Undeserved A$150 fine, thank you very much, ma'am tram inspector!
I was watching this old lady board the tram today. She had a skin condition, I remember, she had sores all over her arms and face. She probably also had osteoarthritis, judging from how painfully she boarded the tram. The schoolchildren rushed into the tram first, laughing and swinging their bags at each other. The adults waited for the older lady to board. I remember somehow getting pushed to the back of the queue in the process... never mind, I thought. I'll just squeeze in somehow.
So the tram was jam-packed full of kids, old people, and basically a random mish-mash of tram users. It was fun watching people, but heck, I couldn't reach the ticket validating machine. Also, there were an awful lot of old people on canes in the way. Never mind, I thought, I'll probably get on the next tram if nobody frees up the way. No worries, it's a bright and beautiful day.
Okay, so the next stop arrives. I hop off.
And get slapped with a whopping A$150 fine.
Inspector Robot: "Your ticket is not validated, I give you a fine. I give you a fine."
This not the first time they've screwed me over. Stupid tram system. And I've just found out that inspectors get A$20 for every person they 'catch'. Explains a lot.
PTUA (Public Transport Users Association) - FAQ re. travelling rights on trams.
Yeah, I think I'm going to lodge a letter of complaint with this one.
So the tram was jam-packed full of kids, old people, and basically a random mish-mash of tram users. It was fun watching people, but heck, I couldn't reach the ticket validating machine. Also, there were an awful lot of old people on canes in the way. Never mind, I thought, I'll probably get on the next tram if nobody frees up the way. No worries, it's a bright and beautiful day.
Okay, so the next stop arrives. I hop off.
And get slapped with a whopping A$150 fine.
Inspector Robot: "Your ticket is not validated, I give you a fine. I give you a fine."
This not the first time they've screwed me over. Stupid tram system. And I've just found out that inspectors get A$20 for every person they 'catch'. Explains a lot.
PTUA (Public Transport Users Association) - FAQ re. travelling rights on trams.
Yeah, I think I'm going to lodge a letter of complaint with this one.
posted by Coffee Addict @ 7:59 PM
2 Comments:
At 9:11 PM,
Anonymous said…
You mentioned watching all these people boarding the tram and this leaves me to think that you were already on the tram? If you had validated your ticket when you got on and prior to all these people boarding as you watched you may not have received a fine! Just one more thing and that is if you are going to state "facts" I suggest you find out the facts first! I am an inspector and I can tell you now that we certainly do not receive $20 or any other benefit. I am not going to tell you I am just doing my job because I enjoy my job. I enjoy trying to keep fare evasion down so the general public don't get fares increased to high. I enjoy being a deterent to anti-social behaviour so the little old ladies can feel safe going home at night. I am happy to prevent racist ratbags from venting their spleens on unsuspecting students, visitors and residents of melbourne.
So in closing! Buy a ticket walk on board the tram and yes that green thing you just passed whilst boarding is a validator, now put your ticket in it! success!! Now walk off the tram when you get to your destination as you pass the inspector hold up your ticket so that he or she can see the expiry time and date! Now smile and say Gday and I am sure that most of the time you will get a Gday back or similar. Everyone is now happy!
At 10:03 PM,
Anonymous said…
Have you ever worked a 14 hour shift before? Your brain is fried by the end of it. I got my wallet stolen whilst I was on the tram. I dozed off whilst I was on the tram - to miss my stop and had to wait in the freezing winter to get another tram home. I've almost fainted on the tram before. You know what? If a persona had a heart attack on the tram and collapsed on the way to validated his ticket, I bet this moron inspector whom I had the bad luck to encounter would still have ticketed him.
Have you ever worked so hard you felt like you were seeing double and your muscles are aching, your mind is not right? NEVER? Then keep your opinions to yourself.
You start your own 'tram inspector' blog and see how popular you guys are among the general public. I once asked a tram inspector for directions and I was told to 'shove off' because they were not there to give directions.
I understand you may be one of the UPRIGHT tram inspectors out there but face it, most of your kind are hooligans in suits.
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