Ticket gates issues
 

It's come up in a couple of posts that people have been having problems with the new-style ticket gates as installed from Clontarf Road to Lansdowne Road, as well as at (among other stations) Blackrock. This thread is for posting of any issues that people have had, in the hope that we can identify a pattern.

When posting, please include as much as possible of the following details. The more you include, the easier it is to figure out the root cause of the problem.

• Ticket type
• Stations (to/from) on the ticket
• What station you had the gate problem at
• Were you entering or leaving the station?
• Had you validated the ticket already (for that journey or otherwise)?
• What error message did the turnstile display?

Note that the errors "Wrong side up/Bun os cionn" and "Ticket failed/Theip ar an ticéad" just mean that the gate could not read the magnetic stripe on your ticket, so shouldn't be reported.

I'll kick off:

Faircard return ticket, Sandymount to Cork, rejected at Pearse station trying to leave on the outbound journey, ticket was validated at Sandymount on entry, turnstile said "Destination exceeded/Imithe thar ceann scrÃ*be".

Note that on a subsequent journey when I had not validated the ticket entering the system at Sandymount, the gates opened with the message "Journey Taken, Take Ticket/Turas Togtha".

And another one:

Faircard return, Heuston to Cork, accepted for travel entering the system at Connolly, not previously validated (although the ticket had been used for a return journey).

(And yes, I had a valid weekly ticket for the journey I was making. RUI doesn't encourage fare evasion.)

They haven't been installed at clonsilla.

All reservation tickets will result in a 'Wrong Side Up' this is due to the fact the reserved tickets are not magnetically encoded

Its in the pipeline to be fixed in coming months

Curiously after it happening several times it didn't happen to me today

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showpo...52&postcount=6

The curious cycle of post problem here and problem is mysteriously fixed a few days later...

A bumper Christmas selection today:

The previously-mentioned Heuston-Cork ticket worked in the turnstile at Sandymount (expected "No valid route").

A return from Pearse to Sandymount, validated at Pearse was refused at Connolly exit gate on the return journey as "Exit too late" (expected "Destination exceeded").

A Faircard single from Sandymount to Cork, not validated getting on at Sandymount was refused with "Journey taken, destination exceeded" (expected to be accepted).

Was it validated at Sandymount on the return leg? Thats the bug I see too often

No, I used a different ticket.

Discovered a classic one which will catch people at a Connolly side station

Go to TVM tap D, you get Dublin City Centre great tap that and skip the Luas valid bit, same price as a single to Pearse or Connolly

But it won't work in the gates in Pearse, 'no valid route'

Single from Sandymount to Connolly, failed on exit at Pearse with "just validated". I did get straight onto the train at Sandymount and off quite smartly at Pearse, but surely it makes no sense for exit gates to reject tickets like this when there are no journeys left.

There is a timeout on the tickets, same ticket needs at least 10 minutes between uses in gates, yes I know its crazy but it was never a problem before

My exit too late problem has returned

It didn't help that the clock was wrong on the entrance gate at Sandymount; I put the ticket through at 0821 and it printed 0825 on it.

The timeout is definitely necessary to prevent people just putting the same season ticket through several times in a row, but this issue is a bug, and it would seem obvious that "Just validated" shouldn't trigger if the ticket was last validated at a different station.

Using my (bus) smartcard the other day, I got on the bus, only to realise that a better routed bus was almost immediately behind, so I got off. The second bus already knew that I had tagged on to the first bus and gave a warning beep. :) The driver just waved me on without explanation, although he may have seen me get off the other bus.

The bus timeout is allegedly 2 minutes, according to the Dublin Bus leaflet.

The train timeout is unclear; I managed to go in at 08:20 and out at 08:28 this morning without any hassle.

I had a 16-25 Railcard return from Sandymount to Cork, which was validated outbound at Heuston and on exit there, but was rejected at
Connolly on the way back it gave the error "Invalid station", whatever that's supposed to mean.

The time-out on tickets needs some work. I know the idea is to stop people using the same ticket (generally a season ticket) to put multiple people through the same gates. However, a ticket validated at Lansdowne Road at 0823 should let you out of Pearse at 0829. At the moment, it doesn't; the gate says "Just validated".

Obviously the time that the ticket was last validated is encoded onto the stripe; I wonder is this the same for the station and direction (in/out)? Even if not, common sense suggests that if the ticket has no journeys left (single or inbound half of a return) there is no possible way of it being reused.

I have been having major issues with my bus and rail smartcard-type-pass at the turnstiles over the last 2 weeks, all of a sudden on tuesday it started working again and have had no problems since! :confused:

One big gotcha I've noticed

If the ticket reader jams the gate does not change from green to red, it just displays a message on the small screen

You end up standing there looking like a fool trying to insert your ticket to no avail

It's a moronic system - it doesn't differentiate between in and out. Went down to Blackrock station on Tuesday, reached the platform to find indefinite delays due to the train failure at Dun Laoghaire. Went straight back out but couldn't exit. Had to shout at the ticket desk and eventually got his attention after he'd finished serving someone and he let me out. I was about to climb over it.

they need to work on balancing the number of gates in\out as well. This morning, disembarking at Pearse (nrthbound) and exiting through the stairs gates there were 2 gates out and 2 gates in - some woman got stuck trying to put a ticket through leaving everyone else queuing for 1 gate.

Surely there's no need to have any more than 1 gate onto the platform, people arriving to get a train arrive in dribs and drabs, whereas trains arriving discharge large numbers of passengers in one go...

That's true; my opinion is that all but two gates should be bidirectional, with one in-only and one out-only.

For the very first time my ticket from Sandymount to Cork worked at every possible opportunity: in at Sandymount, out at Connolly, in at Heuston, then out at Heuston and in at Connolly on the way back. Gets 9½ out of 10; the half deducted is because the ticket jammed in the gate at Heuston on the way back.

There seems to be a major problem at the moment whereas people are having the tickets validated successfully without any problems but the gates are not opening !

Talking to staff at one of the stations they are saying this problem is a common occurance at the moment. This problem is happening to myself quiet often at connolly , tara street , pearse and blackrock

This seems to have improved lately. The clocks are fast on the ticket gates at Sandymount, so when I validated a ticket at 0820 this morning (clock said 0825) and got on a train immediately, the ticket worked to let me out at Pearse at around 0827.

The new ticket gates at Greystones are causing a bit of hassle. Today I saw two people insert their ticket at the same time at two different validators both tickets got stuck and didn't come out thus the gate didn't open.A bit of queue formed as two gates were stuck and another was out of service leaving just one gate working. I have heard a good few reports of tickets not coming out and seen quite a few tickets failing, including my monthly ticket which completely failed and would not work in any gates in any station! These gates have been in situ since October surely by now they should have fixed all the bugs.

they're also causing hassle in the evening due to the layout of the station and the infrequency (and consequent heavy loadings) of arriving trains. They've only had them activated a few times, but each time its caused a major backup of people on the platforms (something that happens to a lesser extent anyway).

to sum up - the new ticket gates are sh!t.

I wonder is there any chance of us getting a software modification to have a clearer indication of when a gate is accepting smartcards only or accepting paper tickets only? Perhaps the arrow could change to red or yellow.

Yellow arrow has been requested for smartcard only

Ticket Corrupt
 

My trusty old monthly ticket failed 4 days ago and now is not being accepted by any gate in any station, it just does the little in and out dance before showing 'ticket failed'. Fair enough but I have had 3 other monthly tickets go the same way. All work perfectly for a week or so then I put it into the ticket gate at Greystones then they all fail. Now I have to push my way through on somebody elses ticket to exit at Greystones. My question is am I entitled to a replacement ticket? The ticket in question is a student season monthly rail only.

You can ask for a replacement though it is unlikely to be replaced

Smartcards are coming for monthly tickets and this problem goes away, they will even be able to cancel a lost ticket and replace it for a small charge

I figured that they probably won't replace it. I heard smartcards are being released to the public next month. Is this true?

Sorry if this is a totally stupid question, but why wouldn't IE replace it? If the card is defective or no longer works, surely it's the passengers right to have it replaced?

Legally, buying a ticlet is a purchase of services, not goods. The right to repair/refund/replacement doesn't come into it. What you've bought is the right to travel on such and such a train or series of trains, and as long as they give you that right (by opening the gates manually for you) you don't really have a comeback. The ticket is not what you have bought; it is evidence of what you've bought, if that makes sense.

Mark will correct me if I'm wrong on this one, but I think the only season tickets going onto smartcards at the moment are taxsaver tickets, so students will have to struggle on with the magnetic stripes for now.

I understand completely that I have purchased a ticket for the right to travel on a train and if they honour that right then I have no reason to complain. The reason for my complaint is the hassle of not being able to use my ticket to open the gate. The person in the ticket office in Greystones controls the gate so far I have had no problems but there have been a few instances where the ticket office is empty therefore there is nobody to open the gate so I have rely on another passenger to allow me through.

Would it not be the case that legally, IE are in a questionable position where they are detaining somebody against their will where that person is in possession of a valid ticket.

There is something going on with the readers in Connolly. I have never in six years' commuting had a ticket fail. I changed station to Connolly just before Christmas and the ticket lasted 3 weeks. I got a replacement about a month ago and that has given up already.

So you have queue up to get out the one gate which is half blocked by an IE staff member who is usually not even looking at tickets but is instead chatting with his mate.

They're not detaining anyone as long as they provide a way for them to get out, whether that's a manual gate, an intercom, or whatever.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a ludicrous situation; it just doesn't seem to be illegal.

I'm on my 4th ticket this year. First they tried to say I had it near a magnet! I told that it was kept in my chest pocket with my work id. Then it failed again so they told me my work id must be causing it. Since then it has failed twice more. No other magnetic material near it. There is one common thing though, everytime it failed it was after passing through Connolly gates!!

yesterday and this morning they stopped everyone and made them put the ticket in the machine before they let anyone through. The queue was getting larger and people were getting more irate, myself included at this. We knew our tickets didn't work in the machines but they refused to let anyone who had an annual ticket through without seeing it for themselves.

What make me even more annoyed is that I got a new ticket on monday :o I walked from the taxsaver office and placed it in the machine in connolly and it failed first time... it was no near any magnetic material between the office and the ticket validator...it has not worked since... ticket no 5!

Did someone get bribed to put this system into place? or is it the new strategy to annoy commuters further... has this system works successfully in any other country?

Same experience here
 

I commuted through Grand Canal Dock and Pearse for the last five years and never had a ticket fail. We moved office just before Christmas and now have to go through Connolly.

My first ticket failed after two weeks in Connolly and I got a replacement through the very nice and helpful people in the office on Sheriff street. That lasted one week.

I didn't bother getting it replaced until yesterday when they were hassling everyone. I think the best policy is to get it replaced every time I get hassled. We'll see how long this one lasts.

I keep mine in a seperate wallet which also contains an Oyster card for London transport and a Dublin Bikes card but I always take the RF cards out when I use them, so I don't think that could be the culprit.

If this one dies, I'll try the replacement in a completely seperate wallet and see how I get on.