Smart Card Validation Machines

[essoII]

Have noticed that at the exit gate on platform 2 at Greystones there's ongoing work in what looks to me like a Luas style ticket validation machine (swipe on/swipe off machines)...is this the beginning of integrated ticketing testing?hahaha...i doubt it very much anyway, i'll try get a picture of the new installation
*edit*
the pole looks almost identical to this one (right side of picture)http://www.flickr.com/photos/grantme...th/2570490300/ although no machine has been mounted on it yet..it has the exact same yellow top part and the recessed inner pole..

[Colm Moore]

Might it be an emergency contact point?

The ticket validators in the city centre stations are designed to handle smart cards.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Victor

Might it be an emergency contact point?

That would be more likely

Originally Posted by Victor

The ticket validators in the city centre stations are designed to handle smart cards.

Not designed to handle, they do. Staff have a smartcard pass and if you flash a luas smart card or bus ticket at the orange part of the turnstile it will complain

[essoII]

Still trying to get a photo of the work in progress..these mounting poles are at both night exits at greystones station (platforms 1+2), very out of-way locations for emergency intercom stations...found this on rpa.ie however, i'm sure you've all seen it already though:

"RPA has appointed IBM Ireland Ltd. to develop the systems necessary to run the ITS back-office. For more details, please click here.

The systems will be delivered on a phased basis over the next 24 months, and will undergo extensive testing before the systems are gradually rolled out. The systems will provide a pay-as-you-go system on re-usable smart cards as well as holding weekly, monthly and annual tickets for regular commuters on Luas, Dublin Bus, Irish Rail, Bus Éireann and privately operated services."

I didnt realize how advanced the I.T.S. project actually was. They're claiming from what i read that Integrated ticketing will be introduced late this yearhttp://www.rpa.ie/Documents/ITS%20Co...d%20220908.pdf! Don't know if i believe this though..

Could it be that they're beginning testing of Luas like smartcard machines at Greystones or i would it not be that advanced a project yet?

[Mark Gleeson]

The ITS is very far advanced

Dublin Bus is complete
Luas is complete
Irish Rail is making swift enough progress
Bus Eireann is all alone
Back office is in progress

It could be the smart card reader, its not impossible

[Thomas Ralph]

It would seem to make sense to have standalone validators. Faster than installing the new ticket gates at every station.

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by essoII

Still trying to get a photo of the work in progress..these mounting poles are at both night exits at greystones station (platforms 1+2), very out of-way locations for emergency intercom stations...found this on rpa.ie however, i'm sure you've all seen it already though

Again (informed) speculation, but it may be a "the station is shut for the night, let me out" intercom.

[Mark Gleeson]

Its certainly a smart card reader

Lansdowne Rd has acquired 2

[Trampas]

Noticed this week in Maynooth what looked like smart card readers at the exits.

They are purple colour

[ThomasJ]

yep was up in Clonsilla as of a couple of days ago.

[al2637]

Do we have any idea how the integratiged ticketing (or dare I say integrated fares?) will actually work?

They are rolling the system out at the moment in Amsterdam, it's actually quite simple to use.

Buy a smart card and load it with money, as much or as little as you want.

Checkin everytime you get on public transport, checkout everytime you get off.

Price is calculated as:
- €0.75 Base fare + €0.10/km
- If you checkout and checkin within 35minutes, the base fare is not charged again

Basically when you first checkin the system deducts €4 from your balance, when you checkout it adds the difference back.

http://www.gvb.nl/english/travellers...-products.aspx


I guess the major point is that smart card ticketing is just another ticket, what Dublin needs is an integrated fares system, which so far we haven't heard anything about.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by al2637

Do we have any idea how the integratiged ticketing (or dare I say integrated fares?) will actually work?

This explains the smartcard:

http://www.rpa.ie/en/news/Pages/Inte...linArea.as px

Integrated fares? Not like Amsterdam yet. Not even close.

[Mark Gleeson]

Its a two phase process, the basic hardware has to be installed and tested first

The cleverness which does the integration is purely a software problem thats the RPA's department.

Dublin Bus have been quite clever, you can now get a 30 day rambler ticket, which is 100 euro, which allows unlimited travel over 30 days but they don't have to be continous

[drumcondra commuter]

Passing through the passenger gates at Drumcondra station this morning, I noticed the new scanning units for 'smart' cards being rolled out this summer. I did not get a chance to take a snap but they're clunky and grey and allow for passengers to scan going on to the platform and coming off it.

Update: attached photo

[Thomas Ralph]

They've shown up at Sandymount too.

[Mark]

And Howth and Malahide have the smart card readers both on the platforms for out of hours and also attached to the old ticket barrier machines in the stations.

[Colm Moore]

Lansdowne Road has the purple back box on the night exit and Dalkey has the stainless steel base for the unit in the photo there.

[MOH]

Smart card readers attached to the top of the old turnstiles in Killester as of yesterday afternoon. Still a terrible design, I'm sure other people have clobbered themselves or caught bags on the lumps now sticking up out of the turnstiles.