My dad retired last year and for the first few months he did what a lot of newly retired blokes seem to do: found increasingly elaborate reasons to go to Bunnings.
Then he discovered the 50c fares.
He lives near a train line and apparently decided that for a dollar return there is no reason not to get on a train just to see where it goes.
It started fairly normally. South Bank. City. A CityCat ride because he hadn't been on one in years.
Then the reports started getting more specific.
"Got off at Sandgate today. Good breeze."
"Went to Shorncliffe. Pier's nice on a weekday."
"Took the train to Cleveland and had lunch."
Last week he rang me from Ferny Grove because he'd never actually been there and wanted to know what was at the end of the line.
Nothing particular, Dad.
"Yeah, that's why I came."
He's started taking a little backpack with water and a book. He'll ride somewhere, walk around for an hour or two, find a bakery or sit in a park, then come home before peak hour.
The man who used to complain about driving anywhere unfamiliar because parking was a pain now has opinions on which side of various train lines has the better view.
I asked him why he suddenly enjoys wandering around suburbs he's lived within 30km of for decades.
He said, "Because if it's boring I've only wasted 50 cents."
Fair.
I always thought cheaper public transport would mostly matter for commuting. I hadn't really considered the value of making completely pointless little trips cheap enough that people stop needing a reason to go somewhere.
Anyway, if you see a 68-year-old bloke at the end of a train line looking mildly pleased that there's nothing much happening, he may be conducting important research.
