MyWay - general/operational discussion

[Sir Pompously]

As Metrobus has said that is how the system should work. Each stop has a zone and when it enters that zone it should automatically switch the system from "Please Wait" to "Please Tag". It is to prevent people from tagging off and screwing up data collected from tag on, tag off. Also, as far as I am aware the driver can disable a reader/readers from his or her console. 

[Bus 400]

In systems with zones, this helps to prevent people tagging off early & paying a Zone 1 fare instead of a Zone 3/4 fare.

I have been informed of another change to the MyWay system. Due to a few complaints with issuing ticktets & the French words used to cancel the ticket*. Well when a driver presses the button for the ticket, the ticket won't be printed until the driver presses the "enter" button (the button that is mainly used as a "enter" function).

*For those who aren't aware, in the process of cancelling a ticket the word "annul" is used. Annul is French for cancelled.

[Sir Pompously]

Had my first use of MyWay this afternoon. First bus I boarded the readers were non-operational. Second bus was working and tagged on and off perfectly fine.

[Barry Drive]

If the readers are not working, you are supposed to tag on using the driver's console.

[p_stampy]

If the readers are not working, you are supposed to tag on using the driver's console.

I'm not sure if this is related, but a bus I jumped on the other day - neither ticketing system was working - however I think the driver dude pressed a button every time someone jumped on?

[Sir Pompously]

No where in any of the trial brochure or letters that have been sent out does it state we can tag using the drivers console. It states however that if MyWay is not operational to show your MyWay card for free travel. No drivers have stopped me flashing my card yet, either . Had another bus with reader malfunction today, the next bus brokedown so no tag on or off.

[p_stampy]

I'm not sure if this is related, but a bus I jumped on the other day - neither ticketing system was working - however I think the driver dude pressed a button every time someone jumped on?

My bad - myway was the only one working.

[CNG]

How do u get one of these myway cards to participate in the trial?

[Sir Pompously]

You had to apply about a month or two ago to ACTION, applications are closed. You will have to wait about a month before it comes online.

[Sir]

So you can't tag on using the driver module?

And at my school they were taken photos for new Id's today, and one side is school side while the other is the MyWay card. So our Id's are both id's and bus tickets.

[Buzz Killington]

That's actually a very good idea. I'm shocked!

[Bus 400]

Same in Perth.

[400:D]

That's actually a very good idea. I'm shocked!

I totally agree!

[Barry Drive]

No where in any of the trial brochure or letters that have been sent out does it state we can tag using the drivers console.

This information needs to be made available to passengers (instead of telling them how to change their mind). Sounds like something you can mention in your feedback.

If MyWay system is not operational, then you may get a free ride - if the driver's console is working/installed, then the system is operational. Either the training was poor or the drivers are forgetting that tagging on can occur on the driver's console.

[400:D]

training was poor

And ACTION's back down again

[Sir Pompously]

I will be mentioning that in my feedback. I am actually creating a log of each trip I do, and any errors I encounter to help create some feedback for ACTION.

[Buzz Killington]

MyWay now has its own section on ACT Bus (rather than being under 'Fares').

You'll also find some new information in the section - trial information, fares and a brochure.

http://bit.ly/actbusmyway

[Barry Drive]

Wow, that Trial Fares document is horrible! It looks like they are introducing a new fare category called "Adult Concession" which (I guess) excludes students - but not sure whether that's only Primary/Secondary Students or Tertiary Students as well (since most Tertiary students would be adults).

So, from what I can gather, a concession off-peak single trip fare (Monday to Friday only???) is $0.60 yet a "School Student Daily Trip" (that what it says - WTF is a Daily Trip? Is it Daily or is it a Trip) is $0.95 (the current faresaver rate) and for Eligible tertiary students $1.26 (without calling it either Daily or per Trip).

Will School Students and Eligible Tertiary Students travelling off-peak get the 60 cent fare?

Why is the Weekend and Public Holiday single trip fare for Concessions $1.26 when the concession off-peak single trip fare $0.60 - but the $1.70 off-peak daily cap applies during weekends?

When I was a computer programmer, I would send back Functional Specifications that were this poorly written.

[lukeo25]

i've just ordered mine , good thing i got paid today!!!

[Sir]

So does that mean if i order a student card i'll get with-in a week(roughly) not next term?
Very confused.  And according to one of my teachers our ID will have myway chips soon. What to do?

[Barry Drive]

If your school is getting integrated School ID/MyWay cards, then DO NOTHING!

[Sir]

Alright but they are talking a few months as we just got new IDs. How much does a myway card cost? Is it 20?

[Buzz Killington]

From Monday (or from now, if you're a senior..) we'd like to hear your thoughts of and experiences with the MyWay system.

Non members can also submit their thoughts via our contact form - http://bit.ly/mywayfeedback 

[Barry Drive]

From Metrobus via Facebook:

But apparently the people at Westfield Station the other day gave me the wrong details, I cannot change the card to a student one, that must be ordered online, so until that arrives i am paying an adult fare.

From 743 via Facebook:

MyWay fail #1: cards not available at one of the agencies listed on the Transport For Canberra website.

MyWay success #1: I now have one :-)

[Snorzac]

Another fail... One of the MyWay agents at Westfield is not open ( the news agency at the top is closed)

[lukeo25]

another failure is on 148 the myway reader is not working, this bus is the bus i catch to work most days but i'm not sure if the driver console is working or not

[Bus 400]

I wonder wether ACTION will one day have a link to MyWay balances directly via their own Fares page.

[Barry Drive]

Another fail... One of the MyWay agents at Westfield is not open ( the news agency at the top is closed)

That newsagency is now on level 2 near Dan Murphy's

another failure is on 148 the myway reader is not working, this bus is the bus i catch to work most days but i'm not sure if the driver console is working or not

Driver's console will always be working - if it wasn't, driver can't sell cash tickets.

I wonder wether ACTION will one day have a link to MyWay balances directly via their own Fares page.

I would expect ACTION will remove its Fares page once the magnetic tickets are shut off and re-direct to MyWay since Transport for Canberra sets the fares.

[Barry Drive]

117 (17) No working GPS so I didn't pay a fare.
429 (313) No working MyWay readers and the driver refused to tag me on via the console.

For the first case, driver should have manually forwarded the bus stops (like they've been told to do). Often if you move it to the current stop, the GPS will resume picking up the stops. But this is also a very good reason why the change-of-mind tag off is a STUPID IDEA! If they want to keep that feature, then it needs to be modified to only allow a change-of-mind within 2 minutes of tagging on.

For the second case, this is what the FAQs state:

What if I can't tag on because a card reader is not working?
If all card readers fail to work on board a bus and, despite your attempts, you are unable to tag on, you can travel for free to complete your trip. You should not tag off at the end of this trip.

You can use the online feedback form to advise of the time and route service where you were unable to tag on due to equipment malfunction.

Not sure what is meant by "all card readers" since the rear reader does not normally allow tag on. Is the driver's console counted as a card reader? It's not clear.

But what is clear, Metrobus, is that you need to report this via the feedback form.

[Buzz Killington]

the rear reader does not normally allow tag on

What's the reasoning there? Surely boarding times at interchanges could be sped up further if people were allowed to enter via the rear doors. Presumably with the tag on/off requirements there will no longer be an option to validate on the platforms during peak hour?

[Barry Drive]

That's why I said "normally". Rear door tag-on is possible; but so far there's been no word on when or if it will be used.

[The Love Guru]

Will be used on my bus.

Should speed up loading on the Irises no end................

[Bus 400]

For those wondering how long the MyWay cards ordered online take, well mine took a week. It came directly from the manufacture of the cards, which is Monitor WA (http://www.monitorwa.com.au/default.html) this is the same company that produces/replaces the Smartrider cards for TransPerth.

[Busnerd]

Mine came yesterday and yes I was surprised to see the WA post mark on the envelope. Stupidly it comes with no information at all just the card.

[Busnerd]

I can see lots of seniors getting confused at how myway works, not knowing how to add more credit, wondering why they can't buy their pension off peak tickets anymore and for the ones that do understand it will get confused once their $!0 bonus runs out.

[Snorzac]

Already seen a lot of that, Last week I saw an elderly lady try to shove her card up the bottom of the reader, that was pretty funny...

[Buzz Killington]

Yeah, I saw somebody attempt that too.

[lukeo25]

I got my card today at long last, I'm not using until Monday

[bubzie]

I still havent gotten around to getting one yet.

..my current faresaver 10 has lasted me almost a month at the moment. (Both my buses to/from work seem to be missing ticket machines. Win)

[lukeo25]

I just used my card for the first time

[Buzz Killington]

..my current faresaver 10 has lasted me almost a month at the moment. (Both my buses to/from work seem to be missing ticket machines. Win)

ditto

[743]

Surely boarding times at interchanges could be sped up further if people were allowed to enter via the rear doors.

Wouldn't that be a safety issue? Bus operator visibility outside of the rear doors is relatively limited. At least with the front they can safely shut the door knowing there's no one about to rush in at the last minute out of view; this is not the case with the rear doors and someone could be shut in between them.

I think a better idea would be to permit passenger set down through the rear doors at ALL bus stops, not just Bus Stations. Canberra's still the only place I've ever been where you can only get out through the front in suburban areas. This way the rear unit would become exclusively tag-off and would perhaps allow the front reader to be freed up for more tag-on. Even Metro Tasmania with their passenger-operated rear doors let people out the back!

In other news, I had a little MyWay hiccup today. Yesterday, I caught 341 on a 900 from Tuggeranong to the City, with no troubles. It turned up on the 2 I caught from Dickson to Hackett today and I tagged-on with no trouble, but when I tagged-off at the front unit it said that I'd had a change of mind and deducted no fare (so, yay for free trip!). I've had no trouble before on a journey of that length. The rear unit had both the red and green lights constantly illuminated with the "Service has been temporarily suspended" message so I'm sure something was up!

[Sir]

On a school run the bus driver lets kids off at the back at a few stops where more than half the kids gets off.

[Bus 400]

In other news, I had a little MyWay hiccup today. Yesterday, I caught 341 on a 900 from Tuggeranong to the City, with no troubles. It turned up on the 2 I caught from Dickson to Hackett today and I tagged-on with no trouble, but when I tagged-off at the front unit it said that I'd had a change of mind and deducted no fare (so, yay for free trip!). I've had no trouble before on a journey of that length. The rear unit had both the red and green lights constantly illuminated with the "Service has been temporarily suspended" message so I'm sure something was up!

That is because the GPS was still stuck on a certain bus stop & it was stuck on the same bus stop when you tagged on. The same thing happened to me today, I tagged on at Fairbairn Park & tagged off at City Bus Station. That change of mind message came up & I had a glance at the driver console, it was stuck on some stop back in Aranda from a previous trip.

I did a full day of bussing today to test the machines, the above mentioned scene was my only troubles with the system. Everyone else appeared to have everything down pat (except for tagging off), a bigger point just needs to be made to drivers about signing off on each run & the option about reselecting bus stops if the machine freezes. Other then that it is no different to the TransPerth system, except for the limited number of trip views online. The next big test will be if ALL the machines recognize daylight savings changes in April & October.

In relation to the back doors being used, I was told it had to do with a few incidents in Australia where people have been seriously injured/killed when the bus driver thought the back was clear, closed the doors & started to drive off. But a piece of clothing/body part has been caught in the back door & you can guess the rest.

[Buzz Killington]

Wouldn't that be a safety issue? Bus operator visibility outside of the rear doors is relatively limited. At least with the front they can safely shut the door knowing there's no one about to rush in at the last minute out of view; this is not the case with the rear doors and someone could be shut in between them

Possibly, but I'm talking peak hours in interchanges - they used to have the portable ticket machine on the Blue Rapid platforms in Woden and Civic in peak hour (not sure on Belco or Tuggers but I doubt it) with an attendant who gives the driver an 'all clear' to shut the back doors.

I notice the attendant is still there in the AM at Woden but haven't noticed if he still has his machine or if he assists with loading via the back doors still.

[Aenveigh]

..my current faresaver 10 has lasted me almost a month at the moment. (Both my buses to/from work seem to be missing ticket machines. Win)

I'm regretting I didn't stock up on them. I'd think it's almost worth it for ACTION to have a last-ditch effort to get the old machines running but I guess there's a hard cutoff coming soon anyway.

Been using MyWay for a week or two and seems fine. A few minor glitches, mostly in my favour, when the route seems wrong or the GPS hasn't recorded a distance. Better so far than myki in Melbourne, which I've had quite a few issues with at various times.

The bpay topup seems slow though - hasn't credited after 3 full days; with other bpay options they often go through the next day (even weekends). So a bit worried I won't have enough credit for travel shortly 

[Bus 400]

Autoload is your best option, as soon as your fare goes below the minimum threshold it is automatically topped up with the amount you set. The accounts are sorted out via computers later on, IF you don't have sufficient funds in your bank account to complete the transaction your MyWay card will have the money taken away.

[Buzz Killington]

I actually had to validate my magnetic ticket today for the first time in weeks.

[Snorzac]

All buses a fitted with safety strips on the doors, if the sensors in them are set off the doors spring open, an alarm and the door interlock comes on, this is the case for the front and rear doors throughout the entire fleet and makes it almost impossible to injure someone with the doors.

[ajw373]

Am I right in thinking that if you are an infrequent bus user that there is no real need to tag off? Ie all tagging off does is give stats to Action and if your a regular user cap your daily/monthly usage?

If so won't take too long for people, especially monthly ticket holders to not waste their time tagging off.