Adelaide tram inspectors cracking down on fare evaders

TICKET inspectors are out in force on Adelaide’s trams, with as many people caught without paying in the past four months as the whole of the year before.

TRAM inspectors are cracking down on fare evaders as part of an “unprecedented” campaign to stop people getting a free ride.

More than 650 people have been fined since July for not having a valid ticket on the tram line, between Glenelg and the Entertainment Centre.

It compares with 727 fines for the same offence in the entire 2016/17 financial year, and just 381 the year before that.

Transport officers have collected more than $140,000 in fines over the past five months.

A Transport Department spokesman said 10 extra ticket inspectors have been employed this year in a bid to stop fare dodgers in their tracks.

“Our public awareness campaign ‘FarePlayer’ and our unprecedented focus by police and revenue protection officers on fare evaders and anti-social behaviour, is having an impact,” the spokesman said.

A tram on King William St in the city.

“Fare evasion rates are still too high and unfair to the majority of South Australians who do the right thing and pay their way.

“We take fare evasion extremely seriously and will continue to look at putting in new and innovative measures to ensure that it is kept to an absolute minimum.”

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan said the State Government would continue to ramp up its efforts to either deter people or catch them.

“We’ve invested in better security, more police, more safety officers and more CCTV to deter anti-social behaviour and enable a rapid response across our public transport network,” he said.

Adelaide metrocards.

The standard fine for failing to pay for a trip on a tram, bus or train is $220 and the offence carries a maximum penalty of $1250.

Department officers checked more than 442,000 tickets in 2016/17 during 120 “revenue protection” operations.

Commuter Graham Archer, who regularly catches the tram from Goodwood to Glenelg, said he saw several people each trip who did not validate a ticket.

“You see them hop on and not scan and then hop off a bit further down the line – it happens all the time,” he said.

“I’ve seen people get caught one or two times, but most of the time they get off once they see the ticket inspector coming their way or try and come up with an excuse.”

Mandy validates her metroCARD when boarding the train
She could be fined if she doesn’t
Mandy is wise
Be like Mandyhttps://t.co/VBJxYGOJ7f pic.twitter.com/Hlbgpm4rIA

— AdelaideMetroSA (@AdelaideMetroSA) November 2, 2017

People for Public Transport spokeswoman Josephine Buckhorn said making metrocards more accessible would go a long way to reducing fare evasion.

“The initial purchase of a metrocard may be too expensive for some people that don’t catch public transport regularly and they may not be able to access a top-up station,” she said.

Ms Buckhorn said anti-social behaviour, vandalism and passenger and driver safety were more pressing issues for Adelaide’s public transport system than fare evasion.

A standard metrocard fare costs about $3.60 during peak times and $2 in other hours, while individual metrotickets are priced at a slightly higher rate.

The tram is free between Moseley Square and Brighton Rd, Glenelg, and from South Tce to the Entertainment Centre.