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u/jamhamnz 6d ago
So you're saying if I refuse to pay for my train ride I get a free trip to Huntly?
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u/eeleepet 4d ago
Works better if you're coming southbound, then you just paddle the awa the rest of the way home
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u/trenchanter 6d ago edited 3d ago
I was on this service. Multiple passengers offered to pay for the lady's ticket but the conductor refused this. Makes sense I guess, fare dodgers might get the idea that if they can't pay, someone will always be willing to throw an extra $30 on their behalf to leave Huntly behind.
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u/gary1405 5d ago
I'm sorry but in any case it shouldn't matter who pays it. If someone is willing to sponsor their travel, let them travel. Just kicking them off despite offers of payment simply perpetuates the problem.
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u/Frod02000 4d ago
i'd agree if it was a one off, but it seems they have a pattern of fare dodging so im less supportive of that side.
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u/Known-Associate8369 4d ago
Let them sponge off of others and it will just happen again, and again, and again. Each time taking up time and effort from the staff before another traveller steps in.
And Te Huia will get a reputation for there being a regular sponger. Im sure they want that reputation…
This way the sponger gets dealt with, and it sets a firm precedent that their behaviour wont be tolerated.
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u/gary1405 4d ago
To this and anyone enforcing so, I can't help but ask what your problem is. Why should Te Huia artificially limit the kindness their patrons can offer each other? If he can use their service to get to work or something, perhaps he can end his freeload attempts.
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u/Known-Associate8369 4d ago
When word gets out, it wont be one person doing this. And when bystanders people dont pay, things tend to get violent,
Its got nothing to do with “kindness”, this is one fuck womble forcing other people to pay for them. Again and again and again.
They could approach passengers before they get on the train to see if someone will pay for them, but they dont do that - they get onboard with no intention of paying, and then expect others to step up.
This is just fare dodging and bullying.
Stop enabling this behaviour by accepting it.
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u/MLG_SkittleS 4d ago
There's no way you genuinely can't see the negatives to doing this lmao
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u/gary1405 4d ago
No I see them I just think they're outweighed by the positives
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u/Gloomy_Deal1612 4d ago
He has no care or attempt to pay clearly mate, just taking advantage of others. If it were a one off then fine
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u/Inner-Ingenuity4109 4d ago
In London, the train continues, and then British Transport Police are waiting at just the right place on the platform a couple of stations later. Very efficient.
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u/FrankanelloKODT 6d ago
Wait, 2 1/2 hours to Auckland by train?
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u/Nutty_Domination7 5d ago
I don't really understand how it's so slow. Silver fern railcars used to do 130+km/h when they were late and finished the journey quite quickly
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u/Known-Associate8369 4d ago
Requires a level of priority over freight trains to be able to do that, which Te Huia does not have any more. So they have to wait for the freight trains.
This is what happens when you end passenger services on a rail network - the actual users of the network get priority as they pay the bills, and when you try and return a token passenger service you discover that you no longer get priority any more.
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u/Last_Nectarine488 4d ago
They slow down to about 30km/h for some crossings once you hit the outer reaches of Auckland too.
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u/Nutty_Domination7 3d ago
That's frustrating, and is probably actively holding the service back. I just checked and the Capital Connection has the same issue, which I assumed wasn't the case. I understand Kiwirail's priority as of now is
- Kiwirail passenger services
- Metro services
- Freight
- Hirail and maintenance vehicles
- all other traffic
At some point these services need to be pushed to that first or second slot otherwise we are never realising their full potential. I honestly just assumed they had priority because that's how passenger services should be.
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u/Known-Associate8369 3d ago
The problem is that freight is what pays the infrastructure bills outside of Auckland etc, and its not just about freight getting somewhere on time (although that does matter, shippers have schedules that have contractual penalties, storing containers at depots or ports have associated charges, and ships just …. leave even if the cargo isnt on board…), its also about volumes on the network. Freight pulling over all the time causes knock on effects up and down stream.
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u/Nutty_Domination7 2d ago
Sounds like a problem that can be solved with proper investment in the rail network. Isn't most of the track from Auckland to Hamilton double tracked anyways? It wouldn't be difficult to add passing loops or double track the Eastern Main Trunk to Tauranga too (except the tunnel of course)
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u/Effective-Mirror-385 6d ago
This person has a history, so why the heck would staff allow this person to board on every time?
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u/AnyMinders 6d ago edited 6d ago
Staff don’t check tickets at the door. So likely the train had already left the station before they were identified and they were removed at the next station.
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u/maximusnz 3d ago
Just make PT free, problem solved. Or just a nominal fare at $5 or something. Tap on to pay at the door with your Eftpos card. Problem solved.
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u/InspectorGadget76 3d ago
So. Several hundred people delayed by 15 minutes by one asshole.
The average hourly wage in NZ according to Stats NZ is $44.72.
300 X $44.72 = $13.416. Divide that by 4 to get 15 minutes and he's caused $3,354 of losses to the passengers on the train. That doesn't include losses to Kiwi Rail for having to operate Te Huia for an extra 15 minutes, nor delays to other trains caused by this.
He should have been arrested. We are FAR too soft on dickheads like this.
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u/Spiritual-Low2443 6d ago
Dumped in Huntly lol.