Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Action for Public Transport spokesman, Allan Miles, said that State Transit has introduced a new range of pre-paid tickets to ensure the success of the "cashless bus" which starts on the City to Bondi Beach route 333 on Sunday 8th October. "State Transit is to be congratulated on this project," he said. "It will benefit passengers and the STA alike. People who pay cash to the driver delay everyone on the bus and in the cars and buses behind."

Mr Miles said that State Transit should quickly make these pre-paid tickets available at agents throughout the rest of Sydney. "Even though there may be no cashless buses along Parramatta Road or Anzac Parade yet," he said, "sales of the pre-paid tickets in those areas will greatly speed up the buses."

"At present," Mr Miles said, "agents sell only TravelTens and TravelPass tickets. If you want a Pensioner Excursion or a single ticket you have to buy it from the driver, and this delays the bus." He said that a few agents also stock DayTripper and BusTripper tickets.

Mr Miles said that agents along the new route 333 have already started selling single tickets and Pensioner Excursion Tickets (PETs). "This is a radical and very welcome change," he said. "Infrequent users who don't need a TravelTen can buy a single ticket from a nearby shop and get on the bus without delaying everybody."

"The tickets are undated," Mr Miles said, "and can be kept in the purse or pocket until needed".

"Unlike the TravelTens, there is no discount on the pre-paid single ride tickets," Mr Miles said, "but the holder, and everyone else on the bus, benefits from the saving in time."

Mr Miles said that while cash fares should be discouraged, they should not be banned. "Passengers must always be able to pay in cash if they wish to," he said. "The Bondi route is a special case," he said. "The buses run so frequently that a passenger unable to board a cashless bus will not have to wait long for an ordinary bus".

These tickets will not cut across the path of the proposed Tcard," Mr Miles said. "The two can live together." Mr Miles said that the Tcard was still in the testing stages, but the pre-paid tickets were up and running right now. "All it needs," Mr Miles said, "is for State Transit to deliver a bundle of tickets to the agent tomorrow and to put a sign in the window!"

Mr Miles said that agents would not need to see an entitlement card before selling a Pensioner Excursion Ticket. "They don't ask me for my birth certificate when I buy concession TravelTens for my children," he said. "Persons who use concession tickets without the proper entitlement cards are fined heavily if caught by an inspector."

See details of new route 333 bus at http://www.sta.nsw.gov.au/news.

Contact:	Allan Miles 9516-1906
	Kevin Eadie 9819-6052