Train commuters an honest bunch

‘‘The first checkpoint caught just one passenger without a ticket out of 2775 passengers.’’

Wellington’s train users have proven themselves to be a largely honest lot, with less than 1 per cent caught dodging fares in random ticket checks.

Public transport provider Metlink announced last November it would introduce random checkpoints to curb fare dodging, which it said could be costing the Greater Wellington Regional Council up to $5 million a year.

That figure was based on international benchmark figures, which showed between five and ten per cent of commuters did not pay for their fares.

But pop-up checkpoints at Wellington Railway Station in November and February found just 10 out of almost 9000 Wellingtonians were flouting the rules.

The first checkpoint caught just one passenger without a ticket out of 2775 passengers, while the second discovered nine out of almost 6000 passengers had boarded the train illegally.

Those figures amounted to 0.1 per cent of total passengers checked.

The council has previously said fare dodgers were either not paying for their journeys, or were travelling further than their tickets allowed.

Metlink will continue to use random ticket checkpoints over the next few months, both on trains and at stations, it said.

There were a total of 12.8 million rail passenger trips last year.