Page 931 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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the territory at the same time as it reports them to the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator. This includes incidents that involve death, serious injury or significant property damage.
As set out in the first stage of reforms for light rail, light rail drivers are required to hold a current valid full car licence or a licence of a higher class. This bill places an obligation on a light rail service operator to ensure that its drivers, including driving instructors and assessors, hold the required licence to operate a light rail vehicle. The light rail service operator will monitor its drivers to ensure that their licences are valid before they operate a light rail vehicle. The light rail service operator must keep records for every driver. These records must be kept up to date and provided on request to the Road Transport Authority, a police officer or an authorised person. The bill compels the Road Transport Authority to provide a light rail service operator with information with respect to any suspension or cancellation of a licence of a driver when requested by the light rail operator.
Since 8 November 2017, all public vehicle drivers who are issued with a public vehicle driver authority card have been required to hold a working with vulnerable people registration. The bill will amend the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 to require all light rail drivers, including instructors and assessors, and light rail service operator staff who are appointed as authorised persons to also hold a working with vulnerable people registration. This amendment ensures consistency in requirements across public passenger services. Given the regular interactions authorised persons will have with members of the public—for example, when inspecting tickets—this is considered a necessary and appropriate step to ensure the protection of children and vulnerable people.
The outlined regulatory requirements for a light rail service operator are essential to establishing and maintaining a safe, efficient, effective and affordable light rail service. They are in the interests of everybody’s safety and the integrity of the public transport industry in the territory. The bill creates a number of criminal offences relating to ticketing, passenger conduct and public conduct at light rail premises. These offences are important to ensure that the light rail service is safe and accessible to all.
The light rail service will be integrated with the ticketing system used for ACTION buses, enabling convenient connections for commuters between light rail and bus services. Any existing concession entitlements or free travel arrangements will apply across public transport modes. A passenger must have a valid ticket to travel on a light rail service. Two types of tickets will be available: a cash ticket, which will be available for purchase from ticketing machines at light rail stops; and an electronic ticket, currently the existing MyWay card.
A person can be asked to present their ticket for inspection by an authorised person or police when they are in a light rail vehicle, have just alighted from a light rail vehicle or are at a light rail stop having just alighted from a light rail vehicle. The minister will also have the power to declare a place connected to a light rail service where a person must produce a valid light rail ticket. The declaration is via notifiable
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