DROP PRICES TO STOP RORT
EUROPE’S tiny country of Luxembourg is about to abolish fares on public transport, which is creating interest worldwide.
The Estonian capital of Tallinn ditched fares for all registered city residents in 2013, but non-residents and tourists still have to pay to ride.
The nearest we get to free public transport in Australia is the very limited service provided in Melbourne, where a free tram runs in a loop around part of the CBD...
Oh, and Gold Coast buses that pick up and drop off schoolchildren for free – even though they are supposed to pay or use their school travel pass. It’s just that in this age of disruption, the kids have taken it on themselves to work the system, knowing that while cranky bus drivers will bark at them as they walk on without paying, they will be allowed to ride for free.
This is for two reasons.
A “no child left behind’’ policy was introduced after the tragic case of Daniel Morcombe, the 13-year-old boy who was abducted and murdered after a bus failed to pick him up from a stop in the Sunshine Coast hinterland. The other reason was the number of assaults on drivers who tried to challenge passengers who refused to pay, leading to the introduction of “fare evade’’ buttons that are pressed to tally the number of people who stride on to a bus with no intention of paying the fare.
No caring, reasonable person would dispute the need for public transport to carry kids who have lost or forgotten their pass or money. And no one expects drivers to challenge abusive passengers, given the sorry history of assaults in buses on the Gold Coast. The genie is out of the bottle.
But as our report today on shock TransLink figures shows, fare evasion is having a major impact, with soaring numbers of kids taking free rides reflected in a dramatic plunge in revenue from school bus services – to the tune of half a million dollars annually. The question now is whether taxpayers are prepared to subsidise the growing numbers rorting the system.
It is tempting to jump up and down and demand action. It is even more tempting to wave a white flag and say school kids should travel for free anyway. A sensible solution lies somewhere in between. Public transport fares are too high.
If the Government is serious about cutting congestion and encouraging people to use public transport, it will reduce fares and increase services, and look for solutions to the “last mile’’ dilemma that discourages kids and working adults from using public transport – that is, the distance and effort to get from the station, bus or tram stop to school or work, and later to get home. Commuters will only walk so far.
Public transport services must provide a cheap and efficient web of options.