Latest news with #SmartRider
West Australian
22-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Tagging on for free travel with SmartRider a sign of ‘respect for the system' says Rita Saffioti
Rules mandating passengers tag on to public transport to travel for free show 'respect for the system,' Acting Premier Rita Saffioti believes. Speaking after The West Australian reveal almost 7000 people had been fined for travelling without a ticket on free Sundays since last year, Ms Saffioti maintained the message was getting through to patrons. 'I am absolutely confident that the community has the message,' Ms Saffioti said. 'We're talking about respect today, there are rules when you catch public transport, and the rule is to catch a free public transport, you need a SmartRider. 'We have millions of SmartRiders out there in the community. We've run programs for people to access our SmartRiders, but it's a basic rule, and it's a basic part of the respect of the system and making sure, in particular, that everyone abides by the rules.' The minister said the rates of those fined represented less than one per cent of all riders. '(There are) 99.86 per cent who abide by the rules who don't feel like they've been taken advantage of. 'If people have been fined, and there's legitimate reasons why they didn't have a smart rider, they can apply to the PTA to have that to have that fine waived. New data revealed under Parliamentary questioning showed 6668 fines — more than 100 a week — were issued for ticketing issues since the start of the free travel in February 2024. The almost $700,000 in fines were doled out because people failed to tag on with their SmartRider to use the train or bus on Sundays — a requirement to travel for free as part of the Government's program.
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Thousands slapped with fines for failing to tap SmartRider during free Sunday travel on trains and buses
Almost 7000 people have been stung with $100 fines for using public transport during times when it was supposed to be free. New data revealed under Parliamentary questioning shows 6668 fines — more than 100 a week — were issued for ticketing issues since the start of the free travel in February 2024. The almost $700,000 in fines were doled out because people failed to tag on with their SmartRider to use the train or bus on Sundays — a requirement to travel for free as part of the Government's program. But those stung on Sundays haven't been the only passengers caught out, with more than 1000 students fined for failing to tag on under free travel to and from school. And over the 'free' summer period, more than 1100 people were also slapped with a ticket. The cash-grab comes after the 'fines for travelling free' issue was raised during the State election campaign, with both the Liberals and the Greens calling for the infringements to be waived. The Public Transport Authority's response to shadow transport minister Steve Martin's questions said the Sunday fines were only 0.143 per cent of passengers. 'Passengers always require a valid ticket to travel on Transperth services, unless stated otherwise. The condition for free travel on Sundays is the use of a SmartRider,' the answer said. To access the free travel, passengers must tag on with a SmartRider, which can be purchased for $10, before requiring value added to the card. Mr Martin criticised the fines issued by the Public Transport Authority. 'Labor's free public transport on Sunday obviously isn't free for everyone,' he said. 'Labor are handing out over 100 fines to travellers on public transport every Sunday despite claiming to offer free transport. 'Transport Minister Rita Saffioti is also clearly embarrassed by the amount of fines because she refused to answer questions on how much Western Australians are paying.' Ms Saffioti said she believed the message was getting through to travellers about the need for a SmartRider. 'This is a part of the package — free public transport on Sunday, free public transport for kids going to school and we had the free summer of public transport. 'It's getting through. Most people have SmartRiders. People accept there's rules when you undertake free public transport, and that's one of the rules. 'We've introduced a range of initiatives. It's about getting people mobile, connected to their community, getting people out and about, and using our wonderful public transport system.' Ms Saffioti spoke about the fines at the unveiling of the last diesel-powered Transperth bus, which will roll out of a Malaga factory on Wednesday. Under a Labor election commitment, all future buses made in Western Australia will be electric, with Ms Saffioti saying the diesel fleet would be slowly phased out over the next two decades. The new electric buses will be rolled out once local depots are upgraded with electric vehicle chargers. The first will be Malaga, with Karrinyup following afterwards and then Claisebrook. 'This is a very big initiative for the state. It means there's far less CO2 emissions, and every diesel bus on the network uses around 22,000 litres of diesel fuel each year,' she said. 'That equates to around 40 tonnes of CO2 emissions. 'Electric busses, of course, emit no CO2 emissions, and as we continue to work to decarbonise the entire electricity system, we know that this is going to be cleaner and cleaner through the future.'
NDTV
15-05-2025
- NDTV
Misspelt Name Lands Australian Man In Jail Twice
A man was wrongfully arrested twice and held overnight in jail after an emergency dispatcher misspelt his name. The Western Australia Police misspelt the man's name as Mark Smith, whose real name was Marc Smith. The incident occurred in January 2023 when a man reported to Triple Zero, Australia's national emergency number, that another man was attempting to steal his sailboat. The alleged offender called emergency services at the same time to inform them that he felt threatened by the boat owner and asked for police help, The New York Post reported. As a result, authorities mistook the suspect's name for that of another individual who had an ongoing arrest warrant for breach of bail and had nothing to do with the case. They misspelt the name of the suspect, writing it as Mark instead of Marc. The officers gathered statements from both men, but they neglected to verify the information of the alleged offender. Unaware of his real name and address, they discovered that he owned a public transport SmartRider that did not belong to him. The individual was arrested on suspicion of having an outstanding warrant, stealing a boat, and possessing a stolen SmartRider. Officers took him to the police station, scanned his fingerprints, but they did not wait for the ten-minute process to verify if they matched those already in the system. The man attempted to inform the authorities that his name was misspelt, but they did not verify it, and he was not questioned about any further information. He was detained overnight without being granted bail. A magistrate discovered the error the next day and had the man's charges dropped. However, three months later, authorities repeated the blunder. The same man and his caretaker went to the same police station to ask for help. They detained him a second time after he noticed his picture was linked to the other Mark's pending warrant. The individual informed police that he had been unfairly arrested twice for incorrectly spelling his name and that he was released following further investigation. The WA Corruption and Crime Commission (WA CCC) condemned the authorities for two erroneous detentions of the same name. They filed a report criticising the police for their wrongdoings due to the repeated mistakes. The officers involved chose not to take part, and the internal assessment concluded that there was insufficient evidence to accuse them of deprivation of liberty.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- New York Post
Man wrongly arrested for a second time over a misspelling of his name
A man was wrongly arrested twice and spent a night in jail over a stolen boat after an emergency dispatcher misspelled his name. The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission blasted the actions of WA Police in a report about two incidents involving a man named Marc Smith (a pseudonym), but whose name was entered as Mark Smith into the police system. A person called to report a man was stealing a boat, about the same time the alleged offender phoned emergency services to report he felt threatened by the boat owner and requested police assistance in January 2023. The phone dispatcher misspelled the alleged offender's name as Mark, attaching it to an outstanding breach of bail and arrest warrant for another person. Marc Smith was wrongly arrested twice and spent a night in jail over a stolen boat after a emergency dispatcher misspelled his name. Christopher Sadowski When police arrived, they took statements from the pair but did not check the alleged offender's name or address, and found he was in possession of a public transport SmartRider card that belonged to someone else. He was arrested on suspicion of stealing a boat, possessing a stolen SmartRider, and having an outstanding warrant, and taken back to a police station. The man saw his name written down incorrectly and tried to tell officers, but they did not check, and he was not asked to confirm any other details. His fingerprints were taken, but did not match the outstanding arrest warrant, and officers never confirmed the prints. Because of the outstanding warrant, police refused bail, and he spent the night in lockup. The following day in court, a magistrate picked up the error and noted the man had been wrongfully detained, dismissing the charges, but three months later, he was arrested again at the same police station. The man was seeking help when an officer entered the incorrect spelling of his name into the police system. The officer saw a photo of the man attached to the other Mark's outstanding warrant, he was arrested a second time and detained in lockup. The man told officers this was the second time he had been wrongfully detained over the incorrect spelling of his name and was released after police made further inquiries. Police conducted a criminal investigation into the first incident and found there was insufficient evidence to lay charges for deprivation of liberty, but the corruption watchdog questioned the decision. The WA CCC found police investigations were inadequate, resulting in a vulnerable man wrongfully spending a night in police custody. 'The gravity of this should have been considered appropriately from the start,' the report stated. 'This matter could have been avoided if the officers had undertaken basic checks on the information (the man) provided. 'The failure to follow basic procedure is concerning.' The wrongfully accused man saw his name written down incorrectly and tried to tell officers, but they did not listen to him. ymgerman – A WA Police spokesman said the force always strived to do its best for the community, however, they accepted they did not always get it right. 'In this instance, following the internal investigations, three officers received sustained managerial outcomes,' a spokesman said. 'Our agency and our officers are dealing with roughly 1.5 million calls for help every year. But we accept that even one mistake is one too many. 'WA Police are always looking at ways our systems, policies and procedures can be improved to better protect our community and better support our officers.'
West Australian
13-05-2025
- West Australian
A man was wrongly arrested twice and spent a night in jail after a Triple 0 operator misspelt his name
A man was wrongly arrested twice and spent in a night in jail over a stolen boat after a triple-0 operator misspelt his name. The Western Australian Corruption and Crime Commission blasted the actions of WA Police in a report about two incidents involving a man named Marc Smith (a pseudonym), but whose name was entered as Mark Smith into the police system. A person called triple-0 to report a man was stealing a boat, about the same time the alleged offender phoned emergency services to report he felt threatened by the boat owner and requested police assistance in January 2023. The phone operator misspelt the alleged offender's name as Mark, attaching it to an outstanding breach of bail and arrest warrant for another person. When police arrived they took statements from the pair but did not check the alleged offender's name or address and found he was in possession of a public transport SmartRider card that belonged to someone else. He was arrested on suspicion of stealing a boat, possessing a stolen SmartRider and the outstanding warrant and taken back to a police station. The man saw his name written down incorrectly and tried to tell officers but they did not check and he was not asked to confirm any other details. His fingerprints were taken but did not match the outstanding arrest warrant, and officers never confirmed the prints. Because of the outstanding warrant, police refused bail and he spent the night in lockup. The following day in court a magistrate picked up the error and noted the man had been wrongfully detained, dismissing the charges, but three months later he was arrested again at the same police station. The man was seeking help when an officer entered the incorrect spelling of his name into the police system. The officer saw a photo of the man attached to the other Mark's outstanding warrant, he was arrested a second time and detained in lockup. The man told officers this was the second time he had been wrongfully detained over the incorrect spelling of his name and was released after police made further inquiries. Police conducted a criminal investigation into the first incident and found there was insufficient evidence to lay charges for deprivation of liberty, but the corruption watchdog questioned the decision. The WA CCC found police investigations were inadequate resulting in a vulnerable man wrongfully spending a night in police custody. 'The gravity of this should have been considered appropriately from the start,' the report stated. 'This matter could have been avoided if the officers had undertaken basic checks on the information (the man) provided. 'The failure to follow basic procedure is concerning.' A WA Police spokesman said the force always strived to do its best for the community, however they accepted they did not always get it right. 'In this instance, following the internal investigations, three officers received sustained managerial outcomes,' a spokesman said. 'Our agency and our officers are dealing with roughly 1.5 million calls for help every year. But we accept that even one mistake is one too many. 'WA Police are always looking at ways our systems, policies and procedures can be improved to better protect our community and better support our officers.'
