Gold Coast fare evasion: Student fare evasion on Surfside buses triples costing hundreds of thousands of dollars

Fare evasion among students on Gold Coast public transport is epidemic and it’s costing taxpayers an astonishing amount of money as Minister Mark Bailey vows a crackdown.

Almost 4000 Gold Coast students are evading bus fares each school day, costing taxpayers half a million dollars more annually than it did just three years ago.

School bus fare evasions are soaring, having tripled in three years, prompting Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey to convene a stakeholder group to combat it.

Mr Bailey is ruling out making school bus runs free saying it’s a “minority” abusing a system designed to ensure no kid is left behind.

RORTING RIFE ON GOLD COAST PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Fare evasion is growing on Gold Coast buses among students.

The “fare evade” button on Gold Coast Surfside school bus runs was hit 763,944 times in 2017-18, triple the 238,195 hits just two years earlier, shock TransLink figures reveal.

Soaring fare evasion has been matched by a 51 per cent fall in revenue from Gold Coast school bus fares for the same period.

In 2015-16, State Government earned $908,322 in revenue from school bus services. By 2017-18 this had fallen to just $436,945.

The fare evade button was hit 1.67 million times overall on Surfside buses - on school runs and general public runs - for 2017-18.

COAST CHILDREN ARE REGULAR FARE EVADERS

Questions have been asked about how much worse fare evasion has become.

The driver presses the button when a student passenger says they do not have the money to pay.

Bus drivers are not allowed to leave students on the side of the road as a result of reforms following the 2003 abduction and murder of Sunshine Coast teen Daniel Morcombe.

Currumbin MP Jann Stuckey, whose question in State Parliament secured the data, said the escalation was “worrying”.

“Student fare evade counts have more than tripled in three years and fare revenue has more than halved which amounts half a million dollars in lost revenue,” she said.

“The culture of not paying and cheating on paying fares has escalated in worrying numbers and students who deliberately refuse to pay are setting a bad example to others to do the same and inflaming adult passengers who do pay.

Jann Stuckey. Picture David Clark

“This behaviour left unchecked is setting our youth on a path to petty theft and worse.”

Mr Bailey admitted it was a growing issue and vowed to tackle it.

“Last financial year, Queensland’s school bus drivers recorded more than 1.53 million fare evasions, compared to about 875,000 the year before,” he said.

“The majority of passengers do the right thing and pay but we clearly have a growing problem with fare evasion.”

TransLink will hire 16 new staff to a 55-strong senior network officer (SNO) team to patrol public transport and dish out fines.

Mr Bailey is hosting a roundtable meeting next month with drivers plus experts from government, education and community to strategise dealing with it.

Mr Bailey said fare evasion spiked during school runs most afternoons: “Most pay but a few are taking advantage of our provision of a service that makes sure people are safe.

“Clearly there is a substantial number of students taking advantage of it and that’s not fair and we will be dealing with it.”

Queensland, Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey. (AAP Image/Darren England)

Asked if the problem was so widespread that he should consider free school bus runs, Mr Bailey said it was 75 per cent subsidised already: “I don’t think so.

“I suspect quite a few parents would be surprised to hear their child hasn’t been paying fares.”

Keebra Park State High student Mariah Stuart, 17, said students shouldn’t have to pay for school runs.

“But we should on public busses,” she said. “I don’t always have enough money left on my card and the school bus drivers can be really rude about it.

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Fare evasion is a growing issue.

“Some get mad when you don’t pay. Drivers yell at the first few then everyone pushes on anyway.”

Fellow Keebra Park student Phoenix Hetherington, 14, said most students don’t pay: “There’s no point paying - it should be free.

“Some kids can’t afford it. No one ever really pays.”

Benowa State High School student Quinn Caerpinael, 17, said he doesn’t think anyone should have to pay for public transport but still does himself.

“Usually (I pay), it depends sometimes it runs out and you’re like oops I don’t have money,” he said.