I think they changed the sounds of the validators recently. Either that or it's changed for me after my pass changed to a leap card but that was months ago. The impression I've had which may be wrong is that it makes a sort of a honk that sounds like a error if your journey was covered by the pass on the card and it beeps normally if it deducted money from the epurse on the card.
I think that by and large, the open gates are used in unstaffed stations where there is nobody to let people with free transport passes on. Maybe you're seeming them left open because the staff can't be bothered to turn them back on. I get a strong impression that Irish Rail have basically decided that it's not worth the effort of trying to collect fares outside of peak times. They make a bit of a token effort now and again with inspections but given the price of fares and the level of enforcement, it is probably more cost effective to take your chances with not paying.
|