PLAN TO STOP RAIL THUGS IN THEIR TRACKS
Rather than chasing fare evaders and violent offenders after the fact , stop them climbing aboard in the first place
SOMETIMES the best solutions are the simplest.
For years now, we’ve been reading the same story. From bus drivers begging for barriers to protect them from passengers, to multiple occasions of assault and abuse on both our heavy and light rail lines – our public transportation systems have become regular carriers of criminals.
This week the Bulletin reported of a 15-year-old youth who body-slammed a stranger into a footpath while he was waiting for a bus.
It was the ninth violent teen attack near transport hubs covered by this newspaper just this year.
Police are well aware of the issue and are doing all they can to protect employees and the public alike, particularly through Operation Luminous, which targets offenders using public transport while also educating passengers to raise awareness of their personal safety (hint: don’t wear headphones).
Just this Thursday, officers from across the Coast conducted sweeps of railway stations at Robina, Helensvale and Coomera – which resulted in multiple charges being laid.
Key stakeholders like Translink, Queensland Rail and G:link also acknowledge the problem and regularly work with police to detect and disrupt anti-social and criminal behaviour on the Gold Coast railway network.
Meanwhile, as we are constantly told, our trams, trains and stations alike are well equipped with CCTV cameras, with transportation officers in regular communication with police.
But the truth is that’s nothing new – and it’s clearly not enough. As the headlines demonstrate, this has hardly proven an effective deterrent.
In fact, an insider tells me CCTV works best as a public pacifier. In reality, the offenders can disable the cameras or simply disguise themselves with a handy hoody.
And while there’s long been talk of a heavier police presence in Helensvale, which has become a hub for both transportation and criminal behaviour, is this really going to prevent the problem? Or does it just mean the number of captured crims will rise – along with the number of victims.
Rather than reactively chasing offenders, or even proactively searching for antisocial behaviour amongst passengers – why not prevent them from ever climbing aboard?
Multiple sources within the public transportation industry tell me the common denominator amongst the vast majority of offenders is that they are also fare evaders. It makes sense.
I can hardly imagine that teen gangs who threaten or violate the safety of innocent commuters are concerned with ensuring their Go Cards are fully loaded to ride the rails.
So let’s stop them in their tracks.
Right now we rely on proof-of-payment schemes, where passengers scan their cards at a detector and fareenforcement officers conduct periodic sweeps to check rider compliance. This might appear a cost-effective system, but it seems we’re paying a heavy price regardless.
I’m sure it’s only a small percentage of passengers who engage in fare evasion – but it’s also only a small percentage who engage in criminal behaviour … and those little numbers add up to a big problem.
It’s why Adelaide has increasingly introduced ticket barriers at its stations, with the South Australian Government losing up to $3 million a year in fare evasions.
“We know over time that this investment will be repaid in making sure that more people are doing the right thing, validating their tickets and paying their way on public transport,” said thenTransport Minister Stephen Mullighan.
“Rolling out this infrastructure means that we
are targeting the greatest number of people on our public transport system, making sure they’re doing the right thing and paying their way when they’re using our trains.”
But most importantly, beyond fare recovery, installing a turnstile system or ticket barriers at our Gold Coast rail stations – both light and heavy – would literally keep out the criminal element.
Yes, there would be a cost to erect such a system – but why should that be a problem? After all, with the G:link continuing to break records in terms of passenger numbers – tracking more than one million trips in July alone – revenue has also been boosted. And with less fare evasion, there will only be more cash in the coffers.
Indeed, close to 190 million trips were taken on southeast buses, trains, trams and ferries in 2018-19 – seven million more than the previous financial year.
So there is money to be made. And money to be spent.
And what better purpose for those payments than ensuring the safety of passengers on public transportation?