Advertisement

Public transport systems ‘trapping’ commuters into paying more

Twitter

Twitter

State transport departments are “bullying” commuters into paying fines in a “standover racket” within ticketing systems designed to “trap people” into paying more, transport lobbyists say.

Victorian human rights lawyer Julian Burnside QC told The New Daily that the Victorian government was raking in millions of dollars in revenue from the public transport myki card system, which he said was designed to “trap” innocent and unaware commuters.

Meanwhile, Fix NSW Transport spokesperson Jim Donovan said there were many “anomalies” within the NSW Opal card which needed ironing out, such as charging commuters double for switching from one mode of transport to another in one journey.

• Melbourne train strike hits business hard
• Train stolen and crashed, causing $3m of damage
• The biggest challenge facing Australian cities

But Victorian Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan told The New Daily: “The government is looking at the ticketing enforcement system it inherited to ensure it discourages fare evasion and treats people fairly.”

The revelations within Victoria’s myki system prompted leading Melbourne-based barrister Mr Burnside to head a team of 30 volunteers to defend public transport commuters for allegations that could be defended in court, pro-bono, who had come forward to him with “crook” stories about how they were booked by the Department of Transport’s Authorised Officers.

Mr Burnside said the way penalty fares were handed out by Authorised Officers was like a “standover racket”. He said they gave ‘offending’ commuters the option to pay a $75 on-the-spot fine where you lost your right to appeal, or, you chose to pay an Infringement Notice fine of $223 and a potential court appearance with more fines and court costs.

Mr Burnside is calling on the government for change.

Julian Burnside QC is calling on the government for change. Photo: AAP

“Now, I reckon if someone comes and shakes you down for a couple of hundred dollars, knowing that it’s cheaper for you to pay rather than resist – that is a standover racket,” Mr Burnside said.

“We are resisting what the Department of Transport is doing, after people have been coming to me with their stories.

“If they are right in their stories – then it’s just a system that is working very harshly.”

Click the owl to read stories by commuters that were “victimised” by Authorised Officers, according to Mr Burnside  

According to the Public Transport Victoria (PTV) Annual Report, 180,000 fines were issued in 2014 which totalled at least $18 million in revenue.

A PTV spokesperson told The New Daily: “The penalty-free initiative is monitored closely throughout its first year and now the initial 12-month period has passed, a review was being submitted to government.

“Penalty Fares are part of a range of measures that PTV use to ensure people travelling on public transport have paid their way.”

The PTV annual report stated that on-the-spot fines were introduced in August 2014.

Mr Burnside is calling on the government to review the $1.55 billion myki system, and said that legal flaws had recently been discussed at high-level meetings between lawyers and advisers to Ms Allan.

The cases led by Mr Burnside will test the mettle of the Department of Transport which had so far avoided court challenges and withdrawn fines on most occasions.

The department would not disclose to The New Daily how many cases had been pulled.

Those cases taken to the Magistrates’ Court without the assistance of Mr Burnside’s team had been dismissed by the Magistrate without penalty, Mr Burnside said.

Fines versus fare evasion.

Fines versus fare evasion. Photo: PTV

The tricks used to “trap” innocent commuters

Victoria’s myki card 

On close inspection of obtained documents from the Department of Transport, Mr Burnside said he found irregularities within data from a touch-off machine at a Melbourne train station.

He said the case involved a man who thought he had touched on at one end, but when he got to the other side, he hadn’t and couldn’t get through the gate. When he asked for assistance, a PTV employee let him depart through the wheelchair exit and into the arms of Authorised Officers, who booked him.

It takes 24-hours for online or telephone myki payments to process.

It takes 24 hours for online or telephone myki payments to process. Photo: Getty

“We are prepared to make a full contest on whether the card reader which people at Melbourne Central use is actually reliable, and whether it actually reflects what happens in the real world, and whether the myki machine where he touched on is actually recording what’s happening in the real world,” Mr Burnside said.

“I think the electronic operation of the system really needs to be look at very carefully.”

A video on the PTV fare evasion website said introducing on-the-spot fines would create a “fairer system” by stopping the “freeloaders”.

Ways the myki system made it difficult for commuters to top up are:

• If you top up your myki card online or via telephone using Visa, MasterCard or EFTPOS, it takes 24 hours to process that amount;

• There is no smartphone app designed to allow you to top up on the go, when a top up machine or retail outlet were nowhere in sight;

• If your myki card has dropped into negative dollars, you must put money on the card to get it into positive dollars before you are able to purchase a weekly or monthly ticket. The minimum amount you can put on is $10;

• You can instantly pay a penalty fare via Visa, MasterCard or EFTPOS with the Authorise Officer’s machine, why can’t you instantly top up your card using the same method if you are caught in the negative while on a  tram or train? Again, topping up online or via telephone using Visa, MasterCard or EFTPOS takes 24 hours to process.

NSW’s Opal card 

Transport lobby group Fix NSW Transport spokesperson, Mr Donovan, told The New Daily there were a host of aspects of the Opal card which needed ironing out.

The Opal card needs improving, a lobby group says.

The Opal card needs improving, a lobby group says. Photo: Getty

He said charging commuters double for having to swap between modes of transport was in place because the government wanted to privatise separate modes in the future.

Recent bus changes by the Baird government restricting them from travelling along George Street, a major road through Sydney’s CBD, had caused more commuters to have to swap modes of transport.

“They are not interested in ironing out the anomalies,” he said.

“It’s only going to get worse, because as soon as the eastern suburbs light rail starts, a lot of people will be forced to change between trains and busses.

“Steps have to be taken to remove the double flagfall.”

An independent website, opalornot.com, has been created helping commuters with their Opal card costs.

Ways the Opal card system made it difficult for commuters were:

• Commuters are charged double for switching from one mode of transport to another in one journey. If you change from a bus to a train or ferry the Opal card charges for each trip separately;

• Confusion between the definition of a fare and a journey when reaching free travel after eight journeys. But the Opal card counts these fully paid-up trips, going from bus to train of ferry, as only one journey. So people now have to pay 16 times to reach eight journeys;

• The Opal card has not extended to privately-owned ferry services, and private owners say they are losing business, Fairfax Media reported.

A spokesman for Transport for NSW told News Corp in October that the state government was looking at changes to the Opal fare structure.

Queensland’s Go Card 

The Go Card is set for an overhaul which may mimic overseas systems.

The Go Card is set for an overhaul which may mimic overseas systems. Photo: Twitter

The Queensland government is reviewing the Go Card and in September called for expressions of interest – Australia-wide and globally – to design the state’s newest transport card.

It said it would be looking to the future, and could opt to use smartphones instead of cards. The new system is set to be rolled out by late 2016.

Despite the initial teething problems when the card was introduced in 2005, there hadn’t been too much backlash from commuters.

In 2011, people were unaware they were being charged due to system errors and the sensitivity of smart card readers, according to Fairfax Media.

Ways the Go Card system made it difficult for commuters are:

• In November 2015, the Queensland government scrapped one of three cards students had to carry when travelling on public transport. Previously, if they did not have one of three cards on them, they were fined.

• Multiple trips within 60 minutes only count as one journey towards your nine to get free trips.

Change critical going forward

Mr Burnside and Mr Donovan are urging their state governments to review and rectify issues within each ticketing system.

The leading QC suggested dropping myki’s penalty fare from $75, to twice the maximum daily fare.

“But mostly I think the Authorised Officers should be instructed [by the government] to behave a litte bit more sensibly, I understand they may be on some kind of quota system and they have to ping a certain number of people each day,” Mr Burnside said.

“What this is doing to tourism in the city, I really don’t know.

“What the government doesn’t realise is that people aren’t blaming the transport officers, or the Department of Transport – they are blaming the government.

“They are saying that ‘the government is being unfair to us’ and as politicians I think they ought to respond to that.”

paris-mourners-top-stories

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.