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Secret Harbor woman is WA’s worst fare evader says PTA

Rachel FennerWeekend Kwinana Courier

AN 18-month operation by the Public Transport Authority (PTA) showed that a Secret Harbour woman was one of the worst fare evaders in WA.

The woman used a relative’s heath care card to catch $11,600 worth of cheap train travel.

A Meadow Springs man used his brother’s SmartRider to pay 60c to ride from Mandurah to Perth.

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PTA spokesman David Hynes said a passenger travelling from Mandurah to Perth and back each day should be paying $9.30 each way (after the 25 per cent discount for using an auto-loaded SmartRider).

“Instead, some have been paying just 60c each way using a student SmartRider,” he said.

They are among the hundreds of Transperth passengers who fraudulently used concession SmartRiders.

Most of the unpaid funds have been recouped in full or through payment plans or via the courts and debt collection.

Mr Hynes said the operation began in June 2015 and has seen 794 cards confiscated.

“So far we have recouped more than $120,000 in revenue lost when people travelled on SmartRiders they were not entitled to use,” Mr Hynes said.

Less than 1 per cent of Transperth passengers are fare evaders; the lowest in the county.

More than 22 million fare checks are conducted each year.

“The people caught during this operation are not what most people would consider typical fare evaders,” Mr Hynes said.

“They are tagging on and off using SmartRiders; the problem is they aren’t entitled to the discounted travel the card is getting them.

“The gap between what they have been paying – and what they should be paying goes into the operation of public transport services in WA – it’s not fair that other passengers pay their way and they don’t.

“For this reason, Transperth has launched a campaign to remind passengers we are on the look-out for this type of offending.”