MultiRider

Two MultiRider Validators on Platform 4 at Perth railway station

The MultiRider was a pre-purchased magnetic-stripe ticketing system used on rail, bus, and ferry services operated under the Transperth brand, either by or under contract for the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia. The name is now in use by TransWA on its Australind and AvonLink services.

Technology

Equipment

The MultiRider system was based on a series of validation equipment and driver consoles supplied by the UK-based company Wayfarer Transit Systems.

Cards

The system is based on magnetic stripe cards containing simple information such as the number of trips that they can be used with, the number of transit zones that can be traversed, and the time and location of the last validation. Before boarding a service or transferring between train and bus services, passengers must validate the card by inserting it into a MultiRider validator located on train platforms and on buses.

Fare Determination

If this is the passenger's first trip using the card, or their previous validation was over two hours ago (for 1-4 zones, 3 hours for 5-8 zones), a trip is deducted from the card, and the information about the current trip is printed onto the front of the card. If the passenger is transferring between services, and their current trip is still valid, a "T" is printed onto the card (on 10-trip MultiRiders only).

MultiRiders can be purchased for use over any distance from two sections to eight zones. Multiriders come with 10, 20, or 40 trips encoded onto them, and are up to 25% cheaper than the equivalent cash fares. The 40 trips of MultiRider tickets used to be known as MultiRider Plus.

Variants of MultiRider tickets

There were a large variety of MultiRider tickets available:

Student MultiRider

The Student MultiRider was introduced on 10 October 2005. This type of MultiRider provides a 50 cent fare on a journey, valid for three hours in all zones. The Student MultiRider also is available in two types of tickets, in 10 trips, or in 40 trips. The Student MultiRider is available for primary and secondary school students only.

Controversy

While the Student MultiRider was introduced, the Curtin Student Guild pointed out that state government does not provide the 50 cents student fare on tertiary school students (university and TAFE student), and the state government should provide the same concession price as primary and secondary school students. However, the state government replies that the tertiary school students can have the standard concession fare for their journey.

MultiRider phase out

On 8 April 2007, the MultiRider ticketing system was withdrawn and replaced by SmartRider. In the lead-up to its withdrawal, it was phased out in stages.

First Stage (from 14 February 2007)

• The SmartRider ticketing system completed full rollout and SmartRider cards became available from Transperth InfoCentres and authorised SmartRider Retail Outlets across the Perth metropolitan area.
• The SmartRider system operated in parallel with the existing MultiRider to allow passengers to use up any remaining value on MultiRider tickets.

Second Stage (from 5 March 2007)

• MultiRiders were withdrawn from sale

Third Stage (from 8 April 2007)

• The MultiRider ticketing system was withdrawn from use on the Transperth network
• Passengers who had any remaining value on their MultiRiders were able to transfer the value to their SmartRider by completing a MultiRider refund form, which is available from Transperth InfoCentres, at authorised SmartRider Retail Outlets or online

TransWA MultiRider

When MultiRiders were phased out by Transperth, TransWA introduced its own MultiRiders for use on its Australind and Avonlink servicess. .

See also

• Automated Fare Collection System
• Transperth
• SmartRider