Leap card for Cork city

JohnMearsheimer

I'm still happy enough with the card. It's still better value for me than buying a monthly pass. It would be great if I could tag the card myself without having to hand it to the driver. The free rides have come to an end on the 206, the drivers have figured out how to charge the card.

pwurple

Just bumping this to say they are still having problems on the cork buses with leap card. Used mine for the first time yesterday. I was on the 202. Had to queue up with the other cash payers to swipe where the driver is. Driver takes out his glasses and presses a few buttons to get it going. Then informs me he can't take a child fare on it, cash only for them.

It's WAY slower and more inconvenient than before. Doesn't make any sense for me anyway, as I only use the bus when I have children with me.

professore

Why the hell do they only have adult fares? Our 16 year old drives us mad looking for bus money for getting to school, half the time I think we both end up giving her bus money for the same trip, this would cut out all that messing.

Actually, just realised she just turned 16 so she should be using an adult card anyway. Off to the Centra.

namloc1980

Used the card around town for the first time and there are clearly issues to be worked out. I've used it on 4 journeys to date. On one of them the bus didn't have the new machine to read leap cards installed so I got a free spin! Woohoo!! And the other 3 times there was a problem with the driver taking 20 or 30 seconds to figure out how to deduct the fare. It was clearly a case of them being unfamiliar with and/or not being fully trained in using the cards.

pwurple

They shouldn't have to interact with it at all though, it has been badly installed if they have to push some buttons every time someone uses a leap card. It's missing the point totally.

namloc1980

pwurple wrote: »

They shouldn't have to interact with it at all though, it has been badly installed if they have to push some buttons every time someone uses a leap card. It's missing the point totally.

It would be great if that was the case. But for that to work you would need a flat fare for all journeys. Unfortunately routes like the 216 and 215 and suburban routes have a different fare structure to city bus routes.

shawki

I've gotten 15 free trips so far! Some Drivers are handy at it and can do it in 5 seconds others have given up trying and just let you on.

Bacchus

I was going to get it but I've heard all the stories. It doesn't seem to work most the time.... though the free trips sound nice

How have they managed to screw this system up so badly! It's quite unbelievable in this day and age. First of all, the scanner should be much more accessible, but still visible (and audible) to the bus driver so he can see/hear if people are tapping in. Second, it should be a tap on, tap off deal. If you don't tap off, you get charged the maximum fare. How simple would that be! None of this driver interaction nonsense which such a system should have cut out.

Also, given the system that they do have in place, heads should roll. They're a few months in to using it and still there seems to be a basic knowledge gap with the drivers on how to use it. OR (even worse) the system has basic flaws/bugs that should never have made it on to the bus in the first place.

Pablo Escobar

namloc1980 wrote: »

It would be great if that was the case. But for that to work you would need a flat fare for all journeys. Unfortunately routes like the 216 and 215 and suburban routes have a different fare structure to city bus routes.

It's not an insurmountable problem though. If people use the buses with the standard fare, the card should be capped at the daily rate,l. Then if they decided to use the 215 make them interact with the driver and scan the card to deduct whatever fare they require. It's simple really.

Eod100

Bacchus wrote: »

I was going to get it but I've heard all the stories. It doesn't seem to work most the time.... though the free trips sound nice

How have they managed to screw this system up so badly! It's quite unbelievable in this day and age. First of all, the scanner should be much more accessible, but still visible (and audible) to the bus driver so he can see/hear if people are tapping in. Second, it should be a tap on, tap off deal. If you don't tap off, you get charged the maximum fare. How simple would that be! None of this driver interaction nonsense which such a system should have cut out.

Also, given the system that they do have in place, heads should roll. They're a few months in to using it and still there seems to be a basic knowledge gap with the drivers on how to use it. OR (even worse) the system has basic flaws/bugs that should never have made it on to the bus in the first place.

Have had mine about a month or 2 and haven't had any problems. Have had the odd free fair but wouldn't really consider that a problem! :P

At the start it was a bit slow because drivers were getting used to it but now most of them seemed up to speed so there's never much of a delaying tapping on.

I think what's probably happened is that Bus Eireann are using the same system as Dublin bus ie driver has to push a button or 2. Might make sense in Dublin where you've different stages but fairly sure most (if not all) Cork routes have the same fair regardless of distance.

Definitely think the advantages outweigh the negatives tho.

namloc1980

Eod100 wrote: »

I think what's probably happened is that Bus Eireann are using the same system as Dublin bus ie driver has to push a button or 2. Might make sense in Dublin where you've different stages but fairly sure most (if not all) Cork routes have the same fair regardless of distance.

Most city routes have same fare but not all. 215 & 216 have 2 stage fares. Also leap is available on suburban routes 221, 222, 223, 226, 226A, 232, 260 and 261. Each of those routes have their own separate fare structures. As you say they are using the same machines as DB, no way they'd install different machines in Cork.

pwurple

namloc1980 wrote: »

It would be great if that was the case. But for that to work you would need a flat fare for all journeys. Unfortunately routes like the 216 and 215 and suburban routes have a different fare structure to city bus routes.

So do it right for the rest of them? My trip was on the 202.

TheChizler

namloc1980 wrote: »

Most city routes have same fare but not all. 215 & 216 have 2 stage fares.

Wha? I've always chucked my standard fare at the driver and had it printed on the ticket, is the Mount Ovel side different?

namloc1980

TheChizler wrote: »

Wha? I've always chucked my standard fare at the driver and had it printed on the ticket, is the Mount Ovel side different?

€2.20 is the cash fare on that part of the route.

abnr

I was checking the Leap card, but from where I stand it doesn't seem better value (excluding the free rides ) then the monthly pass.

If I travel every week day to the Airport Business Park I need to buy the suburban pass (92 Eur), it seems you can get a daily pass of 8 Eur, or weekly(7 days) for 35Eur (on the bus eirann site for leap card, which I can't link), this is for Red and Green Zone.
I should also mention I take 2 buses the 215 to town and the 226 to the Airport, so 4 rides per day.

So for a person that uses the bus everyday the leap card seems a lesser option, right? Or I'm I missing something?

mydiscworld

I get the 202 twice each work day. So far I've only seen the same 2 people using the Leap Card.

I'm thankful too, as it is way slower than cash. Takes drivers a while to adjust their machine to use it.

Thought the idea was to reduce dwell times?!

TheChizler

Been hearing ads on the radio and RedFM hosting a launch party for the Leap card in Cork in the coming weeks. I thought it was officially launched here months ago? Did they just realise that noone, including the drivers, knew what it was and are just rebooting abd trying again?

Hope they fix the on-board payment system. Any time I've seen it used the driver has to put on his glasses, peer at the display, and slowly select over 10 options on the machine before you get a ticket.

pwurple

I've kept using mine. The drivers are better at it now.