I couldn’t fault the trains on Tuesday going to the Show. But despite all the talk of fighting fare evasion, things at the Showgrounds station on Tuesday were incredibly sloppy.
While the Show tickets were individually scanned on entry, we didn’t have our train tickets checked when arriving or departing. And when we left, we had a 10×2 hour ticket that needed validating — but there were no validators there, at all. The staff said to go to Flinders Street and do it there. Instead we did it at Southern Cross while changing trains.
I don’t know whether this is typical of the entire period of the Show, but I’m told people found the same story last year. And with on-train ticket checks so scarce, most people could basically get a free ride to the Show and get away with it undetected. And once-a-year train travellers might buy their tickets, not know they need to also validate them, and never find out.
Of course I’m not saying those who turn up without validated tickets should be wrestled to the ground and fined $167, but at least their tickets should be checked and they should able to buy/validate a ticket if they need to.
2 replies on “Ticket checking at the Show”
On the topic of sloppiness, I can but observe Connex throwing an excuse about there not being enough room on the platforms @ Flinders’. Of course, the problem with this logic (if you can call it that), is that there isn’t enough room on trains to begin with…and that CCTV footage they keep referring to has stayed well-clear of the scrutinising public eye.
I do know they check them when people go to the MCG but people still get away with it. Maybe people evade fares due to the fact Connex is providing shocking service to commuters. One thing I have noticed about Connex is that they will always blame everyone else other than themselves.