Unintelligent Ticket Barriers on the DART

carlmango11

Is it just me or are the (relatively new) ticket barriers on the DART absolutely crap? They seem to not be able to cope with any sort of constant stream of people. When it's one person walking through (ie: gate opens gate closes) they're fine but when people are scanning tickets one after the other they can't seem to cope.

Every morning I alight at Pearse Station along with a massive crowd. Looking at people using the barriers you see people putting in their ticket, walking through then another person doing the same without waiting the 10 years it takes to close again but when they walk through they start to close then reopen when people take a step back - it almost looks random!? They're incredible.

Even with the Leap card, twice in the last month my tag-off wasn't registered even though the gates opening as I approached them. In fairness I didn't check to see the "tag off" message but I assumed that it registered if the gates opened when I got up to them.

It seems one must wait as the person in front of them inserts their ticket, waits for them to open (you can rarely do it as you walk), walks through and only after the gate has closed again can they insert their ticket.

This causes queues at Pearse every morning even though there are more than enough barriers to cope with the amount.

Compare them to London where as long as you scan your card the gate won't shut on you, you can scan as you walk and you don't need to stop and wait until the person in front has cleared the barrier 100%.

Did they test these machines with large crowds at all!?

Run_to_da_hills

I first saw these same machines in Barcelona around 2004, The only flaw I can see with them is that they can easily let two people through discretely.

carlmango11

Yeah I think there was actually a post about that here a couple of years ago. Can't find it though.

dmcronin

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

I first saw these same machines in Barcelona around 2004, The only flaw I can see with them is that they can easily let two people through discretely.

Do they whisper to you and say 'Go on, ye're grand'?

foggy_lad

dmcronin wrote: »

Do they whisper to you and say 'Go on, ye're grand'?

Only for their version of the free travel pass:D

Judgement Day

I haven't sampled any ticket barriers for a while now but if they are crap they follow in a long tradition of CIE/IE spending loads of dosh on similar rubbish down the years. :rolleyes:

Obair979

They have a backward system of platform barriers. This system creates delays and overcrowding. The whole purpose of having a conductor is to check tickets on board. But CIE sensibilities would preclude such an acknowledgement

Victor

Obair979 wrote: »

They have a backward system of platform barriers. This system creates delays and overcrowding. The whole purpose of having a conductor is to check tickets on board. But CIE sensibilities would preclude such an acknowledgement

Ticket checking on a full train is impractical.

etchyed

Obair979 wrote: »

They have a backward system of platform barriers. This system creates delays and overcrowding. The whole purpose of having a conductor is to check tickets on board. But CIE sensibilities would preclude such an acknowledgement

This thread is about the quality of the barriers installed by Iarnród Éireann, not whether they should exist in the first place. They are present almost universally in commuter rail systems all over the world. Attributing this to some sort of CIE backwardness is really not living in the real world. Surely the more stereotypically backward, union-friendly thing to do would be to employ many times the number of conductors than are employed at present, which would be required to check tickets on an acceptable proportion of customer journeys. When's the last time you had your ticket checked on the DART?

zagmund

I've had my ticket checked quite often in fact. I used to take the DART most days of the week, but haven't for a year or two now. Since the start of the year I might have taken maybe 30 trains, and I've been checked 3 times.

z

Carawaystick

etchyed wrote: »

This thread is about the quality of the barriers installed by Iarnród Éireann, not whether they should exist in the first place. They are present almost universally in commuter rail systems all over the world. Attributing this to some sort of CIE backwardness is really not living in the real world. Surely the more stereotypically backward, union-friendly thing to do would be to employ many times the number of conductors than are employed at present, which would be required to check tickets on an acceptable proportion of customer journeys. When's the last time you had your ticket checked on the DART?

IÉ used to have the three pronged gates, where you fed your ticket into a slot, took it from another further on and walked on. The new glass gates do not open if you are too close to them, needing you to break your stride or even take a step backwards....

A major design consideration of the newer gates the MTA installed on the Subway, was the ability for passengers to not break their stride passing through. Looks like this wasn't a major consideration for IÉ....


I once had the pleasure of being instructed ``YOU. BACK!'' (caps intended) by a ticket checker at Tara Station, after I had paid one night. I was standing too close to the glass for the barrier to open or for the ticket seller to be polite, or both...

etchyed

Carawaystick wrote: »

IÉ used to have the three pronged gates, where you fed your ticket into a slot, took it from another further on and walked on. The new glass gates do not open if you are too close to them, needing you to break your stride or even take a step backwards....

A major design consideration of the newer gates the MTA installed on the Subway, was the ability for passengers to not break their stride passing through. Looks like this wasn't a major consideration for IÉ....


I once had the pleasure of being instructed ``YOU. BACK!'' (caps intended) by a ticket checker at Tara Station, after I had paid one night. I was standing too close to the glass for the barrier to open or for the ticket seller to be polite, or both...

Why have you quoted me here? Did you read my post, or the one I quoted? I don't dispute what you're saying at all.

etchyed

zagmund wrote: »

I've had my ticket checked quite often in fact. I used to take the DART most days of the week, but haven't for a year or two now. Since the start of the year I might have taken maybe 30 trains, and I've been checked 3 times.

z

Your point? The level of checks would need to be upped significantly to compensate for the removal of ticket gates, which the poster I quoted was suggesting. I don't even know why I'm arguing about this. Clearly the revenue protection afforded by ticket barriers justifies their cost. Otherwise no rail companies would use them.

Judgement Day

Personally, I'd go with less barriers and more ticket checkers/security which would give DART passengers an improved service. My last DART experience here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76706133 has made me even less likely to use the service unless absolutely essential.

I seem to remember somewhere in my Guinness impaired brain that at one stage the powers that be in CIE wanted to go with an "open station" system i.e with no barriers, rigorous ticket checking and serious fines. The way to go IMO. And, before you all come on shouting about such "open station" policies being abandoned by Scot Rail etc., I know, but does that mean that CIE/IE shouldn't give a selective try-out?

dowlingm

Translink Vancouver is fitting barriers at serious cost having given up on open stations.

zagmund

My point ? You asked when was the last time people had their ticket checked. Mind you I answered the wrong question - I was giving an indication of how often I have been checked compared to how often I have travelled. About 10% seems relatively high. Certainly enough to convince me that even if I'm only going two stops and it's a rainy Tuesday night in February there's a good chance I will be checked.

z

etchyed wrote: »

Your point? The level of checks would need to be upped significantly to compensate for the removal of ticket gates, which the poster I quoted was suggesting. I don't even know why I'm arguing about this. Clearly the revenue protection afforded by ticket barriers justifies their cost. Otherwise no rail companies would use them.

carlmango11

To be honest I don't understand why they didn't use the same one as London, they work, they're well tested; why not shamelessly copy them. Not like we didn't do it with the new style bus stops anyway!

Victor

carlmango11 wrote: »

To be honest I don't understand why they didn't use the same one as London, they work, they're well tested; why not shamelessly copy them. Not like we didn't do it with the new style bus stops anyway!

I think I agree. One comment was they didn't want people maiming themselves climbing over them.