APT - "FARE GO" FOR PASSENGERS ON CASHLESS BUSES

A consumer group says State Transit must revise its policies and practices for PrePay bus routes because people are being irritated by difficulties in buying a ticket.

Allan Miles, spokesman for Action for Public Transport, said that the rapid spread of PrePay bus zones is catching more people out.

"People can be stranded without a ticket for various reasons," Mr Miles said, " - ignorance, current ticket expired, no local agents, agent out of stock, ticket in the other handbag, etc."

"While most regular travellers on these routes have a prepaid ticket (MyZone, MyBus, PET or other)," Mr Miles said, "a large number of casual travellers and visitors are having their travel disrupted."

"New Prepay zones commencing on 20th September will extend the no-cash fares area from Newtown and Leichhardt in the west to Bondi Junction in the east and Maroubra Junction in the south-east," Mr Miles said, "plus zones at Parramatta, Epping and Chatswood stations".

Mr Miles said that the no-cash policy applies not only to the special PrePay only routes, but to all routes passing through those areas between 7 am and 7 pm Monday to Friday.

Some people are perplexed by the whole ticketing system," Mr Miles said, "and need the bus driver's advice, information which often cannot be supplied by an agent."

Mr Miles said that the booklet explaining the inner-west conversion from 20th September contains 24 pages of mostly microscopic print.

"If it needs twenty-four pages to tell you how to buy a bus ticket, perhaps someone should re-think the system," Mr Miles said.

"While we approve of the general strategy behind the PrePay move," Mr Miles said, "State Transit needs to both allow for exceptions and to improve its ticket distribution practices."