nitronuts Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 (edited) Canada Line not free even if machines not working By Tracy Sherlock, Vancouver Sun VANCOUVER - Canada Ticket machines were causing trouble again this morning - the debit and credit card functions were not working for about a half an hour. "A rumour is out there that Canada Line is 'free' today because debit/credit function is not working on the Ticket Vending Machines (TVMs). Wrong on all counts," TransLink said in a press release. Even if the machine is not working, passengers are expected to have valid proof of payment while in a fare-paid zone. Transit Police do issue tickets to violators, although in all cases they exercise discretion. Fare Deferral Receipts can also be issued in the event a fare cannot be paid. Even when the machines are working, commuters may have trouble using them, because they work a little differently from most credit card machines. Debit or credit cards should be placed in the card slot, then when a little light comes on, the card should be pulled back out of the machine. If cards are left in the slot too long, or pulled out too quickly, the machine will say the card is not valid. TransLink has released a video showing how to use the machines, which can be viewed below. Tips on how to use credit and debit cards in the ticket machines on the new Canada Line -- what works, and what doesn't. How many times did Translink's Drew Snider say "stupid machine" in that video? These are absolutely horrid machines. They need a lot more explanation....but it should be as simple as using a gas pump or even a bank machine. Edited August 26, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Common sense Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 ^^ That video should be played over and over again at RAV stations on a large widescreen TV next to the machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanuck14 Posted August 26, 2009 Share Posted August 26, 2009 Or they could of just placed a sticker beside the slot stating how to use the machine but that would make to much sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexBF Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 (edited) Or... what's the point of reading the card as invalid if it's pulled out too slowly? I'm sure a lot of people are having problems because they put it in and take it out too fast, so someone tells them "i heard you have to keep it in until the lights light up", so they put it in again and wait for all 3 lights to light up (from the video it says you're supposed to wait for the SECOND light to light up, as for the 3rd light: "I dont know what that's for") so people are leaving it in waiting for that 3rd light and then get a "card invalid message".... why? Why not just pop up a message on the screen as soon as the card has been left in the slot long enough stating: "Card accepted: You may now remove your card." I think that would solve a lot of the problem, and unless I'm really missing something about why the card shouldn't be left in for longer than necesarry, that should be an easy software fix on the machines. Just remove the "invalid card after 5 seconds" or whatever counter and replace it with a message "card accepted, please remove your card" in the machine's software and watch everything run much more smoothly.... But things like this always seem to be designed stupidly so that they can't be simply updated :-/ It shouldn't be that hard to make a user friendly interface, especially on a machine that does stuff differently than most other card readers. Edited August 27, 2009 by alexBF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Habitat Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Or the smart thing to do would be to make the lights reverse. Amber for DONT PULL YOUR CARD OUT YT.. AND GREEN FOR GO>> PULL YOU CARD OUT! I went on the Canada line last week and it took me 2 tries... but the thing that confused me was that when i put my card in, the light went amber... Why would the company put in an amber light... green for go...is pretty universal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Why didn't they make it as simple as those new chip card readers restaurants and fast food chains have? Put in the card, type in your pin, and then there's a thank you and please remove card message. Simple as that. I'm not sure why they got a card reader with movable parts to read the chip, that's expensive maintain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Columbo Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Why didn't they make it as simple as those new chip card readers restaurants and fast food chains have? Put in the card, type in your pin, and then there's a thank you and please remove card message. Simple as that. I'm not sure why they got a card reader with movable parts to read the chip, that's expensive maintain. Plus it's unnecessary security... if someone's going to steal a credit card to buy a $2.50 skytrain ticket, then WHATEVER. The bad outweighs the good in the case of these machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirejoe Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Wow, that's dumb. Why would they even consider such stupid machines? Ya, time to get a refund on those jokes of a machine and get some new ones. Who makes these decisions anyways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahzdeen Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Why didn't they make it as simple as those new chip card readers restaurants and fast food chains have? Put in the card, type in your pin, and then there's a thank you and please remove card message. Simple as that. I'm not sure why they got a card reader with movable parts to read the chip, that's expensive maintain. not all credit cards have the chips in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trek Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 not all credit cards have the chips in them especially since the Canada Line will be used by tourists, US Credit card companies have no intention on implementing chip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahzdeen Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 especially since the Canada Line will be used by tourists, US Credit card companies have no intention on implementing chip. Although why they can't just have a place to swipe your card i will never understand.. too easy to install skimmers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) Seattle is planning to extend their recently opened LINK light rail system to the University of Washington with a 5-km underground extension and two underground stations. The catch is, it's going to cost US$1.9-BILLION......that's much more than what we spent on our 19-km Canada Line. While our Canada Line is way underbuilt, theirs is way overbuilt. But it would have been nice if we could have met them halfway for our Canada Line with regards to platform lengths, station space, and aesthetics. The Canada Line could have really used $500-million more for longer platforms/more capacity....or at the very least, have the platforms 40-metres today but extendable (with ease) to 80-metres in the future. Right now, it's only extendable to 50-metres. Just look at some renderings below: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON STATION CAPITOL HILL STATION Seattle's platforms are probably close to 150-metres in length....way overbuilt. BTW, daily ridership on their $3-billion, 22-km light rail line that they just opened in mid-July is just 15,000....compared to the Canada Line's 80,000. They hope to increase that figure substantially, at least quadrupling it, with the 5-km extension to the UoW. Their extension's high cost is because it requires three tunnel boring machines and it goes right underneath a former landfill. Edited August 28, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sedins 1 cup Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 being someone who doesnt live in the city and having to travel from the bus depot to Richmond, I must say that this Canada Line is SOOO much better! I give it a +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hordichuk Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 When are we going to connect Vancouver, Seattle and Portland with a high-speed railway system? Trains are way underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Seattle is planning to extend their recently opened LINK light rail system to the University of Washington with a 5-km underground extension and two underground stations. The catch is, it's going to cost US$1.9-BILLION......that's much more than what we spent on our 19-km Canada Line. While our Canada Line is way underbuilt, theirs is way overbuilt. But it would have been nice if we could have met them halfway for our Canada Line with regards to platform lengths, station space, and aesthetics. The Canada Line could have really used $500-million more for longer platforms/more capacity....or at the very least, have the platforms 40-metres today but extendable (with ease) to 80-metres in the future. Right now, it's only extendable to 50-metres. Just look at some renderings below: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON STATION CAPITOL HILL STATION Seattle's platforms are probably close to 150-metres in length....way overbuilt. BTW, daily ridership on their $3-billion, 22-km light rail line that they just opened in mid-July is just 15,000....compared to the Canada Line's 80,000. They hope to increase that figure substantially, at least quadrupling it, with the 5-km extension to the UoW. Their extension's high cost is because it requires three tunnel boring machines and it goes right underneath a former landfill. They're just planning ahead for lots of future growth, I guess. A little foresight is something our planners could use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cj_coolcat Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 They're just planning ahead for lots of future growth, I guess. A little foresight is something our planners could use. That's the problem I have with BC's transit system... it's always catching up rather than thinking ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) lol, the ground level glass entrance in the rendering below is the size of one of the Richmond elevated stations: Edited August 28, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 They're just planning ahead for lots of future growth, I guess. A little foresight is something our planners could use. Foresight is one thing, but what Seattle is building is just way overbuilt. The university station is really impressive though, the ceiling for the underground platform level must be 80 feet high at least! That's one airy station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buggernut Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Foresight is one thing, but what Seattle is building is just way overbuilt. The university station is really impressive though, the ceiling for the underground platform level must be 80 feet high at least! That's one airy station. Any reason for the big vertical drop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitronuts Posted August 28, 2009 Author Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) The tunnel, which will use a boring machine, is very, very deep. The tunnel has to be deep because it goes right under a former landfill as well as a canal. It reminds me of the station's for the Copenhagen Metro, quite similar: Edited August 28, 2009 by nitronuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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