This Week in the Mercury
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
News / Portland Trimet Makes Ticket Machine Changes
Posted by Matt Davis on Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 2:44 PM
Last month I posted a video featuring yours truly and Portland Transport activist, Bob Richardson. We went to 18 MAX ticket machines and found a bunch of them to have problems. Well, Richardson finally received a response to the video from Trimet, and it turns out, they're making a few changes:
1. Responsibility for ticket machines is being moved from the Finance division to Operations.
2. The strategy for deploying technicians will change, with an increased emphasis on repairing broken machines.
3.The number of qualified technicians able to work on ticket machines should double in the near term, with a long-term goal of tripling to 24 positions.
4.Work will be prioritized to maintain at least one working machine per platform, instead of the prior goal which was one per station, prioritized for locations where street crossings are required between platforms.
5.Fare equipment failures will signal alarms in the Operations Control center, similar to when there are problems with switches or substations.
6.Discussions are underway for alternative means of ticket sales at platforms when machines are down.
So there you have it. I now have a response to the question "what have you achieved in the last month?" that doesn't contain the words "avoided" and "nervous breakdown."
1
It is pretty cool that citizen concerns (w/ Matt's help) led to reform, but I don't think that the current rules go far enough to remedy the problem of people paying fines when they made a good faith effort to comply with the law. Notice there is no mention of a rule change granting immunity to passengers who can prove that they tried to buy a ticket but could not do so because the machine was broken.
2
One has to seriously question why it takes 24 people to maintain ~64 machines total. Shouldn't the design of these machines be looked at to be more resiliant to tampering/damage so that the labor costs and repair costs go down?
3
"3.SrIZgXIn-94wlXob+TM*mLQxO?qXv^53.CJPq8&n&9TxsQWuEHZC:YlqeLUD&S" -
There are more than 64 machines in the system (there are however, 64 characters in your strange userid). There's at least twice as many, by my estimate.
TriMet operates a 19+ hour service day for MAX, 7 days a week, on a system with over 44 route-miles. Even more when the Green Line opens this year. Thus, you need technicians available in more than one shift, and in more than one area.
A careful reading of TriMet's full comments shows that they pledge to qualify 24 technicians to be able to work on the machines, NOT dedicate 24 technicians solely to working on ticket machines. Those technicians will be performing numerous other duties as well.
That being said, there is still no pledge to provide additional machines, and TriMet may find the failure rate of the current aging machines to be too much to keep up with, regardless of the number of qualified on-duty technicians.
Redundant machines are needed on platforms where users must otherwise cross multiple streets when a machine is broken (see the video), and I suggest placing small, last-resort fare machines on-board MAX trains. That way, passengers at stations with broken machines may board the train, and attempt to purchase a fare on-board. If the on-board machine is also broken, passengers who are confronted by fare inspectors may simply point to the broken machine as proof.
There are more than 64 machines in the system (there are however, 64 characters in your strange userid). There's at least twice as many, by my estimate.
TriMet operates a 19+ hour service day for MAX, 7 days a week, on a system with over 44 route-miles. Even more when the Green Line opens this year. Thus, you need technicians available in more than one shift, and in more than one area.
A careful reading of TriMet's full comments shows that they pledge to qualify 24 technicians to be able to work on the machines, NOT dedicate 24 technicians solely to working on ticket machines. Those technicians will be performing numerous other duties as well.
That being said, there is still no pledge to provide additional machines, and TriMet may find the failure rate of the current aging machines to be too much to keep up with, regardless of the number of qualified on-duty technicians.
Redundant machines are needed on platforms where users must otherwise cross multiple streets when a machine is broken (see the video), and I suggest placing small, last-resort fare machines on-board MAX trains. That way, passengers at stations with broken machines may board the train, and attempt to purchase a fare on-board. If the on-board machine is also broken, passengers who are confronted by fare inspectors may simply point to the broken machine as proof.
4
"Discussions are underway for alternative means of ticket sales at platforms when machines are down."
I say they put one of these at every station: http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4798/76…
Each egg would contain a fresh ticket. Just validate and board! The special golden egg would contain a Trimet monthly pass.
But I guess this begs the question: why are 99% of food and beverage vending machines more reliable than Trimet's pooboxes? It's not like they're the only kiosks around that need to accept a multitude of different forms of currency. I can swipe a debit card at some vending machines and payphones these days, and they're rarely inoperable. I can usually buy stamps in the post office lobby without incident. Come on!
I say they put one of these at every station: http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/4798/76…
Each egg would contain a fresh ticket. Just validate and board! The special golden egg would contain a Trimet monthly pass.
But I guess this begs the question: why are 99% of food and beverage vending machines more reliable than Trimet's pooboxes? It's not like they're the only kiosks around that need to accept a multitude of different forms of currency. I can swipe a debit card at some vending machines and payphones these days, and they're rarely inoperable. I can usually buy stamps in the post office lobby without incident. Come on!
5
I guess my point is: there could be 1000 machines, but they shouldn't be breaking at the rate they are. I didn't need Matt's droll video to determine shit is broken. This is a process breakdown, not a staffing issue. The busses aren't running with failure rates anywhere near the pay stations. taxi companys happen to have their shit together. Most companies that collect fares, well, shit, they COLLECT FARES. How could this be a problem for so long with so little done? How will this possibly address the issue? A better solution would be to say: screw the ticket machines, people can only order online and print out tickets. That would be a far more reliable system than what we have now.
6
Well, most vending machines outdoors do have a higher failure rate than ones indoors. (Designing a bill acceptor that can deal with rain isn't a trivial task.) However, the big problem, (that nobody has mentioned so far,) is vandalism. If someone vandalizes a machine, it may be a while before it gets fixed, and in the meantime, everyone can ride for free. Vandalize a vending machine, and nothing happens, (you don't get a free candy bar), but vandalize a ticket machine and then you have an excuse to not pay the fare... If they fix the machines faster, the vandalize rate will slow down, but if they had more security people on the platforms, the problem would also slow down.
7
"A better solution would be to say: screw the ticket machines, people can only order online and print out tickets."
Actually I do think TriMet should do online ticket sales, and ticket sales via text message, however that merely expands the options. Eliminating ticket machines, as you suggest, prevents people without Internet access or cell phones or debit cards from being able to pay fares. The transit system is supposed to serve a wide variety of citizens, including those whose only means of payment is cash on a per-ride basis.
Actually I do think TriMet should do online ticket sales, and ticket sales via text message, however that merely expands the options. Eliminating ticket machines, as you suggest, prevents people without Internet access or cell phones or debit cards from being able to pay fares. The transit system is supposed to serve a wide variety of citizens, including those whose only means of payment is cash on a per-ride basis.
8
Good Job Matt and Bob,
But words are just that, lets see what happens.
Do a follow up story in a few months to see if any thing has really changed.
Did it ever occur to TRIMET management to have a BOOTH where a REAL LIVE PERSON sits that can sell tickets, provide information, and monitor security?
Oh yea, I almost forgot, that costs money which can be used by real live people to feed themselves and their families.
We can't allow that in Amerika, no, we need to make sure we have as few LIVABLE wage jobs for Amerikans as possible.
But words are just that, lets see what happens.
Do a follow up story in a few months to see if any thing has really changed.
Did it ever occur to TRIMET management to have a BOOTH where a REAL LIVE PERSON sits that can sell tickets, provide information, and monitor security?
Oh yea, I almost forgot, that costs money which can be used by real live people to feed themselves and their families.
We can't allow that in Amerika, no, we need to make sure we have as few LIVABLE wage jobs for Amerikans as possible.
9
I'd rather that Tri-Met decrease their fares along with the current gas prices since they increased it to reflect the cost. The situation doesn't seem to go the other way on prices, and they really haven't shown a real increase in services due to the increased intake of $$$ and ridership.
10
"I'd rather that Tri-Met decrease their fares along with the current gas prices since they increased it to reflect the cost."
Unfortunately for both riders and TriMet, the economic slump has caused payroll tax receipts to decline. A substantial majority of TriMet's operations funding comes from payroll taxes. So although the near-term picture on fuel prices doesn't look so bad anymore, and fares and ridership have increased, the overall revenue picture is grim.
Unless the federal stimulus includes dedications for transit operations (and it currently does not, at least not as of this morning), TriMet is going to have to make some difficult choices regarding operations.
Unfortunately for both riders and TriMet, the economic slump has caused payroll tax receipts to decline. A substantial majority of TriMet's operations funding comes from payroll taxes. So although the near-term picture on fuel prices doesn't look so bad anymore, and fares and ridership have increased, the overall revenue picture is grim.
Unless the federal stimulus includes dedications for transit operations (and it currently does not, at least not as of this morning), TriMet is going to have to make some difficult choices regarding operations.
11
Good job, Dude!
One of the first management books to hit the popular press, back in the ancient mid-20th century, said that every organization needed somebody whose job it was to wander around identifying BS, and pointing and shouting at it 'til it was fixed. In the current tyranny of niceness, anybody capable of doing that job has quit or been purged from public agencies. Excellent to see the press take up some of the slack.
One of the first management books to hit the popular press, back in the ancient mid-20th century, said that every organization needed somebody whose job it was to wander around identifying BS, and pointing and shouting at it 'til it was fixed. In the current tyranny of niceness, anybody capable of doing that job has quit or been purged from public agencies. Excellent to see the press take up some of the slack.
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