AOs on Geelong Vlines
Has anyone else noticed an influx of authorised officers on Geelong Vline trains? I have been regularly commuting on the same services for ages and have recently noticed that groups of AOs will be present on the service, often checking mykis at the same time as a Vline staff member. The Vline staff have almost always done this on their own in my experience and are so understanding when something has gone wrong for someone, often tapping on their myki for them if they forgot. My experience of AOs has been almost universally negative, they use intimidation to try and get people to behave which makes so many people feel unsafe.
Today a woman had a fully topped up and valid myki and said she thought she had tapped on correctly but the reader seemingly said she hadn't, and instead of just tapping her on the AO sat down across from her and essentially leaned over her, going on about how it is an offence in a very aggressive tone. He was using the same machine as the Vline staff do, and didn't even MENTION the fact that he could tap her on to fix the mistake. The Vline staff member then came down the aisle and quickly tapped her on after witnessing the conversation.
Anyway, I don't really know what result I am looking for other than to find out if anyone else has noticed this. I'm not a fan.