Now ready to go
Everybody in Adelaide await Metrocard introduction with visible impatience: it is coming now!
The 6000 champions who have tested Metrocard during the past few months have done it with panache and cannot stop praising it: general operation can now start smoothly. Metrocard definition supported by one of the best ticketing system (Atlas) on the market seems to be answering perfectly the needs of Adelaide’s public transport users and operators. The number of positive and constructive comments received during the trial period are already a token of recognition.
It is definitely a new page for ticketing in Adelaide. The previous system, known as Crouzet, leaves place to ATLAS after 25 years of good service.
For ticketing, Adelaide is familiar writing new chapters
The 27th of October 1997, Adelaide was going live with the first ever large scale on board ticketing system based on magnetic tickets. This was providing Adelaide citizens with a true multimodal system for all. This can be considered Adelaide’s signature: many other cities around the world do not care this much for their casual users who generally end up with no transfer trips. This very spirit has been kept with the new Metrocard system which combines magnetics and cards allowing anyone to freely transfer between all transport modes for a two hours period following the first boarding. Peak/interpeak fares apply automatically when starting the journey thus providing additional comfort to users. Casual users can still buy a ticket from the bus driver or on automatic machines on board trains and trams. They can still enjoy automatic transfers, thanks to magnetic tickets which have been improved now being insensitive to domestic magnets.
Many innovative features for Metrocard
Vending machines in Adelaide railway station
You can now buy a ticket or recharge a card the way you like: at info centres or metrocard agents, you can still by a ticket on board buses, trains and trams, you will be able to recharge your card on web very shortly, you can call the info line and obtain a remote recharge available the next day on all validating equipments, and finally you can subscribe to an auto recharge and never run out of travel. Auto recharge will load your card with a set value you chose each time your card balance becomes too low. Payment of auto recharge is done afterward via your credit card account you used to set it up.
Your Metrocard may be anonymous or registered. If you register it, it becomes protected and you can recover the content if lost or destroyed: the “copy” of your original card is just transferred to your new card.
Modern Info centre at Adelaide railway station
By combining library of routes and trips to GPS signal embedded into driver console, the metrocard system is able to pinpoint vehicle position at all times guaranteeing that ticketing parameters are always correct and providing valuable information to security. Because route and trip information comes from Google transit, updates are fully automatic providing a very interactive tool for operation managers.
High traffic point where train, tram and buses meet
Passenger information will soon benefit from this data feed for more accurate and flexible information about public transport services in real time.
Quality and quantity of information collected by the metrocard system is second to none. It opens new horizons monitoring public transport and fuelling research for on going service improvements.
Latest news from ADELAIDE
As I am closing this article, Sunday 4th of November 2012 was the official launch of Metrocard and everything went according to plan. From now on, Adelaide citizens may buy a Metrocard instead of buying a Multitrip, all other types of tickets are still perfectly valid, the system being able to process all technologies, there is no rush, no brutal switch, just a nice way choosing how you want to ride AdelaideMetro.
Adelaide Metrocard launch by Minister Chloe FOX
