The Struggling Rail Station
The biggest problem facing the Australia citizens in regards to the rail station is the long queues at the stations. This is a problem that has prevailed for many years and has not been solved yet. The long queues are evident especially during the rush hours: in the early morning and late in the evening.
This results in frustration of the travelers, citizens and tourists, who have to wait many hours before they can commence their journeys. However, the lines at mid-morning and mid-afternoon are manageable due to the less number of travelers at that time of day. The people affected by this problem complain to the relevant authorities: the rail staff, their member of parliament and the premier, but nothing seems to come from it. According to reports, the service station lodges the greatest number of complaints to the government in comparison to those that the premier gets regarding a policy that may not be fully accepted. Despite the fact that the Premier of New South Wales is aware of this problem, he declines to spend money to solve this problem.
He focuses on economic development and the micromanaging of the central railway station is not among his priorities. Despite its slow service, therailway station in Sydney tried to implement certain ideas that would help make trains the most efficient means of transport. Unfortunately, none of their efforts seemed to solve the problem totally (Schwieterman 2004, P.P 45-90). Therefore, in order to curb the problem of long queues, the station begins to use computers in its daily operations.
Its aim is to simplify tasks, reduce staff and operating costs. Despite the fact the technology was supposed to make the payment easier, it has become even worse because it could be done by an employee at a faster rate. It means that technology does not tackle problems instantly and it is not a reliable solution (Turner & Wolman & Pindus, pp 23-34). In addition to introduction of computer technology as a part of the solution, the station introduced payment systems using a credit card. It seemed to avert the problem for sometime but later proved to be ineffective as well.
To some extent, blame is laid on the customers who failed to bring the needed documents for travelling.The easiest way to solve the problem of long queues at the central station in Australia would be improving the level of technology and information systems (Steves 2011, p.p 78). The station can thereby introduce an online booking service syystem when their passengers may make reservations prior to the date of travel. This could save time of clients travelling long distance.
In addition, these passengers could be required to use payments so as to make processing of their travel documents easier and faster. On the other hand, passengers who use trains daily could be issued with an electronic card which they would be required to insert into an automated machine located at the station. The machine would have a siren that sounds in the case a customer has insufficient funds to pay for travel. Thus, the customer cannot get a ticket until the necessary payments are made. There are such passengers who may use a train only once, for example, a tourist who does not stay in the country for a long time.
Hence, there is no need for obtaining the electronic card. The tourist therefore may make an online booking or visit the station and pay for his journey. This will also reduce the long queues by a significant amount.The station should maintain a database that contains personal details of all passengers who use the train. It simplifies the ticket sales procedure and helps to avoid cases when a passenger misses a journey as a result of loss of travel documents.
