Re: CityRail on-time plan slipping

["Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com>]

Ivan Smith <ivsmith11@hotmail.nospam.com> wrote in message
Wafu6.15611$992.100651@news-server.bigpond.net.au">news:Wafu6.15611$992.100651@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
>> Ivan Smith <ivsmith11@hotmail.nospam.com> wrote
>>> Dave Proctor <daproc@spambait.ozemail.com.au> wrote
>>>> Ivan Smith <ivsmith11@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote

>>>>> Well after discussions with a solicitor,
>>>>> I'm going to have to plead guilty.

>> He's right basically.

> Yep.

>>>>> I'm not happy about this:

>> Doesnt change the law.

> Yep.

>>>>> The ticketing machine at Wooloware station had a texta written
>>>>> message stuck over the note input saying "No Notes accepted".
>>>>> I was buying my weekly as I always do, allowing 5 minutes
>>>>> before the train arrived

>> If you dont allow enough time to allow for problems with buying your
>> ticket before the train shows up, basically thats your legal problem.

> Apparently - on advice.

And the legislation is pretty clearcut and readable on that.

>> The law says 'without reasonable excuse' and thats you.

> Apparently

>> No 'technically' about it, the law covers
>> your situation very explicitly indeed.

> Apparently.

>> Hardly surprising given thats an obvious way to
>> do deliberate fare evasion, have that story ready
>> when you get caught travelling without a ticket.

> Well I know now don't I?

Yeah, it often take getting shafted to make many aware of the law.

> I don't know and don't want to know
> what excuses habitual fare evaders use.

It is the reason the law is quite explicitly written like that.

> I was trapped by the system, not fare evading.

You were trapped by your own ignorance.

Nothing unusual about that.

>> If they bought that line, everyone would be using it when caught.

> Well I know one thing from all of this. If this *ever*
> happens again I won't be speaking to the inspector at
> all, and they can have me for common assault as well

One way to end up in jail.

> because I'm innocent as far as I'm concerned and it's
> really not in my nature to be dishonest for the sake of it.

But you clearly are into flouting the law when it suits you on assault.

The inspector you assault didnt write that law.

Why is that any different to some stupid kid with its hormones raging
doing over a cop thats just doing his job, doing what the law requires ?

>>>>> asks for my DOB (got it wrong in spite of me clearly speaking
>>>>> it slowly for him - technically the summons isn't mine).

>> Thats wrong. There is no requirement for it to be perfect, particularly
>> when that would mean that anyone could deliberately give the wrong DOB.

> Or the thousands who give false addresses and names, the ones
> that don't get caught because they are more cunning than I am.

They have ways of dealing with those.

> I'm an honest person most of the time, but from now on I'm
> not going to be so honest, particularly with ticket inspectors.

You're admitting to flouting the law when it suits you.

> This is my first "offence" as far as I'm aware, but I worry
> that some of the dishonest scum out there have used my
> details to get off. It's well known in NSW from the news
> reports that hundreds of thousands of dollars are owed and
> more than 50% of people caught lie about their identity with the
> Government able to do nothing about it BECAUSE of the Act.

They've introduced some pretty draconian
penaltys to deal with those 'people'

> It's my opinion that this act isn't particularly well thought out or implimented.

Just how to you propose it should have been done better ?

> Can this government and it's beuracracy chase these people? No.

Fraid they can, and do.

> This is partly what I mean about the Rail Safety Act 1993.

So what do you suggest they do ?  Just allow criminals to do
whatever they like on fare evasion, just so you can show up 5 mins
before the train is due, when you have to renew your weekly ticket ?

Soorree, even a labor govt isnt THAT stupid.

> In my endevour to be honest I and 49% have paid the price
> for the thousands who have bolted, given false particulars,
> rorted the system, assaulted city rail staff and generally make
> it their business to travel around the CityRail network for nix.

Thats why that legislation was written like that, there are so many doing it.

You still havent spelt out how its should have been done differently.

If that requires you to show up more than 5 mins before the train
is due when you do have to get another weekly ticket, thats life.

> This is what is so unfair about it all.

Crap. Nothing 'unfair' about requiring you to show up with enough time
before the train is due to be able to buy a new ticket when one is due.

> I'm not an evader.

You've just admitted that you are prepared to physically assualt
an employee who had absolutely nothing to do with that legislation.

Thats MUCH worse than fare evasion and you should get
the penalty that will give you a lot more to dummy spit
about than the fine for your stupidity on the weekly ticket.

> I tried to be co-operative and do the right thing.

Crap.  All you had to do was show up with enough
time before the train left to buy the ticket if things
werent perfect, or miss that train and catch the next one.

> I was oblivious to the nature of the Rail Safety Act 1993

Your ignorance is your problem.

> and I still hold that it needs overhauling and cleaning out.

Easy to claim. You still havent been able to come up
with a better approach that wouldnt see every fare
evader in the state drive a truck thru that legislation.

>> You hadnt, you chose to cut it that fine
>> that there was no margin for a problem.

> Apparently. I know better now. The act needs review on this aspect.

Not possible. There is now way of changing it that doesnt
provide a hole any fare evader can drive a truck thru.

No thanks, we're already subsidising people like you enough.

>>>>> He gave me the ticket and then watched as I purchased
>>>>> a weekly from the machine not 2 metres away.

>> Doesnt prove anything about what you would
>> have done if you hadnt been caught, legally.

> And the more I go through bull crap like this, the more I'm waking
> up to the fact that telling the truth and be honest gets you nowhere.

And flaunting the fact that you dont actually give a
FRF about the law, you'll do whatever you feel like.

Fine, we have jails for people like you.

> I know they didn't know that, but I thought a little trust would
> have gone a long way. I got nabbed by someone who obviously
> hadn't got his quota up for the morning, full of post-Olympic misery.

Pathetic really, even you should be able to bullshit better than that.

>>>>> As it stands now I have to plead guilty to avoid a long a laborious
>>>> battle in the lower courts and costs I just can't afford to prove my point.

>> You've got buckleys with the law written that explicitly.

> I know ;(

So why the tantrum ?

>> It aint just that, the law says very clearly that not allowing yourself
>> enough time to purchase the ticket before you travel isnt a valid defense.

> So take note all those who think that getting to a railway station
> 10 to 5 minutes before the arrival of the service, and propose
> buying a ticket, only to find a busted machine, a single station
> attendant, over-run with duties, dealing with aged pensioners
> and their needs, as well as ducking outside to manage the arrivals
> and ticket collection, and can board one of the magnificent SRA fleet
> and arrive at the other end, telling the truth, to still be dissed for $100.

Thats life. No one is holding a gun to your head and forcing you
to use that mode of transport. No one is stopping you from buying
the new weekly ticket on the last trip of the previous week either.

> This is my peeve: I was there in sufficient time.

Wrong.

> The attendant was overworked and the train turned up. I get
> done because the SRA can't employ enough people...great.

You got done because you were stupid enough to
not notice that those machines dont always work.

> Gotta love NSW sometimes..not.

You're always free to leave, anytime.

>>>>> and there are two of them, and so on advice, I'm going to
>>>>> plead guilty and apply for special dispensation/circumstance.

>> No such 'circumstance' exists.

> I believe it does,

You're wrong.

> but it's too hard to prove, and I have advice that the
> Magistrate sitting my case will be blase about it anyway.

Or he can read the law and realise that you aint gotta leg to stand on.

>>>>> It's not fair

>> The law aint about whats fair, its about what the law specifys.

> Well this particular law needs attention.

Soorree, there aint no way to write it that doesnt
provide a hole fare evaders can drive a truck thru.

> It is very easy for a memeber of the general public to get
> stung by it due to SRA inefficiencies. The law is out of date
> and not really with the times or degredation of the SRA IMO.

Easy to claim. You still havent managed to come up
with a better way that cant be exploited by fare evaders.

>>>>> and I've been trapped by the Rail Safety Act
>>>>> 1993 and it's myriad of confusing amendments.

>> Oh bullshit. You cant get any clearer than that section.

> The pertinent section yes, but the Act as a whole isn't very good.

Complete crap.

>>>>> This particular legislation is one of the worst
>>>>> acts I've ever seen (Ex S.A. Policeman),

>> Not on clarity it aint. Anyone can understand what its saying, its
>> a lot clearer on that question of that defence than you usually see,
>> saying very clearly that that doesnt qualify as 'reasonable excuse'

> Agreed there.

>>>>> and I'm sure given enough funding and gumption
>>>>> I could get up a case against them on this issue,

>> You are always welcome to 'get up' any 'case' you like,
>> but with the law that explicit on not leaving yourself enough
>> time to purchase the ticket at what you admit was the open
>> ticket window, serving customers, you've got buckleys.

> Ah, but...he was outside on the platform for about 2 of the
> 5 minutes, sweeping or some such trivia, leaving us all there
> wondering if we were going to be able to get a ticket at all..

Only a stupid would show up 5 mins before the train
is due when he has to buy a new weekly ticket.

> It's worth noting that several Seniors couldn't
> get their tickets and borded as I did.

Completely irrelevant.

> The ones that alighted at Sutherland just went straight
> through the inspectors and nothing was said to them.

> I was very upset about this little factoid.

More fool you.

If you are such an obvious pov/criminal, you should have ensured
that you showed up with enough time to get a new ticket.

>>>>> but I'm not in that position right now.

>> Just as well, you'd just be pissing even more money against the wall.

> Terrible.

>>>>> I've spoken to a few others who have been caught this way too.
>>>>> I can't believe all of them but there is evidentially a precedent
>>>>> here that needs investigation further by someone other than the SRA.

>> Nope, not with the law obviously deliberately written that explicitly.

> Yep, with the law written so explicitly.

Wrong. No such 'precedent'

> There is a clear trap in the system, which is caused by a combination
> of the legisation and the way the modern SRA runs (or doesn't).

Soorree, thats not a 'precedent'

>> Its completely irrelevant with the law written that explicitly.

> Well it's a shame then. A shame that innocent people can
> be trapped by this legislation on a system that clearly doesn't
> function as intended and has balance of favour in such situations.

There is no viable alternative.