Aussie is slapped with a fine while riding public transport – but claims the ticket inspector is actually to blame: ‘Impatient’

A university student has slammed a ticket inspector for slapping him with a fine because he couldn’t show him his ID quick enough. 

Draven was also told to dispute the penalty he received while travelling on public transport in Sydney, with the Transport for NSW officer telling him ‘you’ll win’.  

He shared his frustration on social media, saying he was ‘f***ing spewing’.

‘Why did he give me a fine in the first place, I was going to give him my digital card,’ Draven said.

‘I’m like okay, I’m pulling it up, but he didn’t want to wait. 

‘He goes, “You are taking too long, just take this and fight it in the mail, you’ll win”, so now it’s just a hassle.’

Draven, who is studying at an unnamed institution, was asked to show his student card because he had tapped on with his concession card. 

However, he said he didn’t have a physical card because he was doing his degree online. 

‘Because I’m doing my postgraduate online, I don’t have a physical card, but I’ve got a digital card,’ Draven said.

Since he didn’t have his digital card on his new phone, he said he tried to prove he was a student by showing his work.

‘I showed him my email and the assignment I was doing that morning,’ Draven said. 

He said he was eventually handed the ticket because the inspector couldn’t be bothered waiting. 

Many Aussies said they’d had similar experiences. 

‘When I started TAFE and I hadn’t got my card yet but got my concession, I showed them I was enrolled, but I still got a fine,’ one said.   

‘I lost my wallet on the bus a few days before I had tapped on,’ a second said. 

‘I showed them I ordered a new entitlement card and that my wallet was at the bus depot and they gave me a fine after telling me I would only get a caution.’

‘As a worker in transport, I have seen this happen to heaps of students and inspectors not accept the digital ID,’ a third said.

Others claimed that ticket inspectors had a quota to follow in order to keep their job.

‘They have a KPI or a quota they need to meet to keep their jobs,’ one said.

‘That’s ridiculous, he probably did that to meet his targets,’ a second said.

‘They have KPIs they need to meet, so will just tell you anything so they can issue you with one,’ a third said. 

One also said that he wasn’t eligible for a concession card if studying online.

According to Transport for NSW’s guidelines for issuing NSW tertiary student concessions, there are only six circumstances where someone is eligible for the discounted fare.

One has to not only be ‘enrolled in an accredited course of study with a registered higher education provider’ but must be a ‘full-time student enrolled on an internal basis’ unless they have a disability.

If Draven was studying his postgraduate online, then he would not have been eligible for a concession card to start with.   

Daily Mail has contacted Transport for NSW for comment.