The benefit of having a public transport network like GO GEORGE is that passengers can travel anywhere on the network by transferring to different routes. As transfers are free within an hour from starting your journey, you could for instance travel from Pacaltsdorp to the CBD, and on to Blanco, at the cost of a single ticket.
This is to ensure that travelling by bus is affordable for everybody. However, it is printed clearly on the GO GEORGE bus tickets that each ticket is valid for one person only.
Unfortunately, some see the one-hour validity of the ticket as an opportunity to either give their ticket away to another waiting passenger when they get off the bus, or to sell it at a discount.
This behaviour is totally unacceptable. Any form of avoiding paying for your ticket, such as passing your bus ticket on to another passenger when the allowed hour has not expired yet, is fare evasion and a criminal offense in terms of the National Land Transport Act. Any persons caught may be criminally prosecuted and face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine up to R10 000.
CCTV cameras on buses, field monitors and Champions will be used to track fare evasion.
Passengers can help to keep the bus service affordable by enjoying the benefits, and not abusing them at the cost of the service that needs real-figure income to stay viable.