Judge puts brakes on commuter’s claim

NO TICKET, no ride. This was the verdict of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a damages claim by a train commuter against Prasa after he was injured after being pushed off a moving train.

Mamelodi resident Gabriel Bhiya instituted a damages claim against the rail agency as he argued it had a duty to ensure his safety while he was a paying commuter travelling on its trains.

Bhiya testified that he was a regular commuter on a morning train from his home in Mamelodi East to Midstream, Centurion, where he worked.

He said that in October 2016 he was in possession of a ticket when he boarded the train at the station at Mamelodi.

At one stage he stood up and moved towards the door to disembark at Pinedene Station. The train was full. Some passengers were sitting, others were standing.

The train stopped on the platform at Pinedene station, however, the doors did not open and the train moved away from the platform.

Bhiya said that a short distance further, the carriage doors opened. In an attempt to steady himself, or for physical support to remain standing, he tried to lean against fellow passengers. He was not able to do so and was pushed through the open carriage doors. He fell to the ground and injured his left arm and shoulder.

A Prasa officer came to his assistance and Bhiya said he showed the man his train ticket. He was told to put the ticket back in his pocket, before he was taken to hospital.

His sister testified that she later took his belongings from the hospital, which included his train ticket. She said she went to Prasa’s office to obtain forms so that he could lodge a claim and showed them the train ticket, before placing it in the boot of her car.

The ticket had meanwhile disappeared and she said she had no idea where it was. She later said she could not recall if she did take the ticket at the hospital or if she had shown it to the officials. She also could not recall whether, if she did show it to the officials, they had given it back to her.

Acting Judge SK Hassim said she was not persuaded by the sister’s evidence, that she could not recall what happened to the ticket, was true.

“She had taken pains to safeguard the plaintiff’s identity document and the ticket when he was in hospital. Even though she returned his cellphone to him after he was discharged from the hospital, she kept the identity document and the ticket with her for safekeeping. Against this background, I cannot accept that she can not recall what happened to the ticket,” the judge said.

The Prasa official who helped Bhiya on the scene testified that Bhiya told him that he had never had a ticket in the first place.

The judge concluded that Bhiya had not bought a ticket and was in breach of a statutory obligation to pay a fare.

Public policy and the legal convictions of society demand that members of society paid for services rendered to them, the judge said. According to her, Bhiya wanted to benefit from a free train ride and hold Prasa accountable for his injuries.

She said the rail agency could not under these circumstances be held liable for the injuries he suffered.