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New Zealand law explained for everyone

Land Transport Act 1998

Offences relating to transport services and penalties

79M: Penalties for failure to pay service fares, etc

You could also call this:

“What happens if you don't pay for public transport or follow the rules”

If you don’t pay for a passenger service when you’re supposed to, you’re breaking the law. This is called an infringement offence.

For public transport services, you’re also breaking the law if you don’t pay your fare or can’t show proof that you paid when an enforcement officer asks you to.

You can get in more serious trouble if you don’t give your details to an enforcement officer when they ask, or if you get on or refuse to get off public transport when an officer tells you to.

If you tried to pay but couldn’t because there was no way to pay, you might not get in trouble.

If you don’t pay your fare or can’t prove you paid, you might have to pay a fine of up to $500. If you don’t give your details or disobey an officer about getting on or off public transport, you might have to pay a fine of up to $1,000.

Public transport service means the same thing as it does in section 5 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM434870.

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79L: Court may require convicted transport service licence holder to sit examination, or

"Court can make transport service licence holders take a test if they break rules"

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79N: Failure to keep or produce records or comply with conditions of exemption or approval, or

"Breaking rules about keeping records or following special permissions for drivers and transport companies"

Part 6A Offences relating to transport services and penalties

79MPenalties for failure to pay service fares, etc

  1. A person who fails to pay a passenger service fare that the person is liable to pay commits an infringement offence.

  2. A person commits an infringement offence if, in relation to a public transport service fare that the person is liable to pay, the person—

  3. fails to pay the fare; or
    1. fails to provide (in response to an enforcement officer’s direction given in accordance with section 128F(1)) evidence of having paid the fare.

      1. A person commits an offence if, in relation to a public transport service fare that the person is liable to pay, the person—

      2. fails to provide (in response to an enforcement officer’s direction given in accordance with section 128F(2)(a)) the identifying particulars referred to in section 128F(2)(a); or
        1. boards, or fails or refuses to disembark, the public transport service in contravention of an enforcement officer’s direction given in accordance with section 128F(2)(b).

          1. It is a defence to an offence against subsection (1) or (2)(a) or (b) if a person made reasonable attempts to pay the fare and there were no available means of paying.

          2. The maximum penalty on conviction for an offence against subsection (1) or (2)(a) or (b) is a fine not exceeding $500.

          3. The maximum penalty on conviction for an offence against subsection (3)(a) or (b) is a fine not exceeding $1,000.

          4. For the purposes of this section, public transport service has the same meaning as in section 5 of the Land Transport Management Act 2003.

          Notes
          • Section 79M: replaced, on , by section 37 of the Land Transport Amendment Act 2017 (2017 No 34).