Fare evasion on Melbourne’s public transport network has decreased to 7.8 per cent over the past year, the lowest result since Metlink fare evasion surveys began.

Metlink Chief Executive Officer, Bernie Carolan said responsible passenger behaviour and an effective mix of enforcement, education and ticketing strategies had proven successful in tackling fare evasion.

“A smarter approach to fare evasion policing and highly effective public awareness campaigns over several years including ‘avoid fare evasion karma, buy a ticket’ have contributed to a significant reduction in fare evasion across all three modes of transport,” Mr Carolan said.

“It is clear that like any behaviour involving social responsibility, we have reached a turning point where the majority of the travelling public recognise that free loading off fare-paying passengers is not on. In our research carried out in June this year, 73 per cent of respondents agreed that fare evaders are ripping off other passengers,” he said.

Mr Carolan also explained that unprecedented patronage growth and crowding on some services meant that collecting survey information had become difficult, prompting Metlink to modify and improve data collection.

“Public transport patronage, particularly on trains, is growing at an all-time high. As well as causing discomfort for our passengers during busy times, peak hour crowding did affect our train data collection for the interim survey.

“There is no train fare evasion data for the late 2007 survey as we could not move through the trains and survey a random sample of passengers without causing further discomfort. We have reviewed the survey process, made the necessary changes, and we are confident that the most recent surveys are of a high quality.

“Metlink collects fare evasion information often enough to interpret the trends. Although there is no train data for the late 2007 survey, we have sufficient data to interpret trends over time.”

Although pleased with the reduction in fare evasion, Mr Carolan said that strategies to combat fare evasion will continue.

“The current level of fare evasion is still much too high and costs the community between $35 and $40 million in lost revenue each year.

“The majority of passengers do the right thing and buy the right ticket, however travelling without a valid ticket and concession fraud continue to be the main types of fare evasion.

“Passengers should ensure they are always prepared for their trip and buy a Value Metcard from any Premium Station, Metcard retailer or online at metlinkmelbourne.com.au before travelling,” he recommended.