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Smart Card Invalid !

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  • 29-02-2008 10:07am
    #1
    Sandraf
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭


    Guess what - The Luas Smart Card doesn't recognise today - Feb 29. It very kindly lets you tag on and take your journey but when you go to tag off the zapper thingy says "invalid date" and won't tag off. This means you're charged for the whole length of the line!!!!

    I rang Luas and they said the smart card isn't programmed for Feb 29 as it is an extra day so they took note of where I travelled from and to and said they couldn't refund the difference on to my card but would send me out a cheque for the difference!.

    They suggested buying a ticket if I'm using the Luas later !


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    #2
    Red Alert
    Hosted Moderators Posts: 7,484 ✭✭✭Red Alert


    Another nail in the coffin of the LUAS's ticketing system, which is in my opinion the only real booboo they made. The system has serious problems as it is - namely to do with ticket and change issue speed and the number of clicks needed on the screen to buy a normal ticket. They should get in a proper system and throw out the turd that no doubt some well paid software startup wrote. The thing stinks.


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    #3
    L1011
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Motoring & Transport Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 67,766 Mod ✭✭✭✭L1011


    Red Alert wrote: »
    Another nail in the coffin of the LUAS's ticketing system, which is in my opinion the only real booboo they made. The system has serious problems as it is - namely to do with ticket and change issue speed and the number of clicks needed on the screen to buy a normal ticket. They should get in a proper system and throw out the turd that no doubt some well paid software startup wrote. The thing stinks.

    You're talking about the TVMs - they worked fine.


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    #4
    Bogger77
    Registered Users Posts: 1,857 ✭✭✭Bogger77


    MYOB wrote: »
    You're talking about the TVMs - they worked fine.
    TVM's maybe ok, but the purchase flow is neither User friendly nor fast.
    it takes too many presses on screen to get a ticket, it's slow printing tickets and slow issuing change
    considering there's only 1/side at most stops, that's not acceptable. Every tram system I've used with platform tvm's, have been faster. I've seen queues of people miss trams because of the slow machines.


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    #5
    TwoShedsJackson
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,438 ✭✭✭TwoShedsJackson


    Sandraf wrote: »
    Guess what - The Luas Smart Card doesn't recognise today - Feb 29. It very kindly lets you tag on and take your journey but when you go to tag off the zapper thingy says "invalid date" and won't tag off. This means you're charged for the whole length of the line!!!!

    I rang Luas and they said the smart card isn't programmed for Feb 29 as it is an extra day so they took note of where I travelled from and to and said they couldn't refund the difference on to my card but would send me out a cheque for the difference!.

    They suggested buying a ticket if I'm using the Luas later !

    A cheque for the difference, what's that like 40c? Don't forget there's a 30c charge to cash a cheque in most banks so it may not be worth your while :)

    I tried to tag off at Jervis today and when it refused the first thing that came into my head was 'christ i bet this is because it's February 29th' which says something about expectations of efficency in Ireland :)


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    #6
    trellheim
    Registered Users Posts: 5,860 ✭✭✭trellheim


    The pitiful thing about this is that it is completely and utterly predictable that Feb 2008 will have 29 days. Any embedded RTOS can cope with this, it's the software on top of the OS.

    the developers should be taken out and shot with a ball of their own excrement for hardcoding that muck.


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    #7
    Polar101
    Registered Users Posts: 3,755 ✭✭✭Polar101


    Sandraf wrote: »
    Guess what - The Luas Smart Card doesn't recognise today - Feb 29. It very kindly lets you tag on and take your journey but when you go to tag off the zapper thingy says "invalid date" and won't tag off. This means you're charged for the whole length of the line!!!!

    Brilliant.. very typical that tag on isn't a problem, but tag off is. Wouldn't have been very hard to code this correctly, I think. I'm not all that surprised about this, to be honest.


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    #8
    AlekSmart
    Registered Users Posts: 14,005 ✭✭✭✭AlekSmart


    It will be interesting to see a breakdown of how much the RPA stand to make from this display of cack-handed incompetence.

    If,as seem the case from the answer given to the OP the refund offer is only made to those savvy enough to query it it would seem that the Majority of those levied in error will not be recompensed.

    Can the RPA now expect a nice little extra top-up every four years courtesy of those people who have followed it`s advice about buying into the Smart Card system.

    I see it in very simple terms....If the RPA have somebody in charge of the Smart Card system then he/she has spectacularly demonstrated their unsuitability for the position and should be removed from that position immediately.

    Those Smart Card holders who have been overcharged need to be reimbursed IN FULL at NO extra cost with an equally FULL public explanation as to what happened and an assurance of verifiable rectification.

    It should be remembered that when Bus Atha Cliath attempted to rationalize its Cash Fare structure during the Euro Changeover it was,in an example of gross Political interference, forced to withdraw the new fares AND provide 2 NO FARE Saturdays to "compensate" customers for its attempt to streamline their journeys.

    Sauce for the Goose perhaps...???? :rolleyes:


    Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.

    Charles Mackay (1812-1889)



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    #9
    MoominPapa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,106 ✭✭✭MoominPapa


    The nra/lusa guys hanging around the station when I got off this morning and couldn't tag off told me the blame lies with German programmers. Makes sense, why on earth would the blame lie with the nra/Veolia?:rolleyes:


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    #10
    wayne2107
    Closed Accounts Posts: 228 ✭✭wayne2107


    Free LUAS travel for the rest of the day for smartcard users!


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    #11
    trellheim
    Registered Users Posts: 5,860 ✭✭✭trellheim


    the tagger machines at Jervis seem to be broken [ it's right outside my window ]


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    #12
    DéiseGirl
    Registered Users Posts: 392 ✭✭DéiseGirl


    trellheim wrote: »
    the tagger machines at Jervis seem to be broken [ it's right outside my window ]

    Snap! :D


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    #13
    trellheim
    Registered Users Posts: 5,860 ✭✭✭trellheim


    you leave my window alone :p


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    #14
    jjbrien
    Registered Users Posts: 2,678 ✭✭✭jjbrien


    I wonder if you bought a single ticket from the ticket machine since the system is not progammed for Feb 29 would it state march 1 instead?:rolleyes:


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    #15
    dazberry
    Registered Users Posts: 2,145 ✭✭✭dazberry


    My smartcard worked fine this evening - incl. tagging off.

    D.


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    #16
    Victor
    Registered Users Posts: 78,266 ✭✭✭✭Victor


    MoominPapa wrote: »
    The nra/lusa
    RPA? Luas? :)


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    #17
    MoominPapa
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,106 ✭✭✭MoominPapa


    Victor wrote: »
    RPA? Luas? :)

    No wonder they didn't know what they were talking about:rolleyes:

    <slinks away>


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    #18
    Sandraf
    Registered Users Posts: 118 ✭✭Sandraf


    I got a call from Luas during Friday to say the system was back working alright but I decided to walk just in case!.

    Then they rang me on Sat to offer me a free days' travel as an alternative to the 55c cheque.

    Looks like they're spending more on phone calls than anything else!.

    Thanks for all the comments by the way

    Sandraf


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    #19
    DéiseGirl
    Registered Users Posts: 392 ✭✭DéiseGirl


    trellheim wrote: »
    you leave my window alone :p


    caaaaan ya spaaaare some chaaaaaannge :D


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