[antoinolachtnai]

Originally Posted by AlekSmart

And there,in Antoin's post,is THE inherent flaw in our interpretation of what an Integrated Ticketing System actually is.

The Dept of Transport/RPA/NTA chose to interpret ITS as being about bringing together disparate fare/ticketing systems and hopefully getting them all to work as one.

This is not actually true. It was always about creating a platform. A unified fare system has been out of scope for at least 5 years.

Why,given the very definite powers which were allocated to the Integrated Ticketing Implementation Group,did they not start at the beginning ....

The group you refer to was made of chief executives of the bus and rail operating companies. Those executives' jobs are to protect the revenue and bargaining power of their companies.

Asking these men to come up with an integrated ticket system is a bit like the mayor of Chicago putting Bugs Morgan and Al Capone on a committee to stamp out organized crime.

The surprising thing about LEAP is that it works at all given the number of parties involved (loads of transport companies, loads of equipment suppliers, loads of technology companies).

It very much has to be seen as a starting point for further investment towards Leapcard 2.0 rather than as an end-point.

[AlekSmart]

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

This is not actually true. It was always about creating a platform. A unified fare system has been out of scope for at least 5 years.

The group you refer to was made of chief executives of the bus and rail operating companies. Those executives' jobs are to protect the revenue and bargaining power of their companies.

Asking these men to come up with an integrated ticket system is a bit like the mayor of Chicago putting Bugs Morgan and Al Capone on a committee to stamp out organized crime.

The surprising thing about LEAP is that it works at all given the number of parties involved (loads of transport companies, loads of equipment suppliers, loads of technology companies).

It very much has to be seen as a starting point for further investment towards Leapcard 2.0 rather than as an end-point.

It's immaterial who constituted the ITIG,as the body itself was established on foot of a Government decision to pursue this goal.

My point remains that IF the relevant Senior Influential and Powerful people had,at the start,did a little more thorough job on establishing the ITS groundrules,then Leapcard 2 would not a requirement less than six months after Leapcard 1 debuted.

[JoePie]

Lads.

I need some help. I got my Leap card when they first showed up, but through a combination of driving, taxis and walking, I'll only be using it for the first time tomorrow.

I tried to log into my account just there, but I've forgotten my password. To change my password, I need a PIN number. Can anyone tell me if this PIN came on a letter with the card, because I have no email about it. I'm waiting on a reply from the Leap crowd, but I'm impatient.

OR.

If someone wants to email me the password format, it might jog my memory.

And by email I mean PM.

[Dravokivich]

hmmmm... you create your own pin when setting up an account on the website.

[JoePie]

Damn. Thought as much.
..........................

Hang on. Got it. You're a genius. You made this all possible, Dravokivich. Cheers buddy.

[Carawaystick]

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

This is not actually true. It was always about creating a platform. A unified fare system has been out of scope for at least 5 years.




The surprising thing about LEAP is that it works at all given the number of parties involved (loads of transport companies, loads of equipment suppliers, loads of technology companies).

So fifty odd million for a system to allow you pay a fare- wasn't there these metal and paper things that allowed this already.

[daymobrew]

Many people have free landline calls so get charged for 1850 and other non-geo numbers.

Before calling LeapCard customer care I looked for the non-1850 number at SayNoTo1890.com but no luck.

I emailed customer care and was told:

Originally Posted by LeapCard Customer Care

The leap card customer care desk can only be contacted by ringing 1850 824 824 or by emailing customer.care@leapcard.ie. Phone calls are 0.30c irrespective of call duration.

Being pedantic I replied that calls are 30c (not 0.30c - a factor of 100 off) and that landline numbers cost 0c (infinitely cheaper, mathematically speaking).

Anyone know the landline number? Or who I could ask? Is LeapCard under the the Department of Transport? (Leo V is my local TD).

[Dravokivich]

Change your provider to BT Ireland, they seem to be the cheapest according to that SayNoTo1890.com website.

[n97 mini]

Originally Posted by daymobrew

Many people have free landline calls so get charged for 1850 and other non-geo numbers.

Before calling LeapCard customer care I looked for the non-1850 number at SayNoTo1890.com but no luck.

I emailed customer care and was told: Being pedantic I replied that calls are 30c (not 0.30c - a factor of 100 off) and that landline numbers cost 0c (infinitely cheaper, mathematically speaking).

Anyone know the landline number? Or who I could ask? Is LeapCard under the the Department of Transport? (Leo V is my local TD).

I asked them for the regular number when I was on to them the time Dublin Bus overcharged me. They didn't know it and in fairness to the lad I was talking to he had everything else right, the only thing he got wrong was "there isn't one".

Every phone line is connected to an exchange and it has a number at that exchange, and it really should be public policy that both the LoCall and local numbers be published on everything. If Quinn Direct can do it, so can everyone else...

[antoinolachtnai]

Originally Posted by Carawaystick

So fifty odd million for a system to allow you pay a fare- wasn't there these metal and paper things that allowed this already.

Well, thankfully it isn't my job to defend the integrated ticketing project.

But this is basically what the system was to deliver. There are some other products that are part of the scope, which will have their own difficulties. In general though, that is the scope and it has been for years. If you didn't agree with the scope, three or four years ago was really the time to complain about it.

Is 50m a good price for what has been delivered? To be honest, considering the nonsense and carry on from the state transport operating companies in relation to this, and the total unwillingness to grasp the possibilities for savings, it is actually a fairly good price.

In the grand context of public transport in Ireland, it is pretty good value and basically in line with the original project forecast.

The length of time it has taken has been abysmal though. I really think the blame for this lies squarely with the state transport operating companies.

If you want to complain about wasted money on public transport, there is far more material waste going on every single year.

[Carawaystick]

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

Well, thankfully it isn't my job to defend the integrated ticketing project.

amen. ya'd be driven demented just by us if so

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

But this is basically what the system was to deliver. There are some other products that are part of the scope, which will have their own difficulties. In general though, that is the scope and it has been for years. If you didn't agree with the scope, three or four years ago was really the time to complain about it.

Can you provide a link to any document showing the scope of the integrated ticketing system. or point exactly when the scope of the project changed. I wonder how much was spent on the old scope of the project.

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

Is 50m a good price for what has been delivered? To be honest, considering the nonsense and carry on from the state transport operating companies in relation to this, and the total unwillingness to grasp the possibilities for savings, it is actually a fairly good price.

Considering the tram, train, a private bus company and one owned by Leo Varadkar all had contactless smartcard systems running some years ago, the existing system is not worth the price. the marginal advantage of only having one card ( for certain journeys) is not worth it.

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

In the grand context of public transport in Ireland, it is pretty good value and basically in line with the original project forecast.

It's hardly good value when the leap card is much more expensive than the existing solution offered by Dublin Bus on a journey basis. I can get from Balbriggan to Ballyknockan for 190c tomorrow with a DB ticket. The leap fare is much more than this.

Originally Posted by antoinolachtnai

The length of time it has taken has been abysmal though. I really think the blame for this lies squarely with the state transport operating companies.

The Govt managed to get AIB to rethink their mortgage interest rates in less than a week, earlier this year. The Govt owns most but not all of AIB. LeoV owns all of BÁC/IÉ/BÉ -- it's a govt failure.

[goingnowhere]

Originally Posted by Carawaystick

Considering the tram, train, a private bus company and one owned by Leo Varadkar all had contactless smartcard systems running some years ago, the existing system is not worth the price. the marginal advantage of only having one card ( for certain journeys) is not worth it.

The interim systems were paid for in the most part from the ITS budget

[Lapin]

Is it possible to buy a Leap Card in Heuston ?

I assumed the answer was an obvious Yes but I'm not sure.

It doesn't say so on the website.

[LeftBlank]

Yes you can. The ticket machines in Heuston sell Leap and Easons sell it too.

[Anita Blow]

Have they said when they'll allow student/monthly tickets to be loaded onto the card? Or when other operators will begin using it?

Would anyone say they'd be up and running before college starts back?