Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

A spokesman for Action for Public Transport (APT), Allan Miles, said that people paying cash to the driver delay everyone on the bus, and are a significant cause of bus congestion in the CBD. "The old 80/20 rule probably applies here," he said. "The 20% of people who pay cash use up 80% of the time the bus spends at a stop.

Mr Miles said that the STA has an advertising campaign to push the message. "The slogan, “prepay for a faster trip”, is being used in many places," Mr Miles said, "- in maps, on bus shelters, inside buses, and on the back of single tickets."

"There are advantages to everyone in using pre-paid tickets such as TravelTen, TravelPass and DayTripper," Mr Miles said. "Passengers get a faster and a cheaper ride. The STA saves on cash handling costs," he said, "and can also use its drivers and buses more efficiently."

Mr Miles also endorsed the new ticket issuing machines at Carrington Street, near Wynyard Station, and urged that more be provided in other busy locations. "These machines issue single tickets," he said. "There is no discount, but they speed up the boarding process."

"State Transit is also planning a cashless bus on a busy route," Mr Miles said. "Passengers holding pre-paid tickets will be rewarded with a faster trip." He said that he looked forward to the success of this initiative and its extension to more routes.

"State Transit should also find a way to let Seniors buy a Pensioner Excursion Ticket (PET) at an agency," Mr Miles said. "I sometimes feel guilty," he said, "when on my first trip of the day, I have to pay cash to the driver, and then grumble when other people do the same." Mr Miles said that the Unsworth Report in February 2004 (page 76) suggested that this matter be pursued, and he hoped it had not been shelved.

Mr Miles said that the “prepay” campaign does not cut across plans for the smartcard. "The new Tcard will also help buses to load more quickly", he said, "but Tcard is barely in the testing stages, while TravelTens and TravelPasses are on sale and working now." He said that if people form a habit of pre-paying now, they may be more inclined to buy a Tcard when the roll-out starts.

* Note that the spelling of “prepay” is all lower case.

Contact: Allan Miles. 9516-1906