A few months ago I asked at the ticket office to find out at what age you had to start paying for kids. I was told 4-years-old. So, when the kids and I went to the zoo yesterday by train and tram, I bought Nathan a 2-hour concession ticket to tide us over until I could sort out a MyKi card for him.
I went to the MyKi office at Flinders Street Station, stood in line for 15 minutes with two crazy kids, but I still had enough time to study a sign telling me that kids 3 and under were free on public transport, and kids under 17 could purchase a concession ticket as long as they had a concession card….primary concession, secondary concession or tertiary concession. You were not entitled to buy a concession ticket without one of these cards. Hmmmm…..seemed to me that technically I was supposed to have bought Nathan a full price ticket that morning.
When I got to ask about the MyKi card, the person In the ticket booth just waved away my question and told me not to worry about a ticket for him. I said that he had turned 4 already, and was basically told not to worry about tickets until he is 4.5…..or so. So we went back to all of us using the one ticket for the trip home. I do wonder what would happen if a ticket inspector asked to check tickets…..and asked me how old Nathan is. He happily tells everyone he is 4-years-old……
It’s hard to do the honest thing, isn’t it?
I have had the same problem – a bus driver contradicted me repeatedly when I told him Inigo was 4. He said, no, he’s three…
It took me quite a while to get it!
we fixed it, i went on the internet and have ordered a childs myki for nathan, silly station staff didnt know the rules.
Lara, it seems to be common here not to worry about tickets until the child is going to school. Other mothers who use buses say that the drivers don’t give them tickets for their 4-year-olds, and some say not to worry until they are wearing a school uniform! Still, our tickets have been checked on the train by inspectors reasonably often, and I wonder if their views are quite as lax. Anyway, we are all sorted nwo with a child MyKi. 🙂