Fare Dodging on Public Transport

If you are able, it would be a good idea to report that inspector. He shouldn’t be doing that job when he is such a waste of space. Think of the money the railway loses by unpaid fares. You don’t need his name, just the train time and destination. People like those ‘jobsworths’ get away with too much because people won’t report them. Please don’t be one of them.

I did try and report him and I was brick walled. They told me it was an innocent mistake.

Absolutely unfair to the people who pay, extortionate rail fares.
I thought RJ was superb, high lighting what’s goes on with these rail fare dodges, thought he was rather brave tackling them. Yes, unfortunately, usually the older person who has forgotten to up -date their rail card 🙄

On our local branch line last week seemingly everyone had a ticket apart from an aggressive, young and fit man, who squared up to the ticket inspector and kept arguing. The exchange was still going on when I got off the train, but he was refusing to give his name, refusing to pay, and presumably ran off at some point.

Mt61

Absolutely unfair to the people who pay, extortionate rail fares.
I thought RJ was superb, high lighting what’s goes on with these rail fare dodges, thought he was rather brave tackling them. Yes, unfortunately, usually the older person who has forgotten to up -date their rail card 🙄

I hadn't forgotten to update my rail card, although I think the inspector tried to give the impression to the rest of the carriage that I had and that he was "letting me off with a caution this time". Anyway even if I had forgotten there was no reason for this two tier approach where only soft targets are penalised.

The reason the inspector did not tackle the group of young men was that he had no back up. I think it is a false economy not to employ adequate staff at stations and on trains when 400 million pounds a year is lost in unpaid fares. The fares go up and up and those of us who do pay our fares subsidise the dodgers.

On the TV this morning was a case of someone with a Young Person’s Railcard who was told the discount was not valid for her particular ticket costing under £10 so she was fined £400. Disproportionate! I think she has appealed on the grounds of lack of transparency of the T & C when she bought that ticket.
Genuine mistakes should not be punished as crimes.

I don't know where the Transport Police fit into all this. I honestly wondered if they had been disbanded but apparently they haven't. Probably just downgraded and not enough of them to go round.

So you expected one train inspector to take to task and deal with a large group of, no doubt unruly, young men on his own, without back-up. Did you want to be complicit in this man possibly being seriously injured or possibly even killed?

What should have happened, is that he should have been able to radio ahead so that at the next station the carriage with those young men shuld have been met by a posse of Railway police, who could check their tickets and handout enhanced penalties for not paying (assuming that hey hadn't plus an enhanced penalty for non-cooperation with the train inspector.

The problem is the railway companies for not having proper procedures to support their staff. The problem is not an inspector, unwilling to put his personal safety above the costof a few rail tickets.

Nice young man carried my case up some steps at Kings Cross, then leapt over the barrier!

No I didn't M0nica as I explained in my post. What I did expect was not to be treated in the high handed contemptuous way. It just made it all the more galling when he, quite wisely, didn't take on the group of men. Bully boy culture at its finest.

On a train a few years ago a young woman, travelling without a ticket, was challenged by a member of staff.
After she had shared with the carriage her views on idiots who paid the fare, she told the ticket inspector that she needed to hurry from the train, now, as she was due in court, and her solicitor was cross with her the last time she was late...
I think this might have been an occasion to purchase a ticket..

How do you know he didn't speak to other single passengers in situations similar to you the way he spoke to you?

Just because he took the wisest course of action faced with a group of young men, why do you assume he was bullying you because you were a little old lady?

You are absolutely right to be miffed- he sounded like a bit of a bully.

Cabbie21

On the TV this morning was a case of someone with a Young Person’s Railcard who was told the discount was not valid for her particular ticket costing under £10 so she was fined £400. Disproportionate! I think she has appealed on the grounds of lack of transparency of the T & C when she bought that ticket.
Genuine mistakes should not be punished as crimes.

I hope they let her off with a warning!

grannysyb

Nice young man carried my case up some steps at Kings Cross, then leapt over the barrier!

Oh the cheek 🙄

M0nica I expect he did speak to every other person who did not offer a threat the same way as he spoke to me. Can I respectfully request that you read all my contributions to this thread and then tell me where I indicated that I assumed that he only spoke to me in this fashion because I was a little old lady. Given his manner was so officious, I think it is highly likely that he spoke to other people, not necessarily little old ladies, like that.

Magenta I thought your OP gave that impression.

Quite often the trains can be so packed with standing passen gers, it's physically impractical for train managers to get round & check tickets.

Magenta You said it yourself He was obviously pleased to have hit on a soft target, a little old lady on her own

I rest my case.

Maybe if the powers that be were not so penny pinching and employed STAFF to man stations and a ticket battier they won't be losing 4 million a year

Take some knitting to do on the train - you are not such a soft target with a pair of 3mm in your hands.

Also I never see inspectors at 8:30 on the northern line as too packed (but then again you don't see beggars at that time either)

Barrier

Mt61

Absolutely unfair to the people who pay, extortionate rail fares.
I thought RJ was superb, high lighting what’s goes on with these rail fare dodges, thought he was rather brave tackling them. Yes, unfortunately, usually the older person who has forgotten to up -date their rail card 🙄

Magenta8
Why doesn’t that surprise me? People just won’t accept responsibility for their mistakes, which means we have to pay for them. The problem is, there is NEVER enough staff!

Mt61

Absolutely unfair to the people who pay, extortionate rail fares.
I thought RJ was superb, high lighting what’s goes on with these rail fare dodges, thought he was rather brave tackling them. Yes, unfortunately, usually the older person who has forgotten to up -date their rail card 🙄

Ah, that pillar of virtue Robert Jenrick. The Robert Jenrick who was censured in parliament for claiming the same travel expenses twice - once by car, once by train. And the Robert Jenrick who admitted to deliberately helping Tory donor Richard Desmond avoid a £45 million tax bill on a new housing development. Mr Desmond gave the Tories £12k immediately after Honest Bob's decision. Just keep in mind that tax bill was for the Community Infrastructure Levy. The tax would have gone to Tower Hamlets, one of the poorest boroughs in England. Right charmer that Jenrick! I guess his YouTube exploits are part of his next campaign to become Tory leader.