❓ Mr. Rundle questions the Premier on the apparent contradiction of providing cost-of-living assistance while fining children during the free public transport period. The Premier defends the program's success and emphasizes the importance of following rules, including tagging on and off, for safety and network management.
AnsweredQoN 237Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
SUMMER
OF FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT — FINES
237. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I refer to the government's free public transport
summer program. After months of questioning, the opposition has revealed that of the 4 000 fines issued during
this period, 764 were given to children under the age of 18 during the so-called free public transport period. At the eleventh hour, WA school-aged
families received a school payment from the government. How does the Premier
reconcile giving families a cost-of-living payment with one hand while taking
cash out of their pockets by fining them with the other?
OF FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT — FINES
237. Mr P.J. RUNDLE to the Premier:
I refer to the government's free public transport
summer program. After months of questioning, the opposition has revealed that of the 4 000 fines issued during
this period, 764 were given to children under the age of 18 during the so-called free public transport period. At the eleventh hour, WA school-aged
families received a school payment from the government. How does the Premier
reconcile giving families a cost-of-living payment with one hand while taking
cash out of their pockets by fining them with the other?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member for the question; it provides me with an
opportunity to give him a lesson on how the public transport system works. It
was the summer of free public transport, a policy that was widely welcomed by
the community. We saw at least a 40 per cent
increase in the number of passengers who took public transport over that summer program. As I have reported before, I remember speaking with a retail
worker on the train who said that she had not caught the train to work before
but had estimated that it had saved her over $300 that summer alone in foregone
petrol and parking fees. In addition to that, she said that once it was over,
she would keep using the train because it is
a great way to get to work. It was a terrific and incredibly successful program
because people got to ride on the trains for free. What that does not
allow them to do is to escape any other rules associated with travel on public
transport. You still cannot eat or drink on trains, you still should not put
your feet on the seats and you should still
carry a SmartRider. The fundamental nature of riding public transport is that
you should follow the rules . Although one aspect of public transport was
suspended over the summer holidays, which was that people did not have to pay a
fare, they still had to follow all the other guidelines, rules and regulations
associated with catching public transport. One of those was that people still
had to tag on and off. Of course, it is an incredibly sophisticated and complex system that feeds a city of around
about 2.5 million people. It is important from a safety, planning and network management point of view that people tag on and off. It is not a lot to
ask. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Many people took the
opportunity to travel for free on public transport over the summer holidays,
and we are really pleased that this popular program was so successful.
I say this to the opposition. The two things that it hates
are Metronet and the WA school assistance payment. I do not understand that
because they are widely popular with the people of Western Australia that
opposition members say they want to
represent. I implore the member for Roe to have a look outside his window to
see how much people are appreciating the WA school assistance payment,
how much they love Metronet and how they love the fact that people will be
riding on trains that were built here in Western Australia. For goodness'
sake, get on board!
opportunity to give him a lesson on how the public transport system works. It
was the summer of free public transport, a policy that was widely welcomed by
the community. We saw at least a 40 per cent
increase in the number of passengers who took public transport over that summer program. As I have reported before, I remember speaking with a retail
worker on the train who said that she had not caught the train to work before
but had estimated that it had saved her over $300 that summer alone in foregone
petrol and parking fees. In addition to that, she said that once it was over,
she would keep using the train because it is
a great way to get to work. It was a terrific and incredibly successful program
because people got to ride on the trains for free. What that does not
allow them to do is to escape any other rules associated with travel on public
transport. You still cannot eat or drink on trains, you still should not put
your feet on the seats and you should still
carry a SmartRider. The fundamental nature of riding public transport is that
you should follow the rules . Although one aspect of public transport was
suspended over the summer holidays, which was that people did not have to pay a
fare, they still had to follow all the other guidelines, rules and regulations
associated with catching public transport. One of those was that people still
had to tag on and off. Of course, it is an incredibly sophisticated and complex system that feeds a city of around
about 2.5 million people. It is important from a safety, planning and network management point of view that people tag on and off. It is not a lot to
ask. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Many people took the
opportunity to travel for free on public transport over the summer holidays,
and we are really pleased that this popular program was so successful.
I say this to the opposition. The two things that it hates
are Metronet and the WA school assistance payment. I do not understand that
because they are widely popular with the people of Western Australia that
opposition members say they want to
represent. I implore the member for Roe to have a look outside his window to
see how much people are appreciating the WA school assistance payment,
how much they love Metronet and how they love the fact that people will be
riding on trains that were built here in Western Australia. For goodness'
sake, get on board!
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