NEWS RELEASE: Secret Fares Business
As commuters gear up to pay more for multi-ride tickets from 3rd January, 
they might ponder how their discounts could vanish when Tcard makes its 
belated appearance later in the year, according to a public transport 
consumer group.

Mr Allan Miles, a spokesman for Action for Public Transport (APT), said that 
the government still has not revealed how it will calculate discounts on 
multi-ride tickets such as the popular TravelPass, ten-trip tickets and rail 
weeklies.

“For a transit card to be as attractive as a private motor vehicle,” Mr 
Miles said, “users must have some certainty about the price of the trip. 
From what we know so far,” Mr Miles added,” “there can be no such 
certainty.”

“Despite seven years of development,” Mr Miles said, “the system designers 
have not yet been told how to program in discounts for commuters who pay up 
to a year in advance.”

“If Tcard does not provide these discounts,” Mr Miles said, “there could be 
enormous and expensive delays as commuters revert to paying single fares 
each time.”

Mr Miles said that the Hon. Arthur Chesterfield-Evans asked a series of 
Questions on Notice in the Legislative Council as recently as 11th October 
2005 about these discounts. (Session 531. Leg. Cncl. Q & A Paper 119
can be found on <a href=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au>http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au</a>.)

“The response from the government on 15th November was meaningless,” Mr 
Miles said, “and avoided the question.” (See Leg. Cncl Q & A Paper 128.)

“A further series of Questions Without Notice on 17th November was given a 
similar brush-off,” Mr Miles said.

“Commuters have been kept in the dark,” Mr Miles said, “and there is strong 
evidence that a similar lack of light pervades the Ministry of Transport.”

“For instance,” Mr Miles asked, “will users pay $13.60 up front for a Blue 
TravelTen, or will they pay $1.70 per trip for the first eight trips, and 
hope they get the last two free?”

“How will discounts on rail weeklies and TravelPasses be calculated?” he 
asked. “There is no limit to the number of trips that can be made in a week 
on the current tickets.”

Mr Miles said that the distance travelled is an additional factor in rail 
weeklies. “Short distance weeklies give discounts of around 18%,” Mr Miles 
said, “while long distance weeklies give up to 56% discount.” “Users have 
not been told how these discounts will be calculated, or even if they will 
remain.”

“And don’t forget to stock up on TravelTens, FerryTens and TravelPasses at 
the current price,” Mr Miles said. “Tickets bought before 3rd January can 
still be used long afterwards.”

<b>Contact</b>: Allan Miles 9516-1906