Jamizon Wrote:
ML Wrote:
Like in EU resorts, with a turnstyle system and a RFC card you can place in your arm pocket?
Could be done with a ticket-machine instead of a pay-kiosk. Illimates some but not all of the contact moments.
As apposed to a visually checked day ticket which requires no physical contact?
Except you have to queue to buy it, and someone hands over the day ticket which involves physical contact.
So let's step back a moment and consider what could be achieved with a hands free RFID system as seen on the continent.
Let's imagine in a moment of clarity the five centres agree to cooperate on this. So imagine that for a small fee say £5 I can get an RFID card possibly with my photo on (would probably be needed for season passes) that will last from season to season, and would work at all centres. The reason for charging for the card (they are basically cheap enough to give away) is encourage people to hold onto them from year to year.
Next imagine a mobile app/web page where I link one or more passes to an account.
I am now off to go skiing at say Glenshee. I arrive in the car park, I whip out my smarthphone make a few clicks and bingo my ski pass is now ready to use at Glenshee and the money is automatically transferred to Glenshee's bank account.
Or if you want to complain about mobile phone signals at the centres you could either buy the ticket that morning before you left. Alternatively you could put in a free car park WiFi system that is limited to just charging up your pass. Within two years Starlink will enable any centre to offer WiFi, and hopefully R100 will fix that with fibre in due course.
Hey the system could automatically limit numbers of passes that can be activated for the day. We could extend that so that a season pass has to be activated for each day too and if the limit is already reached no skiing for you.
As to the rubbish about being difficult to use. Any semi decent ski jacket purchased in at least the last 15 years will have a pocket on the left wrist for your pass. I would also note that it would be trivial to have sensors on both sides of the turnstile and I am pretty sure I have seen some.
Further if you have some sort of rubbish ski jacket without a wrist pocket you could for a very small sum buy a wrist mounted holder that you wear under your jacket. Alternatively you could offer users of such antiquated ski clothing an RFID Velcro wristband. A quick Google shows you can get them for under £1 each.
People who complain about RFID hands free lift passes are just a bunch of Luddite's with very little imagination IMHO. Lets face it if the hands free RFID systems where as awful as they claim why has every resort on the continent changed to use them? If it's not clear that's rhetorical question so don't bother answering they are not awful in the slightest.