Up_Tilt_390
Member
- Joined
- 10 Oct 2015
- Messages
- 923
I can pretty much guarantee that anybody who's travelled on trains has, at one point, had a ticket that never got checked. If you're on a one-way trip or if it's the case both ways of no checks or barriers, then you've essentially just lost a good amount of money on a ticket to travel on a train you could've theoretically just jumped on board without a ticket and travel for free. I'm by no means encouraging anybody to do this, because it's not one bit fair on the paying passengers, but why does this happen sometimes?
For example, I recently travelled from Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central, and the ticket barriers before platforms 1 to 6 at Liverpool have now been removed. So I sat on the train just watching my journey, and all the way to Preston I never had my tickets checked. I did get them checked on the way over the bridge to Platform 4 where my train to Glasgow was due, and they were checked on that train too. But if Northern failed to check the tickets on the train or at the origin station, then someone could've easily just not went across the bridge over the platforms and went back to Liverpool getting off scot-free with fare evasion.
Same thing happened on the way back. It took a while for Virgin to check my tickets, but with one hour between Glasgow and Carlisle, it wouldn't have allowed anyone to travel without a ticket between those destinations. But again, Northern failed to check the tickets on my way from Wigan to Liverpool. Because my ticket covered Liverpool Stations, I proceed to James Street station, and there is actually a lift at the Lime Street concourse that takes you right down to the platform. Then at James Street, there is actually a Water Street entrance with no barriers or checks, so while both the Wirral Line stations have ticket barriers, there are entrances which bypass them.
After the Northern Rail journey to Preston and boarding the Virgin Trains service to Glasgow, I decided to do a little experiment. The guard will usually walk through the train and ask for tickets for those who joined at a certain station, in this case Preston. I left it for a few seconds, and it actually took me calling the guard to check my ticket because he actually went past my table. I was expecting to be asked for my ticket, and I would've presented it to him, but I never expected to have to ask to get my ticket checked. I've tried an experiment with the Merseyrail loophole too. I had a Saveaway ticket as they were back then, so I had paid to travel on the network. I decided to take the Water Street entrance at James Street, went to the platform, took a train to Lime Street, took the lift to the concourse, and what do you know, nobody was there to check the ticket.
But sometimes this isn't the case, sometimes they do check tickets. But the point is, if the system has ways which allow people to avoid paying fares for tickets, should they be surprised when they do? If you ask me, Penalty Fares are basically train companies trying to get back some revenue if they ever do catch a fare evader because their system allowed it. Some people don't take the risk and always buy a ticket, which I personally advise you to do, but some people actually do avoid paying, and because of the system they sometimes get away with it. London Midland are the worst, because I have never had them check my tickets. Virgin mostly have, but only after certain stations where someone could've got off before hand, and Merseyrail has barriers at stations, but some have paths that bypass them.
So what are your thoughts? Is Fare Evasion poorly enforced? Should companies who have ways that allow people to avoid paying fares be surprised when somebody actually does? Again, I must advise that you to never take chances, and play it fair for the genuine paying customers and always buy a ticket, but you'll have to get over losing money if nobody cares to check it, and I hate to say that but it seems like the case sometimes.
For example, I recently travelled from Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central, and the ticket barriers before platforms 1 to 6 at Liverpool have now been removed. So I sat on the train just watching my journey, and all the way to Preston I never had my tickets checked. I did get them checked on the way over the bridge to Platform 4 where my train to Glasgow was due, and they were checked on that train too. But if Northern failed to check the tickets on the train or at the origin station, then someone could've easily just not went across the bridge over the platforms and went back to Liverpool getting off scot-free with fare evasion.
Same thing happened on the way back. It took a while for Virgin to check my tickets, but with one hour between Glasgow and Carlisle, it wouldn't have allowed anyone to travel without a ticket between those destinations. But again, Northern failed to check the tickets on my way from Wigan to Liverpool. Because my ticket covered Liverpool Stations, I proceed to James Street station, and there is actually a lift at the Lime Street concourse that takes you right down to the platform. Then at James Street, there is actually a Water Street entrance with no barriers or checks, so while both the Wirral Line stations have ticket barriers, there are entrances which bypass them.
After the Northern Rail journey to Preston and boarding the Virgin Trains service to Glasgow, I decided to do a little experiment. The guard will usually walk through the train and ask for tickets for those who joined at a certain station, in this case Preston. I left it for a few seconds, and it actually took me calling the guard to check my ticket because he actually went past my table. I was expecting to be asked for my ticket, and I would've presented it to him, but I never expected to have to ask to get my ticket checked. I've tried an experiment with the Merseyrail loophole too. I had a Saveaway ticket as they were back then, so I had paid to travel on the network. I decided to take the Water Street entrance at James Street, went to the platform, took a train to Lime Street, took the lift to the concourse, and what do you know, nobody was there to check the ticket.
But sometimes this isn't the case, sometimes they do check tickets. But the point is, if the system has ways which allow people to avoid paying fares for tickets, should they be surprised when they do? If you ask me, Penalty Fares are basically train companies trying to get back some revenue if they ever do catch a fare evader because their system allowed it. Some people don't take the risk and always buy a ticket, which I personally advise you to do, but some people actually do avoid paying, and because of the system they sometimes get away with it. London Midland are the worst, because I have never had them check my tickets. Virgin mostly have, but only after certain stations where someone could've got off before hand, and Merseyrail has barriers at stations, but some have paths that bypass them.
So what are your thoughts? Is Fare Evasion poorly enforced? Should companies who have ways that allow people to avoid paying fares be surprised when somebody actually does? Again, I must advise that you to never take chances, and play it fair for the genuine paying customers and always buy a ticket, but you'll have to get over losing money if nobody cares to check it, and I hate to say that but it seems like the case sometimes.