GWR Bristol Parkway - delayed en route to station

[ValleyLines142]

Good morning,

Just after a bit of advice for a friend; whilst I am a very regular traveller myself, I'm not too strong on the disputes and prosecutions side of matters!

My friend was in Bristol coming home from uni a few weeks back, she lives in Abercynon and she got a bus from UWE Frenchay to Bristol Parkway. She was on the bus stop at UWE at 6pm waiting to catch the 6.10pm bus to Parkway station. She usually walks to Parkway, which is possible in 20-25 minutes, but it was raining and she had a lot of stuff so opted to get the bus.

The bus in question was over twenty minutes late because of an accident on the ring road outside of UWE. Because of the delay getting in and out of uni, she arrived two minutes before her train to Cardiff was due to depart (18.41). As she got off the bus, she saw the train pulling in to the station and ran up to the barriers and asked whether she could buy a ticket on board the train. The gateline staff at Bristol Parkway refused and she had to wait for the next train (19.12). Apparently the member of staff in question was not particularly pleasant either, but I advised my friend to take that up as a separate matter if she wishes.

I realise that GWR cannot be held accountable for heavy traffic conditions, but surely a bit of leniency wouldn't have gone amiss here? It is impossible to evade a fare (not that my friend is that type to do so anyway), as there are ticket barriers in operation at Cardiff Central and even if there was no opportunity to buy a ticket on the Swansea train, she would have gone to the UPF window at Cardiff to purchase her ticket on to Abercynon as she would have had a fifteen minute gap at Cardiff.

She was due to arrive at Abercynon at 20.20, but didn't arrive until 21.04. I wonder if this could be taken as delay repay. She'd left Abercynon at 6.30 that morning to get to uni, so understandably she was very tired!

By contrast, I had a similar situation in Newport the other day and I was allowed on to the platform immediately.

I am all for cracking down on fare evasion, as I have seen plenty of fare evaders hide in the toilets or got away with saying they've travelled from a later station in order to get a cheaper fare, and in some extreme cases I've seen young ones run off the end of platforms and up embankments to avoid inspectors. But I do feel that sometimes it is the honest people that end up being screwed over.

Thank you for reading.

 

[Hadders]

I'm afraid your friend has no grounds for complaint or delay repay. Everyone thinks an exception should be made for them but how are staff to know who is genuine and who isn't.

Best chalk it up to experience, just one of those things. Some you win, some you lose!

 

[Haywain]

I don't see that there is anything to complain about - ticket barriers are there to ensure that those boarding trains have tickets. And unless the bus company has a delay repay scheme, I can't see there being a valid claim for that.

 

[Brissle Girl]

I would paraphrase the question as “My friend was late for the train - can they claim Delay Repay?” To which there is only one answer.

If everyone running late for a train was allowed through the barriers it would make a mockery of the system.

Your friend could have booked a ticket using the app when it became clear they were going to be cutting it fine. I don’t particularly like using it for other reasons, but it would have solved the problem on this occasion.

 

[ValleyLines142]

I would paraphrase the question as “My friend was late for the train - can they claim Delay Repay?” To which there is only one answer.

If everyone running late for a train was allowed through the barriers it would make a mockery of the system.

Your friend could have booked a ticket using the app when it became clear they were going to be cutting it fine. I don’t particularly like using it for other reasons, but it would have solved the problem on this occasion.

She did consider using the mobile app, but she worries about the reliability of her phone.

I guess (as I imagined) it is best to chalk it up to experience on this occasion, but still frustrating nonetheless.

 

[yorkie]

She was due to arrive at Abercynon at 20.20, but didn't arrive until 21.04. I wonder if this could be taken as delay repay.

Does the bus company offer a delay repay scheme? If so, is it a multi-modal scheme including trains? This seems extremely unlikely to me.

But any delay needs to either be taken up with the bus company or through her travel insurance. It's not a matter for the train company.

...It is impossible to evade a fare...

This isn't actually true.

 

[ValleyLines142]

This isn't actually true.

Still certainly very difficult on this particular route.

 

[tiptoptaff]

Still certainly very difficult on this particular route.

How were they to know that's where she was actually travelling?
Also, you say she could have gone to the UPF window at Cardiff, before continuing to Abercynon. Again, how do they know she would? She's already bypassed a ticket office to make a tight connection (albeit bus to train this time)
And finally, no barriers at Abercynon, so easy to leave without paying if not challenged. So in this instance, it's far from difficult

 

[island]

Your friend has no valid grounds for complaint to GWR.

 

[Fare-Cop]

Still certainly very difficult on this particular route.

Not true at all. A traveller may well pass through a barrier with a valid ticket at that place and for that second in time, but there are a myriad of ways in which that same traveller can be avoiding the correct fare for their intended journey. That is one of the main reasons why Revenue Protection Inspectors are employed to make random spot-checks on-trains and at stations.

As others have said, your colleague has no claim whatsoever against the Train Operating Company

 

[Kite159]

Not true at all. A traveller may well pass through a barrier with a valid ticket at that place and for that second in time, but there are a myriad of ways in which that same traveller can be avoiding the correct fare for their intended journey. That is one of the main reasons why Revenue Protection Inspectors are employed to make random spot-checks on-trains and at stations.

As others have said, your colleague has no claim whatsoever against the Train Operating Company

For example the barriers at Bristol Parkway will open if someone had a ticket for Filton Abbey Wood [or other local Bristol area station], it won't stop them boarding a long distance service in the hope of no ticket check.