The Leap Card Thread

[Mark Gleeson]

Please use this thread for all leap card issues/experiences

[Mark Gleeson]

Despite IBM and HP developing the system they have made a first year computer science error, they can't handle floating point numbers correctly



The system is having trouble as it is rounding numbers when it shouldn't

[James Howard]

So, if I understand this correctly, those of us on point-to-point tickets have to wait until sometime in 2012 to be able to add credit to our cards for use on the Luas or bus.

Going by the timescales of this project, that will probably be very late in 2012.

[karlr42]

Didn't realise this before, but the card I got delivered in the post this morning is not activated. Attempts to top up online fail and result in the following email:

In order to activate your new Leap Card, for your first transaction you will need to Top Up at a Luas Ticket Machine or a Leap Card agent; see www.payzone.ie to find your nearest agent. Once you have Topped Up for the first time you will then be able to use your card as normal, including purchasing online Top Ups.

Which kind of sucks. I'm not going to a Luas stop just for this when I live and work nowhere near a Luas line, and I'm not going out of my way to a shop just for this(as again, the only agents near me are not places I usually shop at).

Just going to shelve the card until it works with IE ticket machines and stick with my IE smartcard for now.

This roll-out is a bit of a joke. Why aren't IE's ticket machines ready?

[Colm Moore]

There is some fuzziness with the list on payzone.ie.

Can people tell us their experiences with buying and topping up, especially at Payzone agents?

[quartz]

The issue of credit expiry on the Leap card is not covered in the official FAQ on the website.

In response to a direct query, Leapcard Customer Care told me: "The credit will last 24 months on your leapcard after the last usage."

[Mark Gleeson]

I can now confirm online top ups now take no more than 24 hours

Topup in the evening and it will be there for collection first thing next day

Bug at Harmonstown has been resolved

[hoopsheff]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

I can now confirm online top ups now take no more than 24 hours

Topup in the evening and it will be there for collection first thing next day

Bug at Harmonstown has been resolved

why is it not instant? seems a bit bizarre that you have to wait 24hrs for credit to be applied to your account!


also is this the integrated ticketing I've heard so much about? seems to be just single use journey use of credit? no monthly/annual options?

[peter t]

Anyway you can check your credit on-line? Went to a luas stop to add my first credit. Seem to go through ok but given that it's my first transaction of any kind I'll like to have it confirmed before I plan travelling with it.

[markpb]

Originally Posted by peter t

Anyway you can check your credit on-line? Went to a luas stop to add my first credit. Seem to go through ok but given that it's my first transaction of any kind I'll like to have it confirmed before I plan travelling with it.

Create an account, register your card, click on Manage My Profile (at the top right), My Leap Card (menu on the left), View My Leap Card History (in the submenu) and you'll see your topups and travels. It can take some time for details to show up there because they're only loaded overnight (at least for some operators).

[peter t]

Originally Posted by markpb

Create an account, register your card, click on Manage My Profile (at the top right), My Leap Card (menu on the left), View My Leap Card History (in the submenu) and you'll see your topups and travels. It can take some time for details to show up there because they're only loaded overnight (at least for some operators).

Yeah tried that a few times, but this line just pops up everytime:

The application experienced unexpected problems completing your request. We're sorry for the inconvenience. Please try again later.

[Thomas Ralph]

Originally Posted by hoopsheff

why is it not instant? seems a bit bizarre that you have to wait 24hrs for credit to be applied to your account!

It's because your credit is not "applied to your account", it's stored on your card. A message is sent overnight to whichever channel you've chosen to collect your top-up from, and as soon as you touch in/out there, your top-up is applied to your card.

[al2637]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this has already been discussed, but can you top up the Leap card at an Irish Rail ticket machine? I've been using it fine on the buses since Christmas, and used it on the train today, but there isn't an option to top it up at the machines?

There is just a 'rail only' card topup allowed? I put the leap in the card holder and tried to proceed, but it threw up a red warning screen. (which incidentally didn't disappear... did I break the machine?)

There is no indication on any of the menu items that a Leap can be topped up.

Am I missing something?

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by al2637

I'm not sure if this has already been discussed, but can you top up the Leap card at an Irish Rail ticket machine? I've been using it fine on the buses since Christmas, and used it on the train today, but there isn't an option to top it up at the machines?

Not yet, but it will be one of the first upgrades.

There is just a 'rail only' card topup allowed?

This is the existing Irish Rail smart card.

I put the leap in the card holder and tried to proceed, but it threw up a red warning screen. (which incidentally didn't disappear... did I break the machine?)

It stays up for about 30 seconds. If it stays up, the machien will eventually re-set itself.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by al2637

but it threw up a red warning screen. (which incidentally didn't disappear... did I break the machine?)

The machine did its correct action, it saw a card type it doesn't recognize and it typically puts up an I can't read this card type error.

Colm and I have the unique ability to break the smartcard functionality on the ticket machines (it does require money...) . The equipment vendor rewrote part of the software to ensure the machine could recover. The trigger was akin to an Oceans 13 style slot machine routine a very weird sequence of steps which to our knowledge no passenger has been able to recreate.

We expect that Irish Rail will have leap card top up, leap card top up collection and leap card sales from its machines sometime in February. The RUI test group are likely to be in the know as to where the trial machines are.

A hidden feature on Irish Rail's system is that you can collect a top up made online by simply placing the card in the ticket machines cradle. With that in place, very few people noticed the fact online top up was not instantaneous as any attempt to check a cards balance was preceded by application of any outstanding top-ups.

Luas in comparison will be some months before it can issue leap cards and do top-up collection from a ticket machine as neither feature was provided before on the Luas system

[OisinDunne]

From earlier: Effectively the rules are if in school term Mon-Fri (up until sometime after 16:30) and before 13:30 Saturday the card charges schoolchild fares



I just asked why my childs fare wasn't reduced for last weekend and I was told that IR have done away with the Saturday time....when did this happen does anyone know??

[Mark Gleeson]

There was a recent change to the charging file for Dublin.

Irish Rail states Monday-Friday only and will not work from July 1st through to end of 3 week of August, though this has never been communicated

What are the conditions of travel?
Schoolchild fares on DART and Commuter services apply during school term only, until 19:00hrs, Monday to Friday.

http://www.irishrail.ie/fares-and-ti...e-singlereturn

[Eddie]

Dublin Bus continues to charge 77c schoolchild fare on Saturdays, as long as you use the validator on the right of the entrance door, and not the drivers machine, which will charge 90c / €1.10, depending on the destination.

So in fact there's an anomaly here:
If an adult uses the automatic validator they will be charged a maximum fare for the journey so must go to driver for a lower fare for a shorter distance.

If a child uses the automatic validator Mon to Fri before 7pm / Sat before 1.30pm they will be charged the lowest fare by using the validator, and be charged more for using the driver's machine.

I bet not many people know that!

The discount of 75c for a child for each subsequent bus journey made within 90 minutes of the previous validation also means that after the first journey, subsequent fares can be 77c-75c=2c, a bus fare probably not seen for about 50 years!

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by OisinDunne

From earlier: Effectively the rules are if in school term Mon-Fri (up until sometime after 16:30) and before 13:30 Saturday the card charges schoolchild fares

I just asked why my childs fare wasn't reduced for last weekend and I was told that IR have done away with the Saturday time....when did this happen does anyone know??

To my knowledge it hasn't been done away. Feel free to make a complaint to Irish Rail and info@nationaltransport.ie

https://www.nationaltransport.ie/pub...eterminations/

Originally Posted by Determination No. 4 2014 – Determination of Child Fares on Public Transport in the Dublin Area and Regional Cities, June 2014

7. Determination by the Authority
The Authority having considered the four options as outlined above in some detail has determined that option C Dispense with Scholar fares, increase Child age to 18 and retain Schoolchild variant is to be the fares determination. The Authority has further determined that the Schoolchild fare will be available during school terms on Monday to Friday up to 19:00 and on Saturday up to 13:30.

[Eddie]

Last week I found a leap card, so I checked to see if it had a value on it at a Dart station to see if it was worth reporting as lost. It had a credit of €12.31 on it, so I sent an email to Leap Card and after a couple of days I got an email back thanking me, but that it had already been reported as lost and had been replaced.

Just for interest, I checked its value this morning and I expected it to have been cancelled with no value, with the credit being transferred to the owner's new card. Instead, it still had credit balance of €12.31.

What's going on?