Your ticket's got smaller!

Red Alert wrote:

I presume they think there's a ticket issue speed problem?

I doubt that is the main reason. Over the overall bus journey time, the time gained would be largely negligible.

I'd guess it's as Victor said - save paper = save money.

not much but could mean the next light is green?

Could also mean its red.
The time savings would be negligable, paper savings and cost savings would work out a lot.
Kippy

The alteration to the Ticket size is indeed part of an attempt to improve ticket issue speed and therefore general boarding and dwell times at stops.

However it remains a "Tinker at the edges" approach as the core problem remains.

The continuing useage of the "Old" Magnetic Card Validator with the "New" Ticket Machine remains fraught with difficulties.
The failure rate of Mag Cards is stratospheric with both genuine and deliberately engineered malfunctions now the norm at most bus stops.
These failures Increase at times of Wet weather and can lead to cases where up to 25% of a Bus Load can be unrecorded or simply unvalidated.

The other positive modification appears to have been a reduction in the time taken to issue the "Change Ticket" which now appears to emerge immediately after the Travel Ticket issue which at least allows the Passenger a fighting chance of taking it.

Under the old regieme the Passenger would be already well gone when the CT emerged from the bowels of the Ticket Machine which could lead to all manner of later disagreement along the lines of "You never gave me a change ticket"

With traffic conditions now established as being totally beyond Dublin Bus`s power to influence it is high time that the company looked long and hard at its Fare Structure and Collection arrangements.

The length of time individual buses are spending immobile at Stops whilst passengers feel the need to ask fare related questions is unsustainable.
The Passenger Needs to have had their queries addressed by Comprehensive Off Bus signage at Stops OR by a universally understood Flat Fare.

As the talk of Integrated Ticketing continues to ebb and flow some consideration must be given to getting the Bus House in order and this must involve a much simpler Flat-Fare or Zonal system.

If the Bus system continues with the present Fare Stage based system then meaningful integration with Rail/Tram/Metro becomes more difficult to cater for.

Dublin Bus currently operates one of the Cheapest City Bus tarriffs in the EU but it is at the cost of efficiency.
London from Jan 2007 will have a Min cash fare of £2stg.
Paris flat fare of €1.40
Salzburg Flat Fare €1.80

One could pluck comparisons till the Cows come home but finding a sub €1 fare anywhere in the EU will not be too easy.

It`s also quite apparent that many Passengers are quite comfortable with throwing a €2 coin into the machine and walking on without any delays
The priority now should be to markedly DEcrease Bus Stop dwell times
As Albert Gubay once said "Pack em in,and sell em cheap"........

SickCert wrote:

A few of us have asked for the DB logo to be removed, can anyone confirm this has happened? Speed up time 1 second per customer expected, not much but could mean the next light is green?

No, the logo still seems to be there.