Rear Slogans and Messages

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In this section we identify the different slogans and messages that have appeared on the rear of Metcards fron the inception of the system in August 1996 to the present. We interpret a slogan as being a brief sentence. These were used from 1996 to 1999 at which time the use of the marketing term "The Met" (which is the theme of the slogans) ceased. It is known that some of these slogans appeared only very briefly. It will be seen that they were printed on vending machine, booking office machine and bus issues - but this does mean that all the slogans necessarily appeared simultaneously when issued on all modes. On this matter we will never know as so few examples of these slogans were ever found to begin with.

Messages

From mid-August 1998, by which time the AFC system had been rolled out as planned, what has become the standard message appeared on the rear of Metcards reminding patrons to validate their ticket before each trip. The left hand example shows the original form that this message took. With the centre example, the bottom line may simply have failed to print(?). The right hand example is the final format that this message has taken ever since.

From the 18th January 2007 in conjuction with the impending removal of Zone 3, a new temporary message replaced the standard message until the 3rd March 2007. This was the first time that a specific advisory message had appeared on the rear of a Metcard.

Tram machine issue messages

From 20th July 2007, a series of four messages appeared printed only on the rear of tram issued Metcards. The main theme of these messages was the referral to the cheaper option of purchasing either the 10x2hour or 5xDaily Metcards rather than purchasing individual tickets. These messages were devised specifically in anticipation of the forthcoming "myki" fare payment system where the emphasis will be on bulk purchase (stored value). A specific message was printed on both Full Fare and Concession 2-Hour tickets identifying the savings available when purchasing 10x2 hour tickets. A similar message with the same theme was printed on Full Fare and Concession Daily tickets. These messages appeared on Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 1+2, Full Fare and Concession tickets, resulting in 12 issues altogether. A cross section of these is shown below.

The Seniors Daily had its own specific message advising of the percentage of savings to be made in Zone 1 by purchasing a 5xDaily Concession.

The final message appears on Full Fare and Concession City Saver tickets and is a reminder of their availability of use.

As a result of the fare rise from the 1st January 2008, the amounts shown on each of these messages was updated and examples of the 2-Hour, Daily and Seniors Daily issues are illustarated below. The City Saver message was unaltered.

From the 1st April 2008 a further message appeared promoting the introduction of the new 5xWeekend Daily metcard. The format of this message has gone through three subtle changes and each variation is shown below. This message does not appear on bus issued tickets. The issue dates shown on each example are the earliest known to us. On tram issues, the existing message at the top of the ticket was retained.

From the 21st May 2008 a new message appeared promoting the metropolitan Public Transport Info website. This message does not appear on bus issued tickets. On tram issues, the existing message at the top of the ticket was retained.

From the 14th June 2008 a new message appeared promoting the on-line ordering facility for Metcards. Again, this message does not appear on bus issued tickets and on tram issues the existing message at the top of the ticket is retained.

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