Comments on Akit's Complaint Department: What's Wrong with Translink? (San Francisco, Bay A...

Unfortunately, you should not use the Translink pr...

2008-11-13T22:06:47.153-08:00

Unfortunately, you should not use the Translink program unless if you are a volunteer trial participant for Caltrain or when the program is in full swing.

You don't want to put yourself at risk of getting a ticked-off conductor and cop giving you a ticket for fare evasion. If you are at least backed by Caltrain to test out the program, you at least have some legal protection/defense when confronted.

any word on when this is supposed to go live?? I j...

2008-11-13T16:24:50.259-08:00

any word on when this is supposed to go live?? I just got translink because i saw the meters at caltrain and now I can't use it. How can I get on the pilot program?

WARNING: Despite Caltrain's translink units showin...

2008-08-29T14:41:11.147-07:00

WARNING: Despite Caltrain's translink units showing "testing in progress" and giving "OK to ride" when you tag against them, I was thrown off a train this week for paying using Translink and forced to buy a second ticket; the translink purchase was in fact charged to my account, so it was a real catch-22.

Hey guys, thanks for all the updates. Any word on...

2008-08-11T22:29:40.266-07:00

Hey guys, thanks for all the updates. Any word on the latest development for the Muni and Caltrain? It's almost the end of the "summer" and all the Caltrain machines still say Out of Service. They were showing Testing in Progress a while back and I got all excited, but alas, now they're back to Out of Service.

Good work, Akit.That's interesting about SFSU and ...

2008-07-22T15:33:49.726-07:00

Good work, Akit.

That's interesting about SFSU and a "Class pass." When the progs were running around saying "give discount passes to 18-21 year olds" I counted by suggesting all the colleges buy muni passes in bulk, get a discount, and pass them on to the students.

When I attended UCSC my student ID was also a bus pass, which was really important, given how remote the school was and if you didn't have a car, you HAD to have a bus pass or a bike to get off campus!

Thanks for the update MTC person!

2008-07-22T01:40:11.827-07:00

Thanks for the update MTC person!

I work with MTC on TransLink and saw your Talk pos...

2008-07-21T13:33:47.150-07:00

I work with MTC on TransLink and saw your Talk post on Yelp. Muni and Caltrain should be ready relatively soon (I am not going to give out the (un)official revenue-ready date).

To answer yours and other question about using the card on Caltrain and Muni -

1) Muni is a flat-fare system and all buses, card readers on poles (at all the stations) and card readers on the faregates should deduct $1.50 when you tag on. You then have a live transfer on Muni valid for the next 90 minutes. Payment enforcement officers should carry a handheld card reader that will allow them to check if each card is valid for travel. Of course, since it is still in testing phase, I doubt officers walk around with the card readers now, and I have heard anecdotal stories that if you flash them the card, they just wave you through.

You can also purchase a Muni fast pass on the Translink card and have it renew every month if you setup an autoload on the translink website with a conneciton to a credit card, which takes away the hassle of having to purchase it every month.

2) Caltrain should employ a tag-on tag-off system at each of their stations (similar to the current Golden Gate Transit method). You will also be able to buy monthly, ten-ride, and other caltrain products depending on which origin and destination zone you prefer.

I guess the July 15 date wasn't the launch date - ...

2008-07-17T18:02:42.896-07:00

I guess the July 15 date wasn't the launch date - I am very disappointed. TransLink did, however redesign their website and still says that Muni and Caltrain will be up this summer. I strongly doubt it...

As of 3 July 2008, MTC says "[TransLink] is expect...

2008-07-14T01:43:45.012-07:00

As of 3 July 2008, MTC says "[TransLink] is expected to achieve revenue ready status for operation on Caltrain and Muni this summer."

apps.mtc.ca.gov/meeting_packet_documents/agenda_1110/Microsoft_Word_-_TransLink_Contracts_7-2008.pdf

Now they say Fall 2008. Delay after delay. Come ...

2008-07-09T14:08:42.620-07:00

Now they say Fall 2008. Delay after delay. Come on Muni, stick to July 15th.

So I called TransLink as well and they said that t...

2008-07-09T07:44:41.539-07:00

So I called TransLink as well and they said that testers are already hitting the scene and that TL is supposed to be up by Fall 2008 for the full public rollout for Muni and CalTrain. BART is supposed to be up by the end of the year. TransLink still won't give an exact date, though.

sure, but how do you know everyone has paid? Scan ...

2008-07-01T21:53:38.596-07:00

sure, but how do you know everyone has paid? Scan everyone's ticket? Too time consuming...

During the trial run, the conductor carried a smal...

2008-07-01T14:45:09.522-07:00

During the trial run, the conductor carried a small pocket sized card reader.

Eventually, they just stored one of those readers in each trainset since it was less used.

I use Translink for GG Transit and have an EZ Ride...

2008-07-01T14:41:52.200-07:00

I use Translink for GG Transit and have an EZ Rider Card. I would really welcome not having to fish for MUNI money - and especially not trying to use the change machines at Castro MUNI.

But I cannot figure out how exactly Translink will work on Caltrain. Are the conductors going to have to carry a scanner?

EZRider's technology is 100% compatible with BART'...

2008-07-01T13:50:01.676-07:00

EZRider's technology is 100% compatible with BART's gates because it is made by the same company: Cubic.

Translink works on ERG/Motorola's technology and is a competing company who won the contract to build the Translink system. The bad news is that Translink's technology is foreign to the Cubic programmed gates and BART and Cubic were resisting the project.

I signed up for the BART EZRider smart card that y...

2008-07-01T12:52:40.255-07:00

I signed up for the BART EZRider smart card that you mentioned. So far, I really like it. I've had 3 autoloads ($135) charged so far. I did have a weird problem exiting one night last week but otherwise, it is fast and easy to use.

Why can't TransLink be like that? I don't know enough about the technology to understand the difference.

I appreciate your comment. I remember seeing this...

2008-06-23T11:30:04.960-07:00

I appreciate your comment. I remember seeing this similar posting on the BARTrage forums.

I called Translink after they did not reply back to my e-mail and they claim that Caltrain and Muni will be running by the end of summer.

I have consistently been in touch with the Marketi...

2008-06-22T19:57:45.333-07:00

I have consistently been in touch with the Marketing Director at Muni for TransLink due to a complaint I had when I used the system (eventhough it's still being "tested"). I have been helping her put together a list of TL testers, so I am assuming that it's supposed to start soon. She won't give me a direct answer either. Maybe with two heads, we can get somewhere!

joseph_benton82@yahoo.com