5 ms·
You outlined the problem: > The system expects me to remember to tap, because they (the engineers) needed a way to check where and when I get off the train. Th
by pclark 14y ago
You outlined the problem:
> The system expects me to remember to tap, because they (the engineers) needed a way to check where and when I get off the train. That’s fantastic, but this step doesn’t fit in my normal behavior, it doesn’t fit in my historical or expected train usage patterns. It baffles me as to why I should be tagging off; there is no logic to it, and from the user point of view, there is no need.
What is the solution? You cannot have barriers so that you tap in and out of stations, since lots of people buy tickets on the train. (I always wrongfully assumed that the clipper card worked like so: you tap in at the boarding station, and then hopefully you remember to tap out at the arrival station: if you forget you are charged a full fare unless you tap in again for your potential return journey, in which case it is simple business logic to connect dots.)
You've labelled this "an engineering problem" but you appear to have forgotten that engineers have constraints.
- pierlux 14y agoYou cannot buy tickets on the train, that's another issue with Caltrain. See that hourly train coming? Don't even think about catching it if you don't already have a ticket. You'll have missed it by the time you get your ticket.
- ericd 14y agoThere's not many worse things day to day than to run up to the Caltrain as its approaching only to see someone fumbling with the ticket machine, knowing you're about to lose a whole hour sitting there.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jaredsohn 14y agoThey likely don't allow buying tickets on the train because otherwise people could ride for free if nobody checks. Having a Clipper card in the situation you described is great since you can scan your card quickly and at least make the train. (You still might get screwed over if you forget to scan out, but assuming your time has a decent monetary value, it is a risk worth taking.) Personally, this is the only situation in which I use Clipper for CalTrain. If I used CalTrain all of the time, I'd get the Clipper monthly pass. For one-offs where I have to wait awhile anyway, I'll stand in line at the ticket machine.)
- r00fus 14y agoTake a look at a fantastic metro system, the Hong Kong MTR - doesn't matter if you're paying by disposable ticket (ie, cash) or octopus card (ie, tap-to-pay - system existed more than a decade ago)... you need to check in, then check out (turnstyle). Because you can't leave the system without going through a checkpoint, there is no need to check tickets while in the train - THAT part sounds pretty inefficient to me.
- catch23 14y agoThis is why I still buy the paper tickets -- it's less of a risk than dealing with forgetting to scan when I get off. If I'm only going 2 zones, I'd get charged $5, but if I forget to scan off, I would get charged $12. If I pay by paper, I don't have to worry about the possible rogue charge since I'd already paid.
- kirillzubovsky 14y agoI know, right. I come from Mountain View, which makes my ticket about 6+ bucks, but if I forget to "tag off", I end up with the 12 dollar charge. One day I was in a rush so ended up paying double, twice. That really pissed me off. At the very least, if I took a train from Mountain View to SF, I should pay the one-way price, not the price of a full San Jose <> San Fran ticket.