Fare-free New Zealand endorses the message of full support for the combined unions struggle for decent wages and conditions for Auckland's bus drivers & fellow workers, which was forwarded by RAM (Residents Action Movement) yesterday.
Public transport needs to be in public hands, with wages and conditions to match the high level of responsibility the drivers face each day. Not run for private profit with low wages and lock-outs.
Keep it public; make it fare-free, fast, frequent and reliable.
If you wan't free rides on buses then all you need is people power and a bit of inside knowledge. According to NZ Bus rules passengers who board a bus with a large cash note (say $50 or $100)must be allowed to travel for free if the driver does not have enough change.
ReplyDeleteThe full rules state that "the Operator is to make all efforts to find the correct change so that at the end of the passenger's journey the Operator can hand over the correct change to the passenger.
If at the end of the journey the correct change is not available the Operator must follow the procedure below:
Ask the passenger to write their name and address on the back of the ticket. Return the large note to the passenger. If the passenger refuses to write their name and address on the ticket then just return the large note to the passenger. Avoid confrontation. Retain the ticket. Contact Control to advise them and ask permission to annual ticket out of sequence."
Clearly if enough passengers did this the profit-driven NZ Bus company would collapse. (By the way who is going to know if you put a dodgy address on the ticket).