MARK GLEESON of Rail Users Ireland, a voluntary group that campaigns for better conditions for rail commuters, was involved in the testing of the Leap card system in February this year.
“There was a group of about 15 of us testing it and we were very happy with it. It worked flawlessly with just some minor quirks,” he said.
The main issue that arose during testing was that validator machines on Luas and rail platforms were taking too long to read the new cards.
“The radio inside the machine needed to be replaced because it wasn’t strong enough. That was fixed during the summer,” he said.
Another issue that can arise is when a person is carrying more than one smart card and the validator machine gets confused as to which card to read.
“This occurs on all travel systems like this worldwide,” says Mr Gleeson. “You just need to keep the cards at least an inch apart – for example not right beside each other in your wallet. If the machine does get confused you will get a message on the validator saying ’too many cards.’ The driver will also get that message.”
The main reaction to the new card from people waiting at the Luas stop on Abbey Street yesterday afternoon, however, was one of mystery. Most knew nothing about it. Students CaitrÍona Doyle and Tara Keating said it was definitely something they would be interested in but had heard nothing about it.
Bernadette Cooney also said she knew nothing about the new card. Colin Kiersey, who had just come back from Wexford, said: “I only know about it because someone happened to mention it to me yesterday. I would not know where to buy it.”
Another commuter, Eoin O’Connor, said he had heard about it on the radio but “wouldn’t have an idea where to buy one”.
“I wasn’t aware fares would be cheaper using it so I definitely would use it,” he said. Ann Smith said: “I would probably use it seeing as you can use it on both the bus and the Dart.”