FILE ON FARE
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'2OLLECTION
passed to you
By Alfred Woolf, B.A.
P' ART of the function of a technical . journal is to provide information, frequently in great detail, on a wide variety of sometimes abstruse subjects, by post or telephone, as well as in print. In. a typical case, a shipping agent may write to The Commercial Motor requesting information for an overseas representative, and, in particular, seeking the names 'and addresses of the principal specialists in the field concerned.
In • view of the interest abroad in modern methods of fare collection and ticket-issuing, an attempt has been made to reproduce the contents of a typical file which grew out of an inquiry of this sort.
To: Exworthy, Wybody and Zed, Ltd. From: "The Commercial Motor."
. . . The subject of fare collection and ticket-issuing is receiving close attention in these days of rising costs and falling revenue. The present-day need is to collect all fares quickly, despite heavy loadings. In addition, greater demands are made for such statistics as numbers of passengers carried, from what point and to what point, the number of concession and return fares issued—all at low cost.
For these reasons, the old Bell Punch system, invented over, 70 years ago and based on the use of pre-printed tickets, each covering a particular fare, has lost its once pre-eminent position. Most operators today prefer a machine which prints a ticket on a plain roll of paper and at the same time records some of the basic information required.
This last characteristic obviates the need for the conductor to work out, by reference to the numbers of the printed tickets left, the total value of fares collected, saving time and money.
el0 Fundamentally, therefore, a machine of the kind you are seeking must be accurate, speedy and efficient. It must be (a) reasonably cheap to buy or hire, and cheaper to maintain than the preprinted ticket system; (b) of a type which can be operated without a large clerical staff; (c) robust and easy for a conductor to operate and carry; (d) able to supply essential statistical information, and (e) fool-proof and fraud-proof.
We append a list of manufacturers of ticket-issuing machines.
Letter from: AB Almex . . . we enclose herewith. . a brief description of the Almex system. We should like to add that when we first started introducing our machine, operators often held a rather conservative view and did not like to abandon the old pre-printed ticket system. During the three years our machine has been on the market, this attitude has changed and our machine is now widely
accepted. ,„ • The following are extracts from the file on indi vid u a I ticket-issuing systems:— ALMEX
AB Almex, Franzengatan 4, Stockholm, K, Sweden. The machine is easily carried, either on the conductor's belt or in his hand
by a strap; it can also be standmounted. It is 6 in. long, 4+ in. high and 3+ in. deep; it weighs about 4 lb.
The machine can be compared with a station ticketissuing machine. The ticket is printed at the same time as the counters add up the fare registered when the operating lever is pressed down after the letter banks have been adjusted. Five different keyboards are available.
The letter banks do not return to zero after a. ticket has been issued, so that one setting covers the issue of any number of identical tickets. Normally, the machine is operated by one hand and the operating lever, if pulled back, will cancel a ticket set up in error.
Each ticket gives the stage boarded, destination, date, fare, class (child, adult, single, return), running ticket number, route number and company name and address, as well as the machirte number. The ticket is cut off automatically as it emerges.
A special feature of the machine is that an audit strip is provided which records every fare collected. The audit strip furnishes a copy of the amount of the fare, the ticket number, class and boarding and alighting points. Disputes over fares can thus be settled by reference to the strip, and a complete statistical record is available.
Several well-known Swedish operators use the machine both on conductoroperated and driver-operated services.
BELLGRAPIIIC
Bell Punch Co., Ltd., 39 St. James' Street, London, LW.!. First devised some 17 years ago, the Bellgraphic system uses neither a preprinted nor a machine-printed ticket. IE is universal and can be employed for the issue of weekly, monthly or specialservice tickets of any kind.
A printed paper blank is used, the design of which varies with the operator's requirements, to cover all fares, classes and routes. The machine measures 71 in. by 5 in. by 24 in., and weighs 41 lb. loaded, and accommodates up to 550 ticket blanks.
The machine, which is a form of invoice bock, consists of -a container with a locking device of The type found on the Bell Punch. At. the top of the container is an aperture in which appears the ticket ready for use. Beneath the ticket are a carbon frame and writing block, and underneath the carbon paper is a duplicate blank bearing the same number as the printed ticket.
To issue a ticket, the conductor writes the fare and the boarding and alighting stages in the appropriate space. In the case of a return ticket the printed date and journey numbers on the back are clipped on the return journey. The ticket is ejected, while the duplicate is folded away in a separate compartment in the container.
At the end of the day's work, the driver returns the machine and all cash collected. He has no record of fares collected. The machine is opened in the waybill analysis office, the duplicates removed and threaded through an analyser with which the total of fares collected is computed and checked against the waybill.
Because the conductor can write any fare on the ticket, the system is universal. It is best adapted for long routes. It can be operated rapidly, and is quite suitable for one-man working. Among users in Britain are Northern General TranspOrt Co,. Ltd.
ULTIMATE This machine is the latest introduced by the Bell Punch Co., Ltd., and is devised specifically for ultra-rapid ticketissuing on extremely busy city services. It carries five rolls of pre-priated coloured tickets and measures 81 in. by 4 in. by 6 in. IL weighs under 4 lb. and each roll comprises 500 tickets, Each roll is of a different value. e.g., Id., I id., 2d., 2.1d., 3d. A printing mechanism above the ticket rolls impresses the stage number at which the passenger boards in one of three columns on the ticket to indicate the class. Each roll is operated by a separate lever.
Each of the five ticket units is provided with a button which interrupts the issuing mechanism so that two tickets are ejected at one depression of the operating lever. The running number of the second ticket is automatically cancelled, so that the ticket represents a double fare, e.g., 3d., 4d., 5d., 6d.
Each ticket roll has an enumerator, showing the number of double tickets issued for each value. There is also a master enumerator which records the total number of tickets issued. The waybill and fares collected are checked against the tickets sold.
Because of the high speed of operation, this machine is widely used by municipal operators. It is also employed on one-man-operated buses with great success.
GIBSON Al4 Ticket Equipment, Ltd„ The Old Silk Mill, Brook Street, Tring, Herts. Designed by an ex-employee of the London Transport Executive, who have DII
ordered large quantities, this machine prints details of the ticket on a plain roll of paper. It is unusual in that it records the number of tickets issued at each of the 14 values available, as well as the total number. Made Of Hiduminium, it weighs under 4 lb. and prints 270 tickets on one roll of paper.
On the left of the machine is a large knurled wheel which rotates the faresetting plate. The value of the fare appears in i small window and is easily read. Under each fare .value is the enumerator recording the number of tickets issued per value. Below this again is the total register. On the right is the operating handle, outside which is the stage-setting wheel and the class-setting wheel. Six classes can be dealt with, several spaces being devoted to ordinary fares to save time in turning back to the " ordinary " position. Alternatively, eight classes can be provided.
The date of issue can also be printed. The route number can be changed by turning a wheel concealed in the body of the machine. To cover fares not included in the standard range, combined tickets may be issued. A release catch prevents inadvertent operation of the machine and the handle is irreversible. Use by a driver-conductor is being considered.
SETRIGHT ROLL TICKET REGISTER
Setright Registers. Ltd., Claremont Road, London, E.17. Providing an unusually comprehensive range of statistics, Setright machines are arranged to cover, a vast range of values. Values from id. to 19s. 114d. in id. rises are available on the long-range model, but the machine can be modified for other currencies and any range of values.
Weighing slightly over 4 lb., the machine is used on both longand • short-distance services. It can print weekly, monthly and other special types of ticket on 'special blanks, as well as normal tickets on the paper roll enclosed in the machine, and can both print and punch a cancellation of a return ticket.
The indexing wheels for setting the machine are on top. There are six wheels—for day, month, stage, shillings and pence—and a class-indicating lever. All are arranged for rapid use.
The register records the total number of tickets issued, the amount of cash (in shillings and half-pence) for which tickets are issued, the number of single exchange or,return tickets (or any other class required) issued. An optional extra is the statistical counter, which can be set, if necessary daily, to record the total number of tickets of any one value sold.
By inserting a return ticket in a slot in the face of the machine, and turning the handle after the price indices have been set to "no value," a record is made of the return tickets cancelled. Another type of cancellor (non-recording) can be fitted, operated by pressing a button.
The machine has been employed successfully in one-man-operated buses. It is in use on many of the services operated by the Tilling group of the British Transport Commission.
T.I.M. (Ticket-issue Machines) Ltd., 10 Ashcrof I Road, Cirencester. Speed of issue, simplification of accountancy, low cost and over 20 years of operational experience arc claimed for T.1.M. machines. These print on a plain roll of paper, the fare being set by a dial on the top face, as well as by a second setting (for Is. units, for example) below the dial.
Two dials may be fitted for extreme fare ranges, such as with metric currencies. Stage, class, time, route and date may also be indicated. Counters record the number of tickets of each class and value, as required, and with longerrange machines with two dials the
total cash taken can be shown
Some 25,000 of these machines are in use. , Overseas operators have recently put them into service, including Hamburg, Rome, Vienna, Rotterdam and Belgrade municipalities.
Abroad, T.T.M. machines are widely used for one-man-operated services, and the manufacturers have recently developed a power-operated version. The driver-conductor dials the fare required and presses the operating switch with his foot or knee.
Up to 400 tickets arc printed on each roll of paper, the cost of the tickets being 4d.-41d. per MOO. Intensive development of the T.I.M. machine has been aimed at increasing the already high speed of issue; the value of the statistics recorded and the scope of its application.
WILLEBREW UNIVERSAL
Alfred Williamson, Ltd., Ashtonunder-Lyne. .Several of the major British operators employ the Willebrew system, including Ribble Motor Services, Ltd.,
It is extremely valuable on stage services up to possibly. 50 miles.
The machine is a development of the pre-printed-system, for a limited range of printed tickets is carried by the
conductor. Each ticket covers each fare in the range required, rising by id., Id. or 2d. steps, from Id. to 19s. lid., for example.
At the top of the machine is a cutting device. The ticket to be issued is inserted until only the fare required is visible. On pressing the operating lever, a printing block is lowered on to the ticket and prints the direction of travel and the stage of boarding. At the same time, the ticket is clipped and the clipping, hearing the running number and the next highest tattle to that shown on the ticket issued, is stored inside the machine.
Here, again, the conductor has no record of the cash value of the tickets issaed, as the container is sealed. The ticket clippings are tabulated in the waybill office, on a listing and adding machine, and the total arrived at is checked against the waybill. Fraud is almost impossible with this system.
The waybill is easy to complete and check, and the stock of tickets required, although bulky, comprises three or four basic tickets, instead of. perhaps, 200, as was the case when individual value pre-printed tickets were employed.
VEROMETER
Clay ton-Dewandre Co.. _Ltd., Titanic Works, Lincoln. This machine is used exclusively by the Birmingham and Midland Motor Omnibus Co., Ltd. It has four value keys, 4d., Id., 2d., 3d., which are pressed a number of times to give the
value required. For example, four strokes on the 2d. key provides an 8d. ticket. Eight classes of ticket can be issued. A tritel value register is provided, also a total of tickets sold.