Re: Fare Cheats Cost Cityrail $50million

[Neil Waller <waller@picknowl.com.au>]

ERIKA wrote:
> 
> This is an indication that the automatic ticketing system can contribute to
> fare evasion.the old system of having a friendly booking clerk are gone and
> so is the innocent inability to buy the ticket.
> This example should go to the Ministers desk--it might educate someone who
> gets driven around in chauffer driven car all the time what goes on out
> there.
> 
> ----------------------------
> Well, Goodbye now...
> ERIKA<www.torpan.com>
> Manly,Sydney,Australia
> Mit freundlichen Grüßen
> "Bill Bennett" <billbennett@ozemail.com.au> wrote in message
> news:MMXY5.6948$Vu1.149591@ozemail.com.au...
> > I've never *cheated* on rail fares, but I have been close to being fined
> for
> > fare evasion...because of my honesty!
> >
> > Here's what happened. I needed to travel from Thornleigh to Roseville or
> > Artarmon via Hornsby. Got to the station with about 5 mins to spare, the
> > ticket machine wasn't taking banknotes, so I started climbing the bridge
> for
> > the ticket office. Meanwhile a train comes into the station (early or
> > late -- I don't know). So I hopped down the stairs and on to the train. At
> > Hornsby I went to the gate and told the collector what had happened --
> could
> > I buy a ticket? He told me that I had to pay a $100 fine for travelling
> > without a ticket. Luckily someone else came over and told him not to be so
> > stupid and I managed to buy a ticket and continue on my journey. Of course
> > at no point did I see an inspector and I just walked through at the other
> > end.
> >
> > The point here is not that I could have easily made the journey for free
> > (though it would have been easy) but that I nearly got fined because I
> tried
> > to do the right thing. Just think what kind of signal that sends to
> > customers: cheat and you're OK, be honest and get fined.
> >
> > Five years ago a guy used to collect or inspect tickets at the Thornleigh
> up
> > gate about one or two afternoons a week. You never knew which afternoon.
> > This was enough to stopany cheating. Think about it, one inspect used to
> > cover stations at random could manage to ensure compliance at five, maybe
> as
> > many as ten, different stations. The cost wouldn't be high. Averaged out
> > over, say, 200 stations that need checking, you'd need a total of  20 to
> 40
> > staff at a cost of around $1 to $2 million a year.
> >
> >

Is is illegal to travel on Adelaide trains without a ticket and without
coins to oerate the ticket machine which won't take notes.   

If the ticket machine is out of change then it woin't accept $2 coins
either.    So you might not have a ticket but do have the change in
coins for a $2.90 ticket (1 x $2 1 x 50c 2 x 20c) but the machine does
not accept a $2 coin because it is out of change, something you have
absolutely no way of knowing beforehand, and you have no other change.

So it can be illegal to travel on Adelaide trains with the correct
amount for a ticket, and the willingness to buy one, and to be prevented
by the ticket machine from actually buying one.

This is from the same crowd who issue a "Passenger Bulletin"  in the
last month explaining the operation of the barrier gates at Adelaide
station - "passengers are required to put their tickets in a special
tray for staff to examine it and manually open the gates".

I beg your pardon?  Is this the year 2000 or what?

This seems to be honoured in the breach by railway staff for outgoing
passengers at least in evening peak since the trial began on Wednesday
13th December.

Apparently incoming passengers file past an inspector who checks the
ticket is validated by a very slow hand held validator then presses a
button to let the passenger pass the barrier gates.    Just how long
will this last?    Not long one hopes.

Cheers
Neil Waller