Fare evasion and political diatribe

Do politicians responsible for our public transport system and fare evasion do anything other than continually reiterate the problem followed by the inevitable and meaningless, “we need to do something”? Obviously they feel they must give the impression of action so they pontificate with staccato-punctuated monosyllabic sentences trying to sound decisive, important and forthright. Unfortunately, the sole intent is to dissuade scrutiny and avoid any sort of decision-making.
The Government and the operators know that fare evasion is rife and that their in-house quasi police inspectors are a public relations nightmare and don’t work. They know the losses involved and what it’s costing every Victorian in real dollars.
On the few occasions we have taken the 96 tram between St Kilda and Fitzroy only 10% of people buy or validate a ticket. This endemic behaviour for one tram and one ride lost around $200 in revenue. Just imagine the money lost to the whole system.
Given that the operator’s gross profit remains static and given that everyone pays, then simple arithmetic shows that everyone’s fares could drop by at least 50%.
If everyone pays then everyone benefits. I would like to see the existing quasi-police inspectors turn into roving conductors who sell tickets with a smile rather than fine people with a stick. That will work.