Residents say no to auto fares
By Katherine Doyle
SYDNEY — One hundred angry Erskineville residents gathered on May 4 at a public meeting to protest the proposed installation of automatic fare machines by the NSW State Rail Authority. The authority plans to begin installation of the machines at Erskineville station, and 150 other stations, from May 9.
Speakers at the meeting included representatives of residents and pensioners, a spokesperson for the shadow minister of transport, a spokesperson for City Rail and a Transport Union representative.
The discussion centred on the likelihood of staff reductions at railway stations following installation of the machines and the resulting security problems, risk of machine breakdown and special problems which would be faced by non-English speaking, elderly and disabled passengers.
Speakers pointed out that the machines which have already been installed at the Martin Place station are not working. In a demonstration to the Combined Pensioners Association on April 23, the machines would not accept $1 or $2 coins and would not issue pensioner tickets.
Erskineville residents are particularly angry that rail workers and passengers were not told about the machines until barely seven weeks before their proposed installation.
If rail services become any more unsafe or inefficient, it is inevitable that more people will turn back toward using private transport, increasing the environmental damage already caused by private car use. People who are unable to afford private vehicles will have their mobility curtailed. Erskineville residents are preparing to fight these outcomes with, as one woman at the meeting put it, "passion and anger".