Page 932 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2018
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instrument and must include a description of the place, the circumstances in which a ticket is required, the reasons for the declaration and when the declaration operates.
This legislative mechanism protects against fare evasion and protects the security and safety of passengers and light rail premises. The territory’s light rail contract has very clear performance targets, with notable levels of abatement if fare compliance levels are not reached. The bill has been drafted so as to support the light rail service operator to meet these targets while ensuring that there is no unreasonable intrusion on passengers and the public.
To enable commuters to move seamlessly from one public transport service to another, noting that the light rail service will utilise the same ticketing system as ACTION buses, the bill specifically provides that a person cannot be prosecuted for ticketing offences on both the light rail and an ACTION bus during the same journey. A journey covers the transition from a bus to a light rail vehicle and vice versa, with a 90-minute window.
This bill contains provisions to promote the safety, security and comfort of all passengers and the public engaging with the light rail service and protect light rail equipment. The matters addressed in these provisions affect public safety and the accessibility of the service and support matters of compliance and enforcement.
The bill ensures that there are effective means to address unacceptable passenger conduct as a measure to protect fare revenue and encourage patronage of light rail. Unacceptable passenger conduct is known to make people less willing to use public transport services. We want to deter unacceptable behaviour. Police and authorised persons will have the power to direct a person to leave a light rail vehicle or a light rail stop in specified circumstances.
The power to direct a person to leave a light rail vehicle or light rail stop is limited to circumstances where the person has committed or is in the process of committing an offence or there is an undue risk posed by a person to other people, revenue or property. This includes when a person is under the influence of liquor or a drug and is causing nuisance to someone else.
Only police have the power to remove a person from a light rail vehicle or a light rail stop when the person has been directed to leave the light rail vehicle or light rail stop and has failed to comply with that direction. A public education campaign about the regulatory framework for the light rail service will be run by the light rail service operator and the territory to inform the community of its obligations when using the light rail service.
The light rail service is designed to be accessible by all members of the community, in accordance with current disability standards. The bill makes it clear that where a person requires the assistance of a mobility aid or assistance animal these can be brought onto the light rail service.
Police, territory staff and specified employees of the light rail operator will be authorised to perform functions and exercise powers under the light rail legislation,
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