Seek a refund from ACTION for overcharging

An example where I have asked ACTION whether this would happen every time. Get on the 200 Rapid at Civic, if it is still marked as on the part of the service up to arrival in Civic, it is the 200S, then changes to the 200N. You get charged the ‘synthetic tap off’ and default fare.

So if you got on the bus a stop or two before Civic (200S), and then got off at Gungahlin (say) (200N), would you be charged the default fare every time?

I’ve submitted an online form this morning to claim refund for an overcharge. The myway machine on my bus to work on Friday was working at Calwell but not at Woden. So I’ve been charged the default fare.

I’ll fill you all in on the outcome and how long it takes to resolve.

I doubt that ACTION will want to fix the system either as it probably costs tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars and at the moment there is windfall revenue from those passengers who don’t realise they are being overcharged or can’t be bothered spending the time fixing it.

The windfall would be so small it isn’t funny. What is being described would be very rare indeed.

JC said :

aleayr said :

JC said :

PS how do you know from route planner that it is the same bus?

Google Maps/Transit tells you. Action provides the bus ID as part of the route information it makes available to Google.

Here’s a link to the route BlackLine was talking about (You’ll see the text, ‘Continue on the same vehicle’):
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Lewis+Luxton+Ave,+Gordon+ACT+2906/1+National+Circuit,+Barton+ACT+2600/@-35.3425297,149.115676,10z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m18!4m17!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b17cadeb457931f:0x6c66744c4adb6ebd!2m2!1d149.0886651!2d-35.4500405!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b164d1e85608345:0xd539042bbe3278a3!2m2!1d149.132176!2d-35.305853!2m3!6e5!7e2!8j1413444900!3e3

So it does, never seen that before. But of course the passengers should be getting off, or at the very least tagging to transfer bus. It only needs to be done once.

I think the issue is more that people are getting off the bus and tagging off, but the driver has already changed the route details so it appears as though they are tagging onto a different bus without tagging off.

So what needs to happen is for the driver to confirm everyone is off the bus before changing route details.

Leon said :

Canfan said :

ACTION can confirm that this extra charging has not been occurring as a matter of course and it is not a system error. It can only occur if a passenger tags on to a bus service before the driver has changed the route on the MyWay system to the next trip on their shift. In these cases ACTION will refund the passengers’ money and remind the driver of the correct process.”

Will this $1.66 refund happen automatically, or will bus passengers have to spend more than $1.66 of their time to identify the overcharging, report it and arrange for the refund?

From history, no it doesn’t happen automatically.. when I tried the first time they wanted me to fill out a form to get a refund even though they could see from my transaction history that I’d been charged incorrectly.

Needless to say, I didn’t bother, which is probably what they’re hoping for. However, the process could have changed now.

Canfan said :

ACTION can confirm that this extra charging has not been occurring as a matter of course and it is not a system error. It can only occur if a passenger tags on to a bus service before the driver has changed the route on the MyWay system to the next trip on their shift. In these cases ACTION will refund the passengers’ money and remind the driver of the correct process.”

Will this $1.66 refund happen automatically, or will bus passengers have to spend more than $1.66 of their time to identify the overcharging, report it and arrange for the refund?

aleayr said :

JC said :

PS how do you know from route planner that it is the same bus?

Google Maps/Transit tells you. Action provides the bus ID as part of the route information it makes available to Google.

Here’s a link to the route BlackLine was talking about (You’ll see the text, ‘Continue on the same vehicle’):
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Lewis+Luxton+Ave,+Gordon+ACT+2906/1+National+Circuit,+Barton+ACT+2600/@-35.3425297,149.115676,10z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m18!4m17!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b17cadeb457931f:0x6c66744c4adb6ebd!2m2!1d149.0886651!2d-35.4500405!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b164d1e85608345:0xd539042bbe3278a3!2m2!1d149.132176!2d-35.305853!2m3!6e5!7e2!8j1413444900!3e3

So it does, never seen that before. But of course the passengers should be getting off, or at the very least tagging to transfer bus. It only needs to be done once.

JC said :

PS how do you know from route planner that it is the same bus?

Google Maps/Transit tells you. Action provides the bus ID as part of the route information it makes available to Google.

Here’s a link to the route BlackLine was talking about (You’ll see the text, ‘Continue on the same vehicle’):
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Lewis+Luxton+Ave,+Gordon+ACT+2906/1+National+Circuit,+Barton+ACT+2600/@-35.3425297,149.115676,10z/am=t/data=!3m1!4b1!4m18!4m17!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b17cadeb457931f:0x6c66744c4adb6ebd!2m2!1d149.0886651!2d-35.4500405!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b164d1e85608345:0xd539042bbe3278a3!2m2!1d149.132176!2d-35.305853!2m3!6e5!7e2!8j1413444900!3e3

BlackLine said :

JC was asking for an example of where a bus changes route number mid route or where you can stay on when it reaches a terminus.

Here’s one: using ACTION’s Transit Trip Planner on its website
for a trip from Lewis Luxton Ave, Gordon to 1 National Circuit Barton arriving by 7:35 am on a weekday, Google maps shows that you can catch:

Bus 18 towards South
11 min (20 stops)

Continue on the same vehicle – it changes route number from 18 to 775 at Lanyon terminus

Bus 775 towards North.
22 min (9 stops)

Not a good example, it is not changing mid route. You even said where it changes route which is at a terminus. All passengers should get off the bus at the terminus, even if that bus is then continuing on elsewhere as a different route. Besides I wouldn’t think it to be a very common occurrence.

PS how do you know from route planner that it is the same bus?

JC was asking for an example of where a bus changes route number mid route or where you can stay on when it reaches a terminus.

Here’s one: using ACTION’s Transit Trip Planner on its website
for a trip from Lewis Luxton Ave, Gordon to 1 National Circuit Barton arriving by 7:35 am on a weekday, Google maps shows that you can catch:

Bus 18 towards South
11 min (20 stops)

Continue on the same vehicle – it changes route number from 18 to 775 at Lanyon terminus

Bus 775 towards North.
22 min (9 stops)

I am not sure how you can label it as disturbing that I saw the same error occur for other users as they were tagging off.

The bus that I was on was terminating at Civic Interchange prior to presumably starting off on a new route number. Prior to my tagging off, I suppose that the route number changed such that it took me as transferring onto a different bus to the one I started on. Whether that was due to the bus driver hitting a button to confirm they were going on to the next route or not I do not know.

The error is pretty obvious once you know what to look for – the yellow light will flash to show a default fare being applied.
http://www.transport.act.gov.au/catch_a_bus/myway/how_does_myway_work

The occasions on which it has happened to me are ones when I have tagged on correctly at my residential bus-stop, and then been ‘transferred’ to a new bus route at the civic interchange, or when I have tagged on at the city interchange to one route number, and tagged off onto a different route number when I have gotten off the bus near my house.

ACTION should be ensuring that their drivers check that everyone is tagged OFF the bus before allowing it to move on to the next route number, or vice-versa, that they are on the route number they will be travelling BEFORE people tag on.