Light rail troubleshooting ticketing glitches
SEATTLE -- The freshly-debuted light rail train put in its first work day on Monday when time-crunched commuters put it to the test.
Monday's commute appeared to be smooth riding for light rail riders with exception to the glitch in the ticket machines.
"I just bought the ORCA card - there's my receipt - and it doesn't scan," said rider John Yantis. "When I scan, it says 'insufficient funds.'"
A Sound Transit supervisor said Yantis should not be charged for the faulty transition.
"A lot of times it (the machine) should just cancel it (the credit/debit card transaction) later on," said ticket vending supervisor Jacquiline Medina. "But if it does show up on their bank card, they can call customer service and customer service has all the transactions.
Another software glitch caused ticket machines at several stations to freeze. Sound Transit said it is troubleshooting and also rebooting every few hours.
"A little bit of jamming. There's a lot moving parts in these, getting them all aligned is key. So we're doing a lot of testing on that," said Sound Transit spokesperson Geoff Patrick. "Once we get the software in place, we won't have that problem anymore.
Sound Transit said it has received positive rider response so far. Some 92,000 people jumped on for a free ride over the weekend.
But during the weekend Phoenix launched its light rail train in January, 150,000 packed the trains.
Seattle's line is shorter with 12 stops compared to Phoenix's 28. Phoenix built eight park-and-ride lots. Seattle built just one.
Sound Transit expects to have 26,000 daily riders by the end of the years. Phoenix already averages 33,000 daily riders.
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If you have questions about costs or other issues regarding light rail, you can call Sound Transit at (800) 201-4900 or visit http://www.soundtransit.org/x124.xml
Monday's commute appeared to be smooth riding for light rail riders with exception to the glitch in the ticket machines.
"I just bought the ORCA card - there's my receipt - and it doesn't scan," said rider John Yantis. "When I scan, it says 'insufficient funds.'"
A Sound Transit supervisor said Yantis should not be charged for the faulty transition.
"A lot of times it (the machine) should just cancel it (the credit/debit card transaction) later on," said ticket vending supervisor Jacquiline Medina. "But if it does show up on their bank card, they can call customer service and customer service has all the transactions.
Another software glitch caused ticket machines at several stations to freeze. Sound Transit said it is troubleshooting and also rebooting every few hours.
"A little bit of jamming. There's a lot moving parts in these, getting them all aligned is key. So we're doing a lot of testing on that," said Sound Transit spokesperson Geoff Patrick. "Once we get the software in place, we won't have that problem anymore.
Sound Transit said it has received positive rider response so far. Some 92,000 people jumped on for a free ride over the weekend.
But during the weekend Phoenix launched its light rail train in January, 150,000 packed the trains.
Seattle's line is shorter with 12 stops compared to Phoenix's 28. Phoenix built eight park-and-ride lots. Seattle built just one.
Sound Transit expects to have 26,000 daily riders by the end of the years. Phoenix already averages 33,000 daily riders.
---
If you have questions about costs or other issues regarding light rail, you can call Sound Transit at (800) 201-4900 or visit http://www.soundtransit.org/x124.xml