"Leap" into the unknown: The feedback thread

noelfirl

...and which are now aimed at occasional users rather than the every day commuter.

Although they used to be the mainstay of my student travels.

Taco Chips

Dravokivich wrote: »

They want to reduce tickets/products to simplify the service avail. Thats why they've capping. you don't need to go buy another cap just before it runs out.

Also they are individual days, not consecutive.

Sure, but the pricing structure is still rubbish value for students. Over the last 4 years the price of a 30 day rambler has shot up from around €82 to €107.50. The €5 and €20 daily/weekly caps do not represent much of any savings to students. Especially compared to the child caps.

The student leap card itself is a total rip off also. It costs €25 for what is essentially a personalised leap card and thats it. Where are the savings?

Dravokivich

Taco Chips wrote: »

Sure, but the pricing structure is still rubbish value for students. Over the last 4 years the price of a 30 day rambler has shot up from around €82 to €107.50. The €5 and €20 daily/weekly caps do not represent much of any savings to students. Especially compared to the child caps.

The student leap card itself is a total rip off also. It costs €25 for what is essentially a personalised leap card and thats it. Where are the savings?

It's essentially an ID. You can display it for discounts at shops, restuarants, cinemas.

The fact it's a Leap card is a bit of a bonus. You'd pay 12 euro for the ID alone even if there was no leap card.

punisher5112

I actually don't really get the issue about student cap.

Its unbelievably cheap.

All you have to do is take the bus twice and you travel any additional times for free.

Try running a car on that you will see it will cost tons more a lot more.

Taco Chips

Dravokivich wrote: »

It's essentially an ID. You can display it for discounts at shops, restuarants, cinemas.

The fact it's a Leap card is a bit of a bonus. You'd pay 12 euro for the ID alone even if there was no leap card.

Grand, I don't want to get into a back and forth but €25 for an ID? Terrible. Already eroding some of the supposed value by having to pay that much for it. All college students will have their institutions ID card as proof of their student status also so I don't see why this extra one should cost so much. Especially as it doesn't work for verifying age either, for which you need a Garda Age card.

How much is a regular personalised adult leap card? No extra charge to the €5 deposit. Are students just an easy target to gouge more money out of?

Frank Grimes

Taco Chips wrote: »

Grand, I don't want to get into a back and forth but €25 for an ID? Terrible. Already eroding some of the supposed value by having to pay that much for it.

It's €12/€15 though, unless something has changed and they haven't updated their website http://www.studentleapcard.ie/how-to-get-your-card/#agents-two-types

All college students will have their institutions ID card as proof of their student status also so I don't see why this extra one should cost so much. Especially as it doesn't work for verifying age either, for which you need a Garda Age card.

The card comes in handy for me to prove student status as my university ID does not have an expiry/graduation date on it. I haven't been asked to prove my age for about 18/9 years either so that element does not affect me.

I just did a quick check and if I was to pay cash fares it would cost me €9.70 a day to get to and from UCD, more if I don't get the 51x out in the mornings, this is compared to €3.59 daily using my rambler. I agree about the increases in the cost of the tickets but to say it does not represent good value for money is not really true, of course this will depend on the distance people need to travel etc.

Dravokivich

Taco Chips wrote: »

Grand, I don't want to get into a back and forth but €25 for an ID? Terrible. Already eroding some of the supposed value by having to pay that much for it. All college students will have their institutions ID card as proof of their student status also so I don't see why this extra one should cost so much. Especially as it doesn't work for verifying age either, for which you need a Garda Age card.

How much is a regular personalised adult leap card? No extra charge to the €5 deposit. Are students just an easy target to gouge more money out of?

If you say so...

It should also be noted, that these cards aren't provided by leap. Your issue if there's truly any at all other than a gripe is with which ever company tenders the Student Travel Card service or whoever within the NTA is in control of it.

You are paying for the Student Travel Card ID. Not a Student Leap Card. Where are you getting the 25euro cost from?

Taco Chips

Dravokivich wrote: »

If you say so...

It should also be noted, that these cards aren't provided by leap. Your issue if there's truly any at all other than a gripe is with which ever company tenders the Student Travel Card service or whoever within the NTA is in control of it.

You are paying for the Student Travel Card ID. Not a Student Leap Card. Where are you getting the 25euro cost from?

Apologies I got my figure mixed. It is about €15. Still about €10 overpriced when its the same as a personalised adult card costing €5.

My issue is that for a student saving scheme, it isn't at all really. The card is more expensive than a regular one and the price reductions are marginal compared to the adult one, when you account for the huge income differences between a student and an adult.

Dravokivich

But you are not paying for a Student Leap Card. The Student Travel Card ID was 15euro when I was in college 10 years ago.

Taco Chips

Dravokivich wrote: »

But you are not paying for a Student Leap Card. The Student Travel Card ID was 15euro when I was in college 10 years ago.

Not sure what you mean. The student leap card costs €15.

Dravokivich

Taco Chips wrote: »

Not sure what you mean. The student leap card costs €15.

The price hasn't changed with the addition of Leap, to the Student Travel Card. You aren't paying anything for it other than the price for the Student Travel Card.

Taco Chips

Dravokivich wrote: »

The price hasn't changed with the addition of Leap, to the Student Travel Card. You aren't paying anything for it other than the price for the Student Travel Card.

Sure, but my point is why is the travel card €15 in the first place? All it is now is a personalised leap card.

Dravokivich

Taco Chips wrote: »

Sure, but my point is why is the travel card €15 in the first place? All it is now is a personalised leap card.

Why would someone sell something for free?

"Student Travel Card" is a brand the NTA tender out to other companies to run. Get involved with the different companies that will provide discounts to those cards and other such offers.

It isn't "All it is now is a personalised leap card."

It functions as one, but that is a feature of the Student Travel Card. not the purpose of it.

punisher5112

Main reason the student leap card is now the only id accepted is due to the amount that were abusing it and showing dodgy college id and just non students using the tickets.

I really believe it is a great card and the only fault is the machines especially on buses are so out dated and slow.

As others have posted previously you would have to purchase an id card off your college which cost €15 and that didn't do what your leap card now does.

Leap works as your id and ticket and is a very easy and cheap way to use and travel.

Where €25 cost is coming from I don't know...

The adult leap is produced by applying online and it does not give discounts it just is an extra security measure but the student leap has to be done in the college as to verify details are correct as that one is actually attending college.

Victor

Taco Chips wrote: »

All college students will have their institutions ID card as proof of their student status also so I don't see why this extra one should cost so much.

Blame the (individual) colleges - they wanted their own thing and didn't want to participate in Leap.

Taco Chips wrote: »

The card is more expensive than a regular one and the price reductions are marginal compared to the adult one, when you account for the huge income differences between a student and an adult.

If you want to deal with student poverty, you need to do it from the income side, not the expense side. Further reducing the cost of student travel takes exchequers funds away from student income supports and disproportionately aids better-off students / students from a better-off background.

Taco Chips

Victor wrote: »

Blame the (individual) colleges - they wanted their own thing and didn't want to participate in Leap.

If you want to deal with student poverty, you need to do it from the income side, not the expense side. Further reducing the cost of student travel takes exchequers funds away from student income supports and disproportionately aids better-off students / students from a better-off background.

I'm blaming the system as a whole. It's such an irritating way to run the scheme.

I think there are problems with the income and the expense side of things. Obviously a student's income is what their parents can afford to support them with, which for the vast majority isn't a whole lot (I mentioned less than €100 per week). To increase the income would be to make the country as a whole better off, so parents can afford to support students more. Or increase the student grant, but not everyone qualifies for that and it's been cut every year. The price of student travel in Dublin is high compared to many other countries in the first place, so students (and other commuters) are getting stung with less support income and with rising costs of travel (and uni registration and rents and stationary and course material etc...).

The so called savings for students are so marginal, there should definitely be a bit of room to lower the caps a bit.

xper

Victor wrote: »

Blame the (individual) colleges - they wanted their own thing and didn't want to participate in Leap.

Funny, my contacts in a large Dublin university told me the Leap team weren't interested when they were approached by the university about putting it on their Mifare student id card. Who knows what has actually happened or not.

Victor

The team was told by at least one large college that the college wanted to keep their card 'local' and not participate. I got the impression that there were several similar responses.

AngryLips

Victor wrote: »

The team was told by at least one large college that the college wanted to keep their card 'local' and not participate. I got the impression that there were several similar responses.

xper wrote: »

Funny, my contacts in a large Dublin university told me the Leap team weren't interested when they were approached by the university about putting it on their Mifare student id card. Who knows what has actually happened or not.

Surely these two comments reflect the same situation: colleges insisted on keeping their own ID cards instead of adopting leap.

Collie D

Will be using Dublin Bus later with my Leapless mother. I've an annual pass on my card and credit on my epurse. Can I pay for another person on my Leap and if so I assume my annual pass can be used at driver's validation point rather than tagging on at RH validator and then paying her fare with driver?

KD345

Collie D wrote: »

Will be using Dublin Bus later with my Leapless mother. I've an annual pass on my card and credit on my epurse. Can I pay for another person on my Leap and if so I assume my annual pass can be used at driver's validation point rather than tagging on at RH validator and then paying her fare with driver?

You must validate your annual pass first and then pay for the second passenger using the same card. I think the card will always try to find your preloaded ticket first rather than use your credit.

goingnowhere

This is supported, so

1 Place card on drivers machine
2 Driver validates your ticket
3 Driver issues a ticket from your leap purse

Not a common procedure but is possible

LXFlyer

goingnowhere wrote: »

This is supported, so

1 Place card on drivers machine
2 Driver validates your ticket
3 Driver issues a ticket from your leap purse

Not a common procedure but is possible

Also works as follows:

1 Place card on righthand validator as normal and validate ticket
2 Place card on drivers machine and request fare for travel partner
3 Driver issues a ticket from your leap purse

Given that many drivers have no idea how to validate a prepaid ticket, this is probably easier.

xper

AngryLips wrote: »

Surely these two comments reflect the same situation: colleges insisted on keeping their own ID cards instead of adopting leap.

Well it would have to be the case of the Leap system being deployed on the college's ID card since it's going to have other uses specific the various institutions, e.g., library loans. But Mifare cards allow multiple applications on the same chip so this shouldn't be an insurmountable problem. The failure to agree was more likely to be down to managerial or administrative apathy on one or both sides, I'd guess.

Collie D

Thanks for responses. Ended up getting taxi because of the weather

markpb

xper wrote: »

But Mifare cards allow multiple applications on the same chip so this shouldn't be an insurmountable problem. The failure to agree was more likely to be down to managerial or administrative apathy on one or both sides, I'd guess.

There's a reason why multi-app smart cards never took off. Who owns the master key, the college or the NTA? If it's the college and the NTA ever decide to roll out a change which needs master key acces, it will fail for those college cards. Likewise, if it's the NTA and the college want to do a similar change, it will fail.

Although I think your reason is probably the main one.

Wichita Lineman

I have used the Annual Rail Ticket for several years now. Last years was a 'rail smart card' with Mullingar-Pearse printed on it. As it expires on Friday I enquired in work about my new one and I've been given a Leap card with my picture name and number but nothing as to where it's valid to and from.

Firstly, have I been given the right type of card for my daily commute and secondly can I top it up to use on bus and dart as well?

Van.Bosch

Wichita Lineman wrote: »

I have used the Annual Rail Ticket for several years now. Last years was a 'rail smart card' with Mullingar-Pearse printed on it. As it expires on Friday I enquired in work about my new one and I've been given a Leap card with my picture name and number but nothing as to where it's valid to and from.

Firstly, have I been given the right type of card for my daily commute and secondly can I top it up to use on bus and dart as well?

Your leap card is not a ticket per se, it is a card which houses the ticket. Your annual travel pass for irish rail will be loaded onto it when you validate at the train station, it usually is available a few days before the period starts. If its an August ticket i reckon it would be thre now. There is a document on the taxsaver website i believe outlining how leap works. Next year, your next annual ticket will load onto the same card in the same way.

As it is not a ticket it also allows you load travel credit, using it as an epurse when needed on bus/luas/swords express etc.

Lemlin

Hi folks

Starting a new commute in November and I'll be travelling from M3 Parkway to Pearse. It's been recommended I get a Leap on a separate thread as it'll cost me €4 a week less than a weekly ticket.

Just wondering, are there any specific tips I need to know? I came in to check this thread but don't want to go searching through all the posts. There's over 2,500.

For example, when I go to Leapcard.ie to buy a card, I see I can get an adult card or an adult personalised. What's the difference, if any?

LXFlyer

If you want to get a monthly/annual ticket, you need a personalised card.

For full information on LEAP functionality, have a look here:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057381954