Re: Yarra Trams Article in Sunday Age

["Rail Roamer" <leadscout@one.net.au>]

Well I work on the system as an authourised officer and for the Bayside
Train Patrol Unit.

Can't help but comment to those that think they know all.

We do not target young people.
RPO's no longer exist.....they had a name change and many went by the
wayside including their methods. They are now called Customer Service
Employees.
We treat all people with respect....but don't think that if we approach you
for whatever reason and we get a smartarse non accepting attitude we will
smile and say okay forget it. We shall continue to be polite and do what is
required of me to fulfill my role on the network.
I am not there to be someones verbal punching bag and there alot of people
who think that what we should be and are.
Daily tickets will be made available on Swanston Trams when the new 100
roving conductors are introduced but it will cost more to purchase from them
than what it would at a Metcard outlet or TVM (other than that on a tram of
course), reason being that when the system was introduced the idea was to
encourage pre-purchasing of tickets prior to your journey. Remember only
enourage not force to.
We do not make examples of people.
When we do checks we are required to stick to ceertain guidelines and if a
person is not willing to comply with our lawful requests matters tend to get
dragged out from a 2 minute chat to possibly a 30 minute chat and in some
cases longer if we cannot verify identification of the person. This can then
lead to a call for police to attend and under Section 219AA of the Transport
Act of 1983 we have the authority to detain a person for this to be done.
So many time myself and my fellow officers have been on a platform and
people see us enter the platform area and only then will they leave the
platform and go buy a ticket from a perfectly operating machine.
You can't tell me this people had every intention of getting one if we were
not present?
If you do think this .....well I'm guessing you still get gifts from Santa
Claus and you are expecting a visit from the easter Bunny in the next few
months.
Alot of people get on the defensive upon our approaching them because they
know they are doing the wrong thing, and thus things can worsen.
Yes some officers attitudes can fray at times....doesn't yours?
Haven't you had a bad day and gotten bumped in the street by a youth by
accident and think "#%$@* little shit' when it was only an accident and he
really has done no wrong?
You might think it sucks but guess what.....there is a law that says you
must make all reasonable steps to make a purchase for your journey before
commencement, if this fails then during and then if this fails after.
You cannot say I didn't get a ticket because I had to run for the train. If
you cannot manage your time that is not our fault or that of the thousands
of others on the network  who do. You knew you had to catch the train, you
knew you had to pay for it so you knew you had to giver yourself time to do
so.
You cannot use this excuse and say I will buy one now, if you are allowed to
do this it is upto the officers discretion.
Remember if the option to buy a ticket was present at the commencment of
your journey this cancels out the option to buy one during or after your
journey. So I DIDN"T HAVE TIME IS NOT A RESONABLE EXSCUSE.
If the ticket vending machine is U/S well this is not your fault either, so
we will only take down your details then check with Metcard to see if the
machine was U/S. All machines go back to a central computer. If the machine
was U/S you will hear nothing further.....however if it was fine and okay
well you may receive some correspondance in the mail.
It is an offence to :
Refuse to give false name and address
State false name and address
Fail to produce evidence of entitlement (Concession)
Make journey without valid ticket
Transfer ticket to another person.

These are the common offences that stem from ticketing issues.
Many may not be interseted but if you'd like me to post a list of current
offences and the $$$$$ you could get stung for let me know and when I get
the time I'll post it.

As for those who think we are overbearing, aggressive etc...
see if you could do our job.
It takes all types to make a society, and it has been proven that societys
attitude and ideals have declined from what they were.
I bet some of you would shit yourself if you came up against some of the
arseholes we do out there.
Alot of you don't see the 30 strong gangs at night with batons and knives.
Or the 3 kids chroming at 11pm on the train or a train station and fall into
a pit or cross the tracks seconds before a train comes through. Some don't
make it.
We are trying to clean the system up for you, if we can cut fare evasion
maybe there wont be no ticket cost increases. Or it will be only minimal.
If you get caught up in the net, chances are you were doing something wrong,
actaully you were and guess what we have laws that we are governed by.
Yes some out of towners may get a little bit caught out......but I've come
accross some who have intoleralbe attitudes and this can determine if you
get a fine or not.
If you remove you feet from the seet  upon request fine but if you have a
problem and get lippy well you might find the next few minutes were not
worth it.
Granted some officers are of the type who will say '' GET YA' FEET DOWN'.
But these guys don't last long.
Good and bad in all.