Re: Last Outbound Tram and Fare Dodging......

["Mike Alexander" <malex@bigfoot.com>]

>> On Friday night / Saturday morning I caught the last outbound tram from
>> Flinders St to Malvern Depot (route 7)....
>> Anyway, because is was still around 30 degrees (being 42 degrees that
>> day), this service was very well patronised, mostly by surprised people
>> who thought the trams had finished for the night.  I estimate, all up,
>> about 80 people got on the tram at various places.  I kept a good eye on
>> the ticket machine and counted how many people actually bought a ticket -
>> Only TWO people!!
>>
>> My point - if connies were still on the trams, this would be a very
>> profitable service.  But, because the government relies on
>> the "honesty"  of hot, intoxicated, tired commuters at 2 am in the
>> morning, Messcard is not making money.  In fact route 16 trams could run
>> all night on hot summer nights and still be profitable if they had
>> conductors.
>>
>> That's my piece said, anybody got a comment?

Well, if the revenue inspectors were actually a bit more visible at strange
hours and in strange places, maybe it would strike the fear of god into a
few more people. In Europe, in the cities which rely on this sort of system
(most of them), you are likely to see a revenue inspector at any time on any
tram, even the first service in the morning or the last at night. Here they
seem to be limited to the inner-city only, and I have never seen one after
dark.

If you can never feel safe without a ticket, fewer people will take the
risk. And if they actually fined a few, rather than just wagging a finger
and tut-tutting them, maybe a few more people would get the message.

Also, what's wrong with the driver taking at least a passing interest in
revenue control. I'm not suggesting that he should check every ticket, but
what about when it is so blatantly obvious like when someone gets in and
sits right by the front door without buying or validating a ticket. I reckon
a P.A. announcement announcing that he won't move the tram until the guy
buys a ticket would soon embarrass people enough to buy one.

My 2 cents worth.


Mike Alexander
(malex@bigfoot.com)