Independent Member for Alfred Cove Dr Janet Woollard is reminding the community to be vigilant when travelling on public transport services and ensure they have a valid ticket.

"I have been contacted by a member of the community who received a $100 fine for having a train ticket which was only valid for two zones while the passenger intended to travel three zones," said Dr Woollard.

"Unfortunately for passengers there is limited discretion in relation to invalid tickets and so people whose tickets are only invalid by $1.00 or $2.00 still receive a $100 fine".

Section 6 of the Public Transport Authority Regulations 2003 provides that it is an offence to use a public passenger transport service without a valid ticket and prescribes a $100 penalty.

Dr Woollard said that to avoid receiving a fine, passengers should ensure their ticket is valid for the journey they wish to undertake. "Passengers can type in their destination at Ticket Vending Machines which will automatically determine how many zones the passenger will be travelling and the cost of the ticket," said Dr Woollard.

"For example from Perth City to Canning Bridge Train Station is one zone, while from Perth City to Bull Creek Train Station is two zones.

"Passengers purchasing a ticket using the Ticket Vending Machines at the Canning Bridge Train Station need to be aware that the machines only accept coins."

Dr Woollard said that the Public Transport Authority suggests passengers use a Transperth SmartRider card which calculates how far the passenger has travelled and deducts the correct fare.

More information regarding the Transperth SmartRider card is available at www.transperth.wa.gov.au.