What happened? <\/p>\n
The mother said her 18-year-old daughter was on the NX2 bus route from the CBD to Albany on May 27. <\/p>\n
The university student had been en route to meet her mother before heading to an orthodontist appointment. <\/p>\n
\u201cHer AT Hop card couldn\u2019t tag on as she just topped up on the same day, and she tried her PayWave too,\u201d the mother claimed. <\/p>\n
After neither card worked, she was about to exit the bus to call her mother when the driver told her she could ride for free. <\/p>\n
A few minutes later, an Auckland Transport officer descended from the upper level to scan her AT Hop card during a routine check. <\/p>\n
The mother claimed her daughter\u2019s student ID was visible during the interaction. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe tried to explain that her cards did not work, and the bus driver had asked her to stay. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe transport officer said to my daughter that she was doing illegal action and she would receive an infringement notice,\u201d the mother said.<\/p>\n
When her daughter arrived at Albany station, she told her mother she was \u201cworried\u201d she would have a criminal record.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was so scared.\u201d <\/p>\n
Her mother claims she was about to hop off the bus when the driver said she could stay on. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Her daughter made a complaint but later received the $150 infringement notice, which they paid at the time. <\/p>\n
Responding to the complaint by letter, AT said it understood the driver advised her daughter to remain on the service; however, \u201cdrivers are not able to waive fare requirements\u201d. <\/p>\n
The mother took to Facebook to warn other young people not to accept a free ride if their cards did not work. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust hop off the bus,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
AT responds <\/p>\n
AT group manager for public transport operations, Rachel Cara, told the Herald, in this case, the bus driver and transport officer were trying to do the right thing.<\/p>\n
When the transport officer carried out the routine check, they discovered the student had not paid. <\/p>\n
The officer tried to tag on for her while travelling, but this was unsuccessful because she had a negative balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cBased on the information the officer could see on the woman\u2019s HOP card, they issued an infringement for her not having a valid fare,\u201d Cara said. <\/p>\n
The student had made a top-up about 30 minutes earlier, but it had not yet loaded on her card because online HOP top-ups take one hour to process.<\/p>\n
Cara said the decision to issue an infringement was based on incorrect information, so she was given a full refund after the Herald contacted AT.<\/p>\n
AT said transport officers would be alerted about \u201crare cases\u201d like this, where there is a known lag in the HOP system. <\/p>\n
They will be encouraged to use their discretion when issuing a warning or an infringement. <\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately, our transport officers hear every excuse under the sun when they find people have not paid their fares, including people saying the driver let them on, or that they had just topped up.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tricky to strike the right balance between trying to take people at their word and needing to be vigilant against the tiny number of Aucklanders who try to game the system,\u201d Cara said. <\/p>\n
Auckland Transport (AT) has since apologised and refunded her, saying the decision to issue an infringement was based on \u201cincorrect information\u201d. Photo \/ Michael Craig<\/p>\n
Cara said that although it was not AT policy, bus drivers used their discretion to allow passengers to board if they were unable to pay. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis is sometimes out of compassion, and sometimes out of convenience, to not hold up other passengers wanting to board.\u201d<\/p>\n
For transport officers, their role in monitoring fare compliance was set out in the Land Transport Act, which gave them the authority to check whether passengers had paid and ask passengers to pay the required fare.<\/p>\n
In the past year, transport officers detected 55,399 instances of fare evasion, with 5691 infringements issued. <\/p>\n
Cara said fare evasion was estimated at 3% of all public transport trips in Auckland, well below the levels seen internationally. <\/p>\n
AT tells operators not to abandon children<\/p>\n
The Albany case comes after a woman said her young grandchild was left stranded and in tears after the child forgot her wallet on the way to school.<\/p>\n