TWITTER, FACEBOOK TICKET INSPECTORS WARNINGS FOR FARE EVADERS

Luke Henriques-Gomes Frankston Standard Leader May 17, 2013

THOUSANDS of Melbourne fare evaders are dodging ticket inspectors with the help of social media snitches that track their whereabouts.

More than 4700 people have liked a Facebook page that posts the whereabouts of inspectors and encourages others to do the same.
>> Is it fair to warn fare evaders? Have your say below.
It flies in the face of Public Transport Victoria's increased efforts to catch fare evaders, which collectively cost the system about $74 million a year.
The page's creator, 19-year-old Luke Pearce, said he started the page after he was fined for fare evading on a tram.
"I was busy listening to my iPod at the time. Afterwards I thought, 'wouldn't it be great if I knew where the ticket inspectors were'," he said.
Mr Pearce said the page was mostly designed to "help out people who can't be bothered topping up their myki".
He said the page received about 10-15 updates an hour from other users during peak times.
Meanwhile, a Twitter account also offers its 4000-odd followers updates on the location of ticket inspectors.
“Our ticket thugs are out early this morning. Craigieburn line passengers beware!” it tweeted on Thursday morning.
Public Transport Victoria spokeswoman Donna Watson said fare evasion cost the community $80 million a year.
A recent PTV report found 9.4 per cent of Melbourne passengers evaded a fare in October 2012.
Commuter Joshua Cowan, 20, said he had “liked” the Facebook page because he was “a bit nervous about getting caught” riding without a myki recently.
Mr Cowan said he had mixed feelings, now that he was paying his way.
“It’s helpful, but when you’ve got a ticket you know it’s wrong,” he said.
Nicholas Borgia, 20, said he thought it would be useful to know where inspectors are.
“I put my feet on the seats every now and then. If I know where the inspectors are then I can be more careful,” he said.
But social media are not the only online media being used to dodge fines.
A phone app that lets users tag inspectors on a live map of Melbourne has been downloaded about 900 times and last year, the Herald Sun reported the existence of another fare-evasion app Spector.

NOTE: Leader has chosen not to identify the social media accounts.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/leader/bayside/twitter-facebook-ticket-inspector-warnings-for-fare-evaders/story-fngnvli9-1226645091476

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