New strategy to combat fare evasion after audit identifies weak links

A new strategy will be developed to combat fare evasion after an internal audit criticised the lack of departmental oversight and recommended officers have access to better data on the most problematic routes and stops.

The audit found senior network officers spent about 90 per cent of their time on bus, CityCat and ferry routes, not because of the level of fare evasion but due to the availability of data to help pinpoint problem areas.

On those modes of public transport, drivers have a button to press if passengers don’t swipe on, allowing for the event to be recorded and analysed.

Translink will devise a new strategy to combat fare evasion.Credit: Courtney Kruk

The audit found officers were generally “performing their duties without much guidance and/or oversight” and should have access to better data with clear objectives for their work.

“Improvements to systems and software should also be considered to further support fare evasion analysis and activities into the future,” the audit found.

“One key example of this is the limited fare evasion data that can be collected on train routes. While the other services can rely on an operator recording instances of fare evasion (which comes with its own risks as operators may abuse this power), trains’ electronic card readers exist on the platforms, rather than the vehicles themselves.”

The audit, completed in November and obtained under right to information laws, found up to $37 million in revenue was being lost every year due to fare evasion.

A prevention and enforcement strategy was drafted in 2021 but never introduced.

While Translink has yet to recalculate the amount of revenue lost under 50¢ fares, it has vowed to continue its work on fare evasion and noted that officers also had an important safety and security role.

“Translink has an existing fare evasion policy, with the audit referring to a broader strategy that will be updated as part of the response to the introduction of 50¢ fares,” Translink told this masthead in a statement.

Translink will consider more sophisticated software solutions, such as door counting technology and artificial intelligence, to improve data collection and analysis. However, the lower lost revenue figure will ultimately determine the value in spending any more money on the problem.

The introduction of 50¢ fares, now made permanent with bipartisan support, was intended to ease cost-of-living pressures, with any boost to patronage or reduction in car usage considered a secondary benefit. The plan for a six-month trial was abandoned.

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