{"id":699090,"date":"2026-05-28T02:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T02:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/699090\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T02:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T02:22:11","slug":"chewing-gum-will-not-be-allowed-on-gold-coast-trams-but-threat-of-fines-to-be-adjusted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/699090\/","title":{"rendered":"Chewing gum will not be allowed on Gold Coast trams but threat of fines to be ‘adjusted’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chewing gum will not be allowed on Gold Coast trams but the network operator will not stick with a threat of fines for commuters masticating on public transport.<\/p>\n

Signs recently unveiled at eight new tram stops on the soon-to-be-launched stage three of the Gold Coast light rail state: “No chewing gum permitted. Fines apply.”<\/p>\n

No such signs exist at any other of the network’s 19 operating tram stops.<\/p>\n

After being contacted by the ABC, a spokesperson for light rail operator Goldlinq said signs on stage three were “still in the process of being finalised” ahead of the 6.7-kilometre extension to the city’s tram network opening to the public later this year.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

Signs threatening to fine commuters for chewing gum will be “adjusted” before trams take passengers. (ABC Gold Coast: Glenn Mullane)<\/p>\n

“The signs relating to chewing gum will be adjusted prior to operations starting,” the spokesperson said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The ABC understands the reference to fines will be removed from the signs.<\/p>\n

Goldlinq did not answer specific questions about when the error on the signs was first discovered, or what it would cost for them to be “adjusted”.<\/p>\n

\"Night<\/p>\n

Trams are being tested on the 6.7-kilometre extension to Gold Coast’s light rail network. (ABC News: Greg Nelson)<\/p>\n

Translink \u2014 a division of the Queensland government’s transport department \u2014 manages and coordinates the state’s public transport networks and contracts services out to operators such as Goldlinq.<\/p>\n

Its overarching Passenger Code of Conduct states that food and drink are not allowed to be consumed onboard services.<\/p>\n

But chewing gum is not prohibited on Queensland Rail trains or property, and the state’s largest operator of public transport buses, Kinetic, does not have a specific policy relating to chewing gum.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Signs at existing light rail stations make no mention of chewing gum bans. (ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby)<\/p>\n

“The conditions of travel only include general guidelines around food and drink consumption onboard,” a spokesperson for Kinetic said.<\/p>\n

South of the Queensland border, Transport for New South Wales is more concerned with littering on public transport than it is with chewing gum specifically.<\/p>\n

“Transport for NSW does not ban chewing gum on public transport, and there are no fines for chewing gum itself,” a spokesperson for the department said.<\/p>\n

“Chewing gum that isn’t put in the bin may be treated as littering and can attract fines.”<\/p>\n

Similarly, the operator of Australia’s largest light rail network in Melbourne, Yarra Trams, does not have a specific policy regarding chewing gum on its services.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Yarra Trams has no rules about chewing gum on its services. (ABC News: Patrick Rocca)<\/p>\n

Testing has begun on stage three of the Gold Coast’s light rail network, with empty trams regularly running along the new line between Broadbeach and Burleigh.<\/p>\n

Construction on the $1.5 billion project started in July 2022 and is expected to take its first passengers later this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chewing gum will not be allowed on Gold Coast trams but the network operator will not stick with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":699091,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99,75084,13735,340614,78712,72895,185602,43495,2953,226038,36565,275352],"class_list":["post-699090","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-chewing-gum","tag-fines","tag-goldlinq","tag-light-rail","tag-littering","tag-queensland-rail","tag-rules","tag-signs","tag-stage-three","tag-tram","tag-translink"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699090","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=699090"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/699090\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/699091"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=699090"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=699090"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=699090"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}