Article: Scheme to shield fare evaders

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Scheme to shield fare evaders

Scheme to shield fare evaders
Maris Beck
July 5, 2012

For $20 a month, fare evaders are being offered 'Tramsurance'.

A SCHEME that aims to shield fare evaders from paying fines is being set up by online activists in protest at the level of fares and penalties on Melbourne's public transport.

For $20 a month, evaders are being offered ''Tramsurance'' - coverage against penalties they incur for travelling without a valid ticket.

The protest follows a recent crackdown on fare evasion, with a 47 per cent increase in the number of fines being issued. It also comes after fines jumped from $180 to $207 on July 1.

"Drastic methods of protesting such as an organised disruption are necessary to enact real change," Tramsurance organiser Tom Pisel told The Age.

If it can deliver on its promise, Tramsurance's $20 fee would be far cheaper than paying for regular travel. Monthly myki passes start at just under $60 for concession travellers, and go as high as $190.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said the protest was unfair. "It's not a free system. Public transport needs all the revenue it can get to improve."

Mr Pisel, a 19-year-old engineering student at the University of Melbourne, said the idea was "kicked into motion" by frustration at a fine he received last year after losing his ticket. ''The premise is ... we've already paid so much money for a system which we don't endorse.

"We're not encouraging people to break the law, merely to protest and try to enact change."

Mr Pisel said Tramsurance, to launch on July 20, was a fighting fund rather than insurance. "We will pay out all fines up to the limits of Tramsurance's income. Everyone has basically put money into a pool and then people claim their money out of it."

A Public Transport Victoria spokeswoman said steps would be taken to stop the scheme and warned commuters against signing up, saying they could lose their money. Tramsurance "will not excuse people from the legal consequences", she said.

The idea has already been tried in France, where, according to The Guardian, people pay €5 to €7 a month to practise "the Parisian art of fare evasion".

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/scheme-to-shield-fare-evaders-20120704-21hnf.html

Crikey, fares in Melbourne are very good relative to south-east Queensland for example.  This scheme will no doubt be stamped down legally.

Agree with the PTUA.

[SurfRail]

There is no way this can exist legally, quite apart from the opposition which will come from the State government.

They should be charged for fraud.

[Fares_Fair]

Government gets a list of the Tramsurance signatories and specifically target them on the services - daily.
It would go broke in no time and the signatories would end up with more fines than a bucket of sand ...

[colinw]

Sliding scale of penalties. Double the fine for each subsequent breach.

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Threats fail to halt fare evaders

Threats fail to halt fare evaders
Craig Butt and Maris Beck
July 6, 2012

ORGANISERS of a proposed scheme to shield public transport fare evaders from fines are not giving up on their plan - at least not yet - despite threats of prosecution and appeals to their consciences.

Australia's corporate regulator has warned them they might be breaking the law if they do not have a licence for their scheme.

''To offer insurance, or any other financial product without a licence may be an offence under the Corporations Act and carries a fine and or a jail sentence of up to two years,'' an Australian Securities and Investments Commission spokesman said.
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Public Transport Victoria chief Ian Dobbs urged the organisers to shelve the project.

''We're going to ask them to desist,'' he told ABC radio. ''If they don't do that we will probably have to refer them to Victoria Police because we can't have this.''

The comments followed yesterday's revelations in The Age about the scheme dubbed ''Tramsurance'' by its promoters.

For $20 a month, it offers to cover fare evaders for penalties they incur for travelling on Melbourne's public transport without tickets.

While the service was set to begin on July 20, organiser Tom Pisel said yesterday he was no longer sure whether it would be going live on that date, and that legal advice was being sought.

''We do definitely want to go ahead with it but we are considering our options,'' Mr Pisel said.

Mr Pisel, an engineering student, said if he was not involved in turning the idea into a reality he hoped someone else would figure out a way to make it work.

''The idea is no longer ours but belongs to everyone who has been dissatisfied with Melbourne's public transport to date,'' he said.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said it was not possible to say whether Tramsurance was legal until the concept had adopted a clear business model.

Mr Pisel said his model was a trust rather than a bona fide insurance scheme.

Under the Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act, Tramsurance would have to provide assurances that any fines incurred by users could be covered by the $20 monthly payment or risk being accused of engaging in misleading conduct.

Mr Dobbs said the concept would incite people to break the law by dodging fares.

''People who are cheating the system are really cheating the users and making it more difficult to improve things in future,'' he said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/threats-fail-to-halt-fare-evaders-20120705-21k5e.html

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

'Tramsurance' retreats after threat

'Tramsurance' retreats after threat
July 7, 2012 Georgia Wilkins

ORGANISERS of a proposed scheme to insure train and tram users against fines have retreated from the idea after being hit with a cease-and-desist letter and threats of police action.

The scheme, dubbed ''Tramsurance'', had hoped to offer fare evaders protection against penalties they incurred for travelling without a valid ticket if they signed up for a $20 monthly insurance fee.

But organiser Tom Pisel said the scheme's website would ''no longer promote the idea''.

''We'll comply with the cease-and-desist by transitioning Tramsurance.com and its Facebook and Twitter [pages] into activist platforms,'' he told The Saturday Age.

''We believe this is our best course of action, and congruent with our legal advice.''

Public Transport Victoria issued organisers with the cease-and-desist letter on Thursday, and threatened to refer the matter to police if the website remained active after 5pm the same day.

''Travel on the Victorian public transport system without a valid ticket is an offence,'' it said. ''Your scheme therefore encourages members of the public to commit an offence.''

Police were not able to confirm yesterday whether they would look into the matter, and would not comment on the legality of the scheme or website.

Mr Pisel, a 19-year-old engineering student at the University of Melbourne, said he was confident he was not breaking any laws by keeping the site active after the deadline, and would modify it according to legal advice.

In an open letter to Public Transport Victoria, he said Tramsurance did not advocate fare evasion. ''We've outlined with our idea a simple possibility, and with that the failure of our government to meet the needs of its people.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tramsurance-retreats-after-threat-20120706-21mob.html