Fare evasion - articles discussion ...

[somebody]

Avoidance/evasion - not my point in the above.  I'm sure it wasn't colinw's either.

I don't think the loophole of going more than $5 negative is evasion either technically.

[ozbob]

I never  said it was.  I referenced a comment, which you agreed with  ...

The present fare structure which allows free travel after 9 paid journeys has been referred to by some as " ... Government mandated fare evasion after 9 journeys in a week "  ( http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9539.msg118009#msg118009 ) this is a massive cost as well.

Anyone with a half brain can read the link and see the context ...  the free after 9 ( or 10 ) is a joke, and a rort, I have never said it was fare evasion, others have though ... the point I was making was that it costs, and it costs big money.

[ozbob]

Many people have freely admitted rorting the system to reach the journey cap ....  comments perfectly valid ...

If by "rorting" you mean people following the letter of the law and rules by which Translink manages the Go-card and Govt approved fare structure, then no. You are comparing criminals with law abidding citizens and as someone who does not knowly fare evade, I (and others) take offense to that and in my view you are discrediting your statements about both. If you have issues with the way the fare system is structured (which I agree with), take the fight on seperately.

@RTT rort has a number of meanings.  Expand your horizon ...

rort =

to obtain the greatest benefit while remaining within the letter of the law.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rort

Doing nine one zone journeys for example on a Monday, to obtain benefit for the rest of the week, is a rort.

Do unnecessary one stop bus trips on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday lunchtime, to obtain free fares for the rest of the week is to rort.

To do the Monday 'go card office run' to rack up journeys for fellow co workers is rorting and probably illegal, as go cards are not transferable.

If you are going to get on your highhorse, get your facts correct.  A "PR"  I assume you mean media (press) release was not what I sent, I sent an email.  Two very different things by the way ... 

Time this abomination of a fare system was fixed. 

[Stillwater]

The state government plans to move to a new fare structure in 2015 is totally unacceptable.  The drain on the fare revenue over two years is significant and runs counter to state government objectives to save money and spend responsibly.

[ozbob]

The state government plans to move to a new fare structure in 2015 is totally unacceptable.  The drain on the fare revenue over two years is significant and runs counter to state government objectives to save money and spend responsibly.

Not only that it is forcing people off public transport.  My greatest concern is that this will lead to service cuts, which will further lead to patronage falls and so the system collapses.   

[somebody]

The state government plans to move to a new fare structure in 2015 is totally unacceptable.  The drain on the fare revenue over two years is significant and runs counter to state government objectives to save money and spend responsibly.

Have they said that?

[ozbob]

The state government plans to move to a new fare structure in 2015 is totally unacceptable.  The drain on the fare revenue over two years is significant and runs counter to state government objectives to save money and spend responsibly.

Have they said that?

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Transport and Main Roads said fares would increase another 7.5 per cent in 2014. But she said fares would be reviewed beyond that date.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/north/public-transport-woes/story-fn8m0rl4-1226556054049

[somebody]

Everything about fares has happened as I expected then.

[ozbob]

However, they are committed to a new fare structure this year, as detailed in the Premiers Action Plan 6 month plan, I don't take too much notice of the comments by the 'spokeswoman' just running out the lines ..

[somebody]

However, they are committed to a new fare structure this year, as detailed in the Premiers Action Plan 6 month plan, I don't take too much notice of the comments by the 'spokeswoman' just running out the lines ..

True,  I guess time will tell.

[petey3801]

The cynic in me thinks this new fare structure will simply be a case of bringing the old Qconnect fares into line with SEQ fares... But I do hope i'm wrong about that!

[ozbob]

The cynic in me thinks this new fare structure will simply be a case of bringing the old Qconnect fares into line with SEQ fares... But I do hope i'm wrong about that!

Understand the concerns Petey, however in the action plan it does mention SEQ specifically ..

Page 6 - "Announce a new fare structure for public transport in South East Queensland"

Q Connect fares are quite reasonable generally, balanced.  I think there would be much local grief if the same failed 5 year fare path was rolled out to Q Connect.  Q Connect fares --> http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/travel-and-transport/qconnect/urban-bus-services.aspx  Some of the systems also have weekly tickets which doesn't appear on that page, but on the local pages.  For example Cairns --> http://www.sunbus.com.au/documents/2013Fares_Cairns_000.pdf  I am of two minds as to why this it is so.  Maybe they don't want SEQueenslanders to know?  Maybe it is just incompetence ... LOL

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Taxpayers forced to make up shortfall

Taxpayers forced to make up shortfall

    by: Robyn Ironside
    From: The Courier-Mail
    April 09, 2013 12:00AM

BRISBANE'S latest rail rort is targeting the Airtrain - and taxpayers are picking up the tab to ensure its private operator is not left out of pocket.

Travellers riding the Airtrain have found a way to reduce the $16 fare in a scam that is costing TransLink up to $60,000 a month. And under its contract, the privately owned Airtrain still gets paid by TransLink, regardless of whether fares are paid in full.

Go cards can be bought for $10, which includes $5 credit.

The scam involves people buying an unregistered card, getting on the Airtrain - which costs $16 from Central Station - touching off at the airport and then discarding the card with a negative balance of $11. The rorter effectively saves $6 on the fare.

Under go card rules, as long as the balance is in the black at the touch-on point, travellers are permitted to touch off with a negative balance.

Go cards sales indicate they are being used as throwaway tickets by some people, with close to 2000 sold every day.

TransLink has been aware of the scam for some time and "is investigating".

Figures provided to The Courier-Mail from a source at TransLink showed losses from the practice climbed to $60,000 last month, double what they were a year ago.

TransLink data also showed about 6000 go cards were not used again in March after being used for an Airtrain trip.

A spokesman for Transport Minister Scott Emerson said the most recent data the department had, from October 2012, showed 1095 go cards were in "negative balance" when touched off after an Airtrain journey.

"This means approximately $7000 in lost revenue," he said.

"If people are misusing go cards in this way it is fare evading and illegal.

"Since the previous government reduced the go card deposit from $10 to $5 in December 2009, this activity has become a lot easier."

Robert Dow, from commuter advocacy group Rail Back on Track, said rorting of the go card system had been a concern for some time.

"The evidence is the high number of sales of go card, which was around 3000 a day in January," Mr Dow said.

"We think that's extraordinary and there needs to be some thought to increasing the minimum credit allowed, or they need to close the system down, remove paper (tickets) and use fare gates more widely."

TransLink may also need to look at the way unregistered go cards were sold, he said.

"In The Netherlands unregistered cards must have at least $25 ($20) on them before they will tag on. Once credit falls below this amount, you can't tag on again until the balance on the card is over $25 again."

According to latest patronage figures, an average of 150,000 people a month catch the Airtrain.

After a previous go card scam was revealed - in which commuters were failing to touch off because the $5 fine was less than the fare - the penalty for not touching off was increased to $10.

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/4/9/go-card-misuse-under-investigation

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Scott Emerson

go card misuse under investigation

The Newman Government is investigating the illegal use of go card on long-distance and Airtrain travel.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said research showed more than 1000 people a month may be misusing their go card on the Airtrain.

"TransLink data collected in October 2012 showed 1095 passengers have gone into a negative balance when they touched off on an Airtrain journey and then failed to repay the balance over the past six months," Mr Emerson said.

"I believe people misusing go cards in this way are fare evading and ripping off honest users up to $7000 a month on Airtrain.

"I expect the rort started to develop when the former Labor government decided to change the go card deposit from $10 to $5 in late 2009."

TransLink is currently conducting further research into the loophole across the network, particularly on Airtrain travel, which costs at least $16 a trip.

"Most people use the system correctly, however we won't tolerate fare evasion and lost revenue, particularly as we try to eliminate the debt left to us by Labor, find savings and deliver a more affordable public transport network," Mr Emerson said.

TransLink will submit options to tackle the loophole in the coming months.

[#Metro]

Mr emerson should resign, we are all sick and tired of hearing about Labor.Sick! He's obviously living in the past. The rort is totally expected with world highest fares and is only going to get worse.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Go Card airport crackdown

[somebody]

Mr emerson should resign, we are all sick and tired of hearing about Labor.Sick! He's obviously living in the past. The rort is totally expected with world highest fares and is only going to get worse.

What about Minister Nolan and Premier Bligh?

In NSW they're still talking about the previous government after two years!

I think we've got the best minister we've had since I got to Brisbane.

[Derwan]

I honestly think this is just a well-orchestrated media release in order to increase the deposit or minimum amount on cards without as much public backlash.

The same thing happened with the fixed penalty.

If they'd simply increased the deposit/minimum and included the facts as justification, all we'd see in the CM is a big headline saying something like "Hike in Go Card fees", with the real reason buried at the bottom of the story that nobody reads until they've actually commented on the story.

The CM won't run anything unless there's a scandal involved.  By doing it this way (releasing the facts before taking action), the scandal is the rorting of the system, which the LNP can blame Labor for.  Then when LNP takes action (which was planned before the release), they can say they're "fixing" it.

Isn't politics such a lovely game!

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Qld Government moves to stop Go-Card rorters

[ozbob]

I expect the deposit will be increased.  The rorting appears to be on unregistered go cards, so possibly an increased deposit for a go card, with a part transference to credit for travel when registered, or a reduced deposit when purchasing a registered go card outright.  Might drive more to register and reduce the excessive sale of cards as well.

The other option is to tighten up stations like the air train.  Gates could be placed that don't allow negative touch offs.  Would be easier to monitor.

[ozbob]

Been a lot of media interest in the fare evasion / fares today.  About to be interviewed on 4BC Newstalk 1116 (around 1pm), Channel 9 News interview earlier today and I expect other MSM news might be running something as well.

[somebody]

Might as well go to $15 deposit.  At $10 there is still an incentive to fare evade if you aren't getting on at one of the CBD stations.

[#Metro]

simon, the minister made a whole heap of reviews.big deal. The previous gov funded Buz upgrades and built the busway. Talk is not action, action is action. Yet to see any tangible change from we emerson

[somebody]

simon, the minister made a whole heap of reviews.big deal. The previous gov funded Buz upgrades and built the busway. Talk is not action, action is action. Yet to see any tangible change from we emerson

We've seen BUZ 330 & 340 under this government though.  That's better than what I expected!

4.5 years under Bligh saw 140, 412, 222, 120, 196, 180, 100 being BUZed, more than half of that in the last year when Anastacia Palashay was transport minister.

The rate of positive improvement is little different.

[HappyTrainGuy]

So what they did a busway on the northside. Its a crappy and poorly backed busway (Its a shame the lead stop is halfway along the platform at Lutyche. Kudos on planning) and quickly buzed the 330/340 when they actually realised just how few routes would actually be using it instead of reviewing routes and making changes accordingly. The busnetwork review should have been undertaken prior to the busway actually opening. The busway spawened the 335 Sandgate extension and the existance of a full time 328 instead of the 325/335/339 at the time actually doing the 328 run before starting its route or after it finished it route. Make the 330 all stops and get rid of the waste!

[ozbob]

Been a lot of media interest in the fare evasion / fares today.  About to be interviewed on 4BC Newstalk 1116 (around 1pm), Channel 9 News interview earlier today and I expect other MSM news might be running something as well.

Channel 9 News are not running the story now.

[colinw]

$20 minimum touch on, and fare gates that will not open if you overdraw your card, although that would have to be contingent on either an AVVM or manned ticket office being available to top up.

Allowing people to touch on if they have only a very small positive balance, combined with our open un-gated stations, is just asking to be rorted.

[somebody]

So what they did a busway on the northside. Its a crappy and poorly backed busway (Its a shame the lead stop is halfway along the platform at Lutyche. Kudos on planning) and quickly buzed the 330/340 when they actually realised just how few routes would actually be using it instead of reviewing routes and making changes accordingly. The busnetwork review should have been undertaken prior to the busway actually opening. The busway spawened the 335 Sandgate extension and the existance of a full time 328 instead of the 325/335/339 at the time actually doing the 328 run before starting its route or after it finished it route. Make the 330 all stops and get rid of the waste!

They?  You mean Labor?

Must agree with your comments about it being "crappy".  Still I'm not too uncomfortable with the way the service is run along here.  My major bug bear is the 375 not being broken up and both parts being placed in KGSBS.

$20 minimum touch on, and fare gates that will not open if you overdraw your card, although that would have to be contingent on either an AVVM or manned ticket office being available to top up.

Allowing people to touch on if they have only a very small positive balance, combined with our open un-gated stations, is just asking to be rorted.

$15-$20 deposit seems about right.  $10 doesn't seem enough.  I wouldn't make the minimum touch on amount non-zero though.  It's far easier to understand having a zero minimum touch on than a non-zero one IMO.

[Get_a_Wriggle_On]

I think it's not so much the intro of gocards that were meant to increase fare compliance
as the intro of fare gates. Gates of any type (retractable leaf like Sydney has, paddles like
Brisbane has, or turnstyle) seem to be marketed largely on the basis of increasing fare compliance.

Even from the conversation thread here it seems most of you have observed worse compliance at
ungated stations than gated ones... but I digress.

(In the following, please don't confuse/equate "fare compliance" with the reported numbers of
fare evasion fines issued)

The way Brisbane's paddle type fare gates are set up I think there is necessarily a compromise between
throughput and safety. If you want more throughput (think any city station during morning peak) then
you want gates to open/close faster. If you want gates to be safer (think strollers, children, elderly)
then you want gates to open/close slower - the wider gates are slower. That might be an oversimplification
of how gates work, but this discussion is about fare evasion.

Paddle and leaf type gates also do a thing called "banking". The way that can be explained is that
if enough commuters on one side are touching their cards fast enough in succession (again think of
peak times at city stations), then the paddles remain open for some predetermined number of touches
to facilitate faster throughput. Another digression...

Watch the crowds use gates at any peak time - you'll see many commuters still don't "get" banking.
They still think they have to wait for the paddles to close after the previous commuter has gone through
before they can touch their own card and proceed through - that appears to be an almost incredible
consequence of really poor commuter communication by Translink's marketing people. Nowhere have I ever
seen this simple concept explained in Translink's handouts that come with a gocard:- you don't have to
wait for gate paddles to close before touching your own gocard; as soon as you see a green arrow you
can touch your card and proceed through the gate. Anyway...

Both this banking feature and the speed at which the paddles normally swing if banking is not occurring
facilitate plenty of opportunities for fare evasion.

I think therefore that some proportion of all evasions are opportunistic; people see an opening, they
walk through it without touching; a behaviour which might also explain why compliance at ungated
stations is poor.


I put it to you all that there is not enough information/evidence in those articles copied to this
thread to discern whether the gocard system in general, fare levels in general, and fare gates in
particular, are any more or less effective at changing fare compliance rates. All they state is
reported fine issue rates. These fines could have been issued to;

- invalid ticket/card holders (including invalid concession ticket/card holders),
- no ticket/no card holders,
- didn't touch on/off card holders

Any others I can't come up with right now?

Some salient points to consider;
- Turnstyles would possibly reduce the behaviour discussed above (too late, we're stuck with paddles).

- Can the existing gates be configured to paddle faster without compromising safety too much?
  That's a risk management question - open to different stakeholder perceptions.


- Revenue protection officers appear to get good bust rates at gated stations because they gravitate to
  these locations and can observe commuters coming through gates in multiple sequential/queue fashion
  and would spot dodgey players a lot more easily than in an amorphous crowd passing through ungated
  station entrances/exits. There are simply less commuter behaviour/movement options at gates.

- That implies ungated stations might be patrolled less frequently (would love to see those stat's!).
  So the "trouble" appears at gated stations, when really it's quite possible gated station compliance
  rates are better than ungated station compliance rates. This is not analysis that can be done fully
  using just gocard data; almost by definition, those that don't touch are invisible to the system.

- Apparently there are over 100 fare gates lying idle in a Brisbane supplier warehouse hidey hole.
  They've apparently been there for a couple of years, unpacked, so; exposed to grime, carbon dust,
  heat, Brisbane humidity, UV from warehouse lighting, etc etc.
  - Doubt that the minister would try to deny these gates are there.
  - Could the minister tell us why they haven't been put into use?
  - Can the minister tell us whether Translink/taxpayers have already paid for these gates? 
  - If these gates are not already paid for will the minister insist on a discount on any
    future purchase of these gates now they're not new any more?
  - Can the minister provide an estimate of incrementally improved fare compliance once these gates
    are put into use, and an estimate of incremental fare non-compliance due to these gates not having
    been put into use for the last couple of years?

On the face of it having that many gates ordered and then lying idle seems to be an almighty management
failure. The depreciation and material degradation of these assets lying idle must be accounted for
someplace.

It then also appears quite remarkable that the minister did not suggest gates for the airport stations
as part of a revenue protection solution out there, so that when revenue protection officers go out
to those stations they can observe commuters more effectively, as discussed above.

[ozbob]

Good points. TransLink / Ministers have said a number of times that where there are fare gates fare revenue has increased ...

The things you have observed eg. banking we have reported for years those sort of issues and in fact I have sat at stations and watched evaders simply trailing through at times.  Others have been observed simply jumping over the gates, I have observed that at Flinders St Station in Melbourne as well.  Quite comical on one level ...

There are broad plans to roll out more fare gates as I understand it, but some stations present some issues because of design.  Eg. Milton.

The authorities would like to gate Bowen Hills, Indooroopilly, Milton and probably others.

In time some will be ...

[Get_a_Wriggle_On]

Okay, I don't want to bore people here with rusty topics so I'll be as brief as I can.

Let's see. From the stations mentioned in this thread... extract already gated stations;
Roma St (1915 fines), Fortitude Valley (1322 fines), Central (952 fines), Ipswich: 642
[most if not all of these have ticket office windows inside their paid areas]


Extract ungated stations with arguably lesser public purse/political impact;
Goodna: 497, Darra: 479, Redbank: 457, Wacol: 375, Gailes: 238, Riverview: 231
Dinmore: 190, Booval: 177, Bundamba: 169


So what to commend to a minister on a budget? focus on these ones;
Separated into those that would be easy to solve and those that would be hard
i.e. max political gain in min time and for min cost.

For a gated station what are basic requirements?
- shelter for gates (warehouse pre-aged or not, they're not waterproof)
- secure and safe station perimeter (minimize bypassing, maximize monitorability)


Relatively easy/cheap, ranked in order of political/cost sexy to not-so-sexy;

1]
International Airport, Domestic Airport
Gate covered overhead bridges. [yes, that's it]

2]
Beenleigh (1141 fines) [not familiar with that haunt]
island platform secure, no bridges, gate main subway, get rid of any minor subway.

3]
Indooroopilly [upgraded what, 4-5 years ago?]
island platforms, close subway, gate covered bridge.

4]
Bowen Hills (1403 fines)
island platforms, get rid of north end bridge, gate south end covered bridge.

5]
Northgate (1323 fines)
island platforms, get rid of north end bridge, gate mid-platform covered bridge.

6]
Park Rd (1677 fines)
island platforms, gate south end of covered bridge, secure northern platorm, make
one sheltered gated ingress/egress point near bridge and ticket office.


Relatively hard/expensive:

Milton; too open, would have to close and secure everything except covered bridge.
Petrie (1290 fines); also wide open
Altandi (1235 fines); what a mess on the western side
Strathpine (1022 fines); ditto. They only upgraded that one what, 3 years ago? And no one
                         looked at whether they had a compliance problem? Doh! Needs more work!

[HappyTrainGuy]

re city stations - IIRC you can be finned on the platforms or walking between platforms (Its a closed station so you need a ticket to enter/exit so if you don't have on you have already committed fare evasion. You might see them at the top or bottoms of stairs during off peak or they walk along the platforms). So say if someone boards a peak hour train at Geebung and intends on going to Yeronga without purchasing a valid ticket so they need to transfer onto a Beenleigh train (Bowen Hills-Roma Street) which is where they get pinged for not having a ticket.

Re Northgate the bridge to the north - that would not go down very well at all. Its a very popular route for workers and residents to the north/north east. Zillmere is a station that really needs bridge access to the north east (not that it would be happening for a very long time). There was a period where there were alot of people spotted constantly tresspassing along the corridor to access the platforms instead of walking around to the south of the station to use (IIRC there were a couple emergency closures where members of the public had called police about people walking along the tracks (not the Zillmere-Geebung one where people at the Bowls club saw kids walking on the tracks)/QR employees had observed people in the corridor).

[petey3801]

Closing the northern bridge at Bowen Hills won't go down well either, as not only is it a popular pax route, it is the route for traincrew to gain access to Mayne from Bowen Hills platforms.

[Golliwog]

My understanding is that the lack of gates at many stations is due to a reluctance to put extra station staff on to man more than 1 set of gates out of peak (and depending on the station, in peak as well). As I understand it, this is why when it was rebuilt Ferny Grove was only built with one way in and out for normal station access (the other end of the platform still has an emergency exit). For example, Mitchelton station has the over bridge, as well as the pedestrian crossing at the FG end of the platform. To put enough gates on the over bridge, you'd either need to widen it significantly, or put one set at each end of it, plus the 3rd set to cover the pedestrian crossing. Obviously it'd be a tad expensive to then have 3 station staff sit around manning these all day.

The other thing to consider when recommending closing off access points to stations is how that effects the spread of passengers along the platform. With Ferny Grove, it's quite interesting a train pull up and the vast majority of people are all in the front carriages, which then means that with subsequent stations, even if passengers have spread along the platforms, those carriages are obviously going to fill up first.

[somebody]

Getting Landsbough done is probably a huge significant factor on its own and I think you could just about squeeze a 1hr timetable to Nambour. Its also the requirement for Sunny Coast line (not that it won't happen soon, but you need this part first).

I think you can't without keeping the so called "dance of the trains".  If you get Landsborough done, you should be terminating some of the trains there, 2hr train frequency beyond but with coordinated buses supplementing services.  Otherwise you aren't really getting much advantage from the duplication.  The most constrained part would remain untouched.

[Fares_Fair]

Getting Landsbough done is probably a huge significant factor on its own and I think you could just about squeeze a 1hr timetable to Nambour. Its also the requirement for Sunny Coast line (not that it won't happen soon, but you need this part first).

I think you can't without keeping the so called "dance of the trains".  If you get Landsborough done, you should be terminating some of the trains there, 2hr train frequency beyond but with coordinated buses supplementing services.  Otherwise you aren't really getting much advantage from the duplication.  The most constrained part would remain untouched.

Indeed, the most winding section of track is just north of Landsborough, however the reports I have read do confirm capacity improvements from a rail duplication to Landsborough.

However, the 1668km of North Coast Railway Line (NCL) is entirely affected by the congestion between Brisbane and Nambour according to the 2007 Brisbane - Cairns Corridor Strategy. Thus, duplication to Nambour will improve the entire line, removing the weakest link in the entire 1668km.

Landsborough to Nambour rail duplication has a Cost Benefit Ratio (CBR) of 2.285, something Mr Truss said was very good.
It leaves the Epping to Parramatta line in NSW for dead by a factor of 10, with a CBR of just 0.2

Compared to the costs and benefits in upgrading the Bruce Highway, it is extremely good value for money.

Just realised this reply is entirely off the direction of this post.
Perhaps the relevant sections should be relocated to an appropriate area.

[somebody]

the reports I have read do confirm capacity improvements from a rail duplication to Landsborough.

Perhaps they assume what I am suggesting.

[somebody]

Yeah I know, but there are thing syou can do, like keep a freighter held at Lands and follow a spark through or vice versa in a tidal manner.

Those things can already be done.

[Get_a_Wriggle_On]

I think any rail authority shortsighted enough to build a single rail line along an urban
growth corridor has way too much ballast and not enough sleepers in their head. Oh well,
let's get this thread back on track...

Popular rail station access paths v. revenue protection... I think possibly we're not giving
much credit to the adaptability of Mr and Ms Rail Commuter. I'd expect people to learn that a
station has been 'secured' to one access path and learn to position/move/spread themselves
on a train so they have minimal walking to do once they alight. A couple of examples from
Sydney rail system;

- where the station carpark seems to stretch alongside the rail corridor half way to the
  next station, Railcorp sometimes have built a 'secure' compromise. To exit the station
  the commuter still has to walk 'the long way around' up over the one access bridge or
  subway whatever. However to enter the station, Railcorp in some places have one way
  great big full height caged turnstiles down the end of the appropriate platform.

  (Ha, these allow quick platform access to morning carparkers who are running a bit late
   and see the train coming... and already have their trusty weekly magnetic strip ticket)

- for some stations where there's 'secure' alternate platform access to Railcorp facilities,
  Railcorp have used a locked swing gate releasable through use of a staff proximity card.

- I think Railcorp these days they have around 400 Revenue Protection Officers and the fare
  evasion and other on the spot fines are comparable to QR's but they also go up to pretty
  hefty maximums;
  http://www.cityrail.info/travelling_with/conditions_of_travel/fines
  http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/RailServices/City/Pages/ConditionsofTravel.aspx

Given the current "cry poor" politics washing around, does anyone think fines of all kinds
won't be going up in the short term?

[ozbob]

Thought I would compile a list for interest.  Still chasing some.  Please add any you find  for others.

Victoria:

http://ptv.vic.gov.au/news-and-events/news/ptv-fare-evasion-campaign-back-in-market/

Fines for fare evasion are $207 for adults and $70 for those under 18 years of age.

NSW:

http://www.cityrail.info/travelling_with/conditions_of_travel/fines

http://www.sydneybuses.info/tickets/fines/fines.htm

Travelling without a valid ticket    $200 On the spot fine   $550  Maximum

SA:

http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Announcements/News/Fare-evaders-are-taking-you-for-a-ride

Fare evaders can be charged a maximum fine of $160 plus the $60 Victim of Crime Levy.

Queensland:

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2013/1/24/fare-evasion-crackdown

$220 on the spot fine

WA:

http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/TicketsandFares/Infringements.aspx

$100 on the spot fine $500 maximum penality

Tasmania:

Not found yet.