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| Sunday, May 17, 01:49:08pm | [ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ] |
| Subject: Mr Batchelor said cost estimates would be drawn up and fine details of the system worked out before tenders were sought. | |
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Author: Melbourne 25/5/03 |
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Date Posted: Wednesday, May 28, 01:22:05am In reply to: Newspapers reporting result--March 7 2003 SMH 's message, "Noteholders have tickets to ride" on Thursday, March 06, 08:38:56am http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6490532%5E421,00.html ------------------------------------------------------------ Hi-tech system to replace Metcard By Sue Hewitt 25may03 ------------------------------------------------------------ PLASTIC smart cards will replace the failed Metcard ticket system on Melbourne's trams, trains and buses under a $400 million plan. ------------------------------------------------------------ The commuter-friendly electronic swipe cards are designed to make ticketing easier and do away with queues. ------------------------------------------------------------ Passengers will simply pass their card across a scanner. ------------------------------------------------------------ The e-tag style card has a monetary value that can be topped up, and fares are deducted from it. ------------------------------------------------------------ The cashless ticketing system will be introduced in 2007, when the Government's contract with Metcard supplier, OneLink, expires. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Government has allocated $3.9 million in the Budget for the first year of a four-year program to develop the system. ------------------------------------------------------------ But the Sunday Herald Sun understands the supply of the card system will cost more than $100 million, while operating costs could be as high as $300 million over 10 years. ------------------------------------------------------------ This is in line with the NSW Government's $370 million, 10-year deal to introduce the cards later this year. ------------------------------------------------------------ Victorian Transport Minister Peter Batchelor said electronic smart cards were the next generation in ticketing technology - making Metcards, which used magnetised strips, obsolete. ------------------------------------------------------------ "We believe smart cards are the way to go," he said. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mr Batchelor said cost estimates would be drawn up and fine details of the system worked out before tenders were sought. ------------------------------------------------------------ He vowed that the new system would avoid the "debacle" of OneLink's Metcard, which resulted in passengers deserting the system and fare evasion soaring to $50 million a year. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Sunday Herald Sun revealed flaws in the Metcard system with an unprecedented survey of the entire rail network in 2001. It found one in four ticket machines was defective. ------------------------------------------------------------ As a result, Mr Batchelor ordered an independent audit of the system. ------------------------------------------------------------ When Metcards are replaced in March, 2007, the fare structure will remain the same and a small cash ticket system will service infrequent travellers who do not have smart cards. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mr Batchelor said smart card systems across the world were being studied to ensure the Government "takes the time to actually get it right". ------------------------------------------------------------ He said the Kennett Government had not done its homework before awarding the ticketing contract in 1997. ------------------------------------------------------------ "That was a debacle from the Government's, contractors' and taxpayers' point of view," Mr Batchelor said. ------------------------------------------------------------ Mr Batchelor said he was excited about sophisticated applications of the smart card but the priority was to make sure an electronic ticketing system worked. ------------------------------------------------------------ The Government will make significant savings on the annual cost of collecting $350 million in fares. Until electronic smart cards are introduced, the bulk of this money will be coins. ------------------------------------------------------------ The card has the potential to be an e-purse, storing value that can be used for CityLink tolls, fast-food outlets, parking meters, newsagents, photograph booths and school canteens. ------------------------------------------------------------ The cards, which are used in Hong Kong, London and other cities, can award bonus points to be used as discounts on future fares. ------------------------------------------------------------ Experts say the new system will be more reliable because the scanning machines are electronic and, unlike the coin ticket machines, do not have moving parts to wear out. ------------------------------------------------------------ They are also less vulnerable to vandalism. ------------------------------------------------------------ Public transport operators spent $600,000 last year to protect ticket machines from vandals. ------------------------------------------------------------ NSW has awarded a contract to ERG, the Perth-based multinational parent of OneLink, which will phase in the smart cards later this year with a fully operational system by 2006. ------------------------------------------------------------ [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |
| Subject | Author | Date |
| Paterson Ord Minnett, the only broker still following the ticketing vendor - and which is advising ERG on the restructure - said the company could report a $17 million profit on revenues of $300 million to $350 million next year. | May 16 2003 | Sunday, June 01, 03:11:39am |