Further to my item yesterday on Morning Report running a snow job about Go Wellington’s new Snapper card system “working perfectly,” I’ve just got off a bus that broke down and the driver blamed it on the Snapper equipment overloading the bus circuits.
We took the bus to town for a film festival movie (One Hundred Nails, glorious) and on the bus home afterwards, already running very late (because of Snapper problems, the driver said) the bus suddenly slowed to no more than 5 kmh and the driver had to pull over.
It had overheated, he said, because the Snapper equipment was overloading it.
We got off and walked the rest of the way, as did most of the other passengers on this fairly crowded bus. We felt sorry for the driver and it was good to see that nobody seemed annoyed with him for the truncated trip.
The bus we caught going in had the Snapper equipment turned off, which seems to be the case in about half the buses I’ve observed.
Given the Morning Report reporter’s insistence that she had been told Snapper was working perfectly, I’ll be emailing the bus company to ask what is really going on.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Snapper card is a great idea that will provide many benefits, but as I have said before, I think its introduction has been disorganised and all the bugs should have been fixed before it was extended past Route 17 to the rest of the Go Wellington routes.
6 Comments
July 19, 2008 at 6:00 pm
I caught a #2 bus today that had a cover over the Snapper machine.
It’s a pity the introduction has been so troubled – I’m really looking forward to the eventual proper start of Snapper.
July 20, 2008 at 9:20 am
Any post / comment on the news buried in Saturday’s Dom that Go Wellington is to (finally?) roll out customer service training to drivers?
July 20, 2008 at 11:22 am
Any post / comment on the news buried in Saturday’s Dom that Go Wellington is to (finally?) roll out customer service training to drivers?
Yes, I wrote about it, extensively, back in January, after interviewing the management:
http://poneke.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/nzbus/
Nice to see the ComPost catch up
July 21, 2008 at 12:48 pm
It must be one heck of a super computer if it can cause the electrics to “overload”!
I didn’t read the January article till just now. Thanks for the link, Poneke.
I have to say, on the issue of driver training, I haven’t seen any improvement among the majority of drivers, in terms of how they relate to their customers. If what Ian Turner says is happening, it can only be a good thing.
I fear the reality is that most drivers need a monumental shift in their attitude and need to buy into the concept that they are responsible for customer relations and it is up to them to build the public goodwill on behalf of the company they work for. In addition, they are also public relation officers for Wellington City.
I am also disappointed to read comment that is along the lines of Stagecoach = bad, GOWellington = Good.
I have been using buses long enough to remember when Stagecoach bought the bus service off WCT back when. The three things that stand out about that transition were:
1) The drivers (by a large majority – there were some stubborn ones) PR skill dramatically improved.
2) The buses ran to timetable, even on intermediary stops, not just section boundaries – +/- 2-3 mins.
3) The fleet diesel was upgraded to modern low floor buses, that are now starting to look passed their use-by.
Stagecoach struck me as a company that knew how to run a bus service. They also got me to a point where I was no longer ashamed of the Wellington bus service, and would recommend it as a reliable way to get around.
I remember one driver, in particular, by the name of Casey. I often thought to myself that this driver should have been held up as an example for all drivers to model themselves on. Not everybodies cup of tea, I’ll grant you that, but any driver that can help you remeber your bus journey by getting the whole bus to scream out “Happy birthday!” to the driver in the next bus, or have the whole bus sing Christmas carols at Christmas time, is in my book a treasure.
How sad it was that Casey had a very serious and almost tragic accident one morning on his way into work. I had heard it was his aim to get back in the driver’s seat, but not sure if that happened.
Something happened though, towards the end of Stagecoach’s tenure because I noticed a decline.
Then came NZ Bus. I can still remember the debacle that ensued with that transition. Many good drivers were lost through that, and I don’t know if they have recovered from that – even to this day. Let’s hope they do.
Which brings me back to where I started. I hope that Ian Turner and his colleagues are able to out work the plans he has out lined and that they bring in some talented people to work in to their training devision to step up the calibre of staff to a new level. Both the incumbent and new staff. I think it starts with an environment that people enjoy working in. Happiness is contagious.
Lastly, re-program those ridiculous new terminals, so the driver has only one button to press like the old ones. Also, touch screens are great for some things, but this ain’t one of them. There is nothing like the tactile response from a mechanical keypad. Bring ‘em back!
July 21, 2008 at 6:37 pm
On the number 20 tonight, I saw exactly one person use a Snapper. And when she tried to swipe off, it took about 10 seconds to register. If these cards become common, what’s going to happen on a crowded bus as lots of people try to get out at once? I predict big delays as people clog up the rear exit.
July 29, 2008 at 11:40 am
Hi there
This morning I wanted to use my spanking new Snapper card. Only problem was, that the snapper reader was off.
I ended up paying with cash!!!!
I also ended up buying ANOTHER blue ticket (for just in case I don’t have cash!!)
So, what is the situation if you have money on your Sanpper card and NO bus ticket and no cash?
Does one always have to have cash on you now?
Perhaps the blue tickets cannot be phased out.
S