducing its first smart transport card......available to be used on some of the subway lines and buses but not on other metropolitan area transport systems like Path, Metro North and LIRR......so Adelaide is not doing too bad.

[1NEEDS2POST]

Yeah, I don't think our ticketing upgrade can be seen as anything but responsible and successful. It might not be the most advanced, but it was affordable, on budget and without disaster. I'm happy to have missed out on the slight benefits of higher spec tech to avoid the farces that played out in other cities.

I'm not sure many people realise that supposedly enlightened transport destinations like Tokyo, Berlin, Vienna etc, with their amazing metros and surface rail and millions of commuters still rely largely on paper tickets, dispensed from coin machines on platforms. Adelaide is actually quite advanced with ticketing if nothing else.

That and the fact Adelaide has simple fares that do not charge for connections up to two hours.

[Spotto]

That and the fact Adelaide has simple fares that do not charge for connections up to two hours.

I wouldn't necessarily call Adelaide's fare structure "advanced". The lack of tap-on, tap-off fares brings two problems to mind: 1) You're not paying for the distance travelled. A flat 2-hour fare for everyone might be good if you're travelling a longer distance to work, for example, but not so much for people who have a shorter journey that have to pay the same amount but don't get as much bang for their buck. 2) The transport authority can't track where people's journeys take them and make alterations or add new routes to reflect demand. Data like that would've been essential in the failed redraw of the bus map.

[MessiahAndrw]

What's the latest update on AdeLINK? It was proposed back in 2016 (link), Infrastructure Australia says "Medium term (5-10 years)" (link). 4 out of 10 years have passed.

[ChillyPhilly]

What's the latest update on AdeLINK? It was proposed back in 2016 (link), Infrastructure Australia says "Medium term (5-10 years)" (link). 4 out of 10 years have passed.

Consider it abandoned as long as the Liberals are in power.

[Nort]

What's the latest update on AdeLINK? It was proposed back in 2016 (link), Infrastructure Australia says "Medium term (5-10 years)" (link). 4 out of 10 years have passed.

As ChillyPhilly said, the state election happened and the Liberals were very vocally against the tram plans. Even if Labor gets back in I wouldn't expect to see any quick resumption of those plans since they'll want to have something new rather than digging up old plans.

[Spotto]

What's the latest update on AdeLINK? It was proposed back in 2016 (link), Infrastructure Australia says "Medium term (5-10 years)" (link). 4 out of 10 years have passed.

Consider it abandoned as long as the Liberals are in power.

It's ironic. Their election plan limited tram expansion to North Adelaide and an incomplete City Loop. Those were quickly swept under the rug.