At a time when public transport is getting such a bad wrap, this news only adds fuel to the fire. On Sunday June 3, fares on public transport will rise. It’s basically the normal CPI increase that happens each year, only this year it was delayed from March due to the whole train braking disaster.
The real question with all this is not why we have to increase the prices in line with the CPI, but why they are this expensive in the first place. To me, it seems ridiculous to pay nearly $10 for a daily ticket - especially when I’m only ever at uni for a few hours at a time. You wonder why there’s so much fare evasion - no one can afford the damn ticket prices. Has it occurred to anyone that if the prices were lowered, more people might actually buy a ticket?
The other question that has to be asked is where is all the money going? Connex claim that they money they make from ticket revenue doesn’t cover the costs of running the network, and they rely on a government subsidy to make up the difference. How is that even possible? Demand for public transport is at an all time high - with patronage up 20% over the last two years. You can barely squeeze on a train in peak hour nowadays and if there are this many people, paying higher prices than ever, how can you not cover your expenses? I just can’t work it out. At least I wont have to deal with it as much once I finish uni. It really is a sad state of affairs…
June 2nd, 2007 at 10:16
They need to pay off all the fines they get for having the trains constantly running late. They are making us pay for their incompetence.
June 2nd, 2007 at 19:15
I can barely afford 6.10 for a daily. Not only is the sandy line shocking for timing but its 4 stops and an average of ten minutes one way for me. Not to mention those fucking bludgers at flinders gates that let anyone through with or without a ticket! Fire their arses for a start! Your right james i cant see where the money is going.
June 3rd, 2007 at 16:16
It’s one of the things I am looking forward to about moving to Darwin -> no Connex.
June 3rd, 2007 at 19:14
About AU$20 here.
June 3rd, 2007 at 19:30
Yeah Alex but your trains don’t run every 20-30 minutes, and have every second one cancelled! :)
June 4th, 2007 at 22:11
I am not looking forward to my couple of weeks on shift in a month or two. I will knock off at 10pm, but there will be no train to get me home until almost 11pm. Sucks.