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Revenue collection - have LNER given up?
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johnr57
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Barriers were closed at Kings Cross at 2pm-ish this afternoon.
I noticed that a Revenue Protection Officer (title on badge) boarded the train at Peterborough and checked all the passengers who boarded at Peterborough.
If she is on commission she will be smiling tonight as she nobbled at least four people with Great Northern only tickets and gazumped another couple for £40 each in excess fares to upgrade from standard. That’s was coach K alone.
I noticed that a Revenue Protection Officer (title on badge) boarded the train at Peterborough and checked all the passengers who boarded at Peterborough.
If she is on commission she will be smiling tonight as she nobbled at least four people with Great Northern only tickets and gazumped another couple for £40 each in excess fares to upgrade from standard. That’s was coach K alone.
dk1
Veteran Member
Good going. Let's see more of it.
matacaster
On Moderation
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As LNER are a public service, perhaps they don't care about collecting revenue as much as say Virgin as they are less likely to get sacked?
So what exactly have the long-distance operators such as GWR, LNER and Virgin achieved by changing from "open" stations with a proper regime of on-train checks (so knowing that you were liable to be checked on-train, even if in practice you weren't always checked especially on short journeys such as Macclesfield-Stockport or Durham-Newcastle, was thought to be enough of a deterrent to fare dodgers) to gated stations (where the gates are often left open) with only very sporadic on-train checks?
On the one hand, gates might help to mop up revenue from short journeys, but on the other hand, they only ensure that you have a ticket that is valid from that station, not necessarily for the journey that you are actually making, and they can't ensure that you have travelled on the correct train (if you have an Advance or time-restricted Off-Peak ticket) or in the correct class of accommodation, or that you have a railcard if you present a railcard discounted ticket (or that you are a child if you present a child ticket).
Kite159
Veteran Member
In theory they should check everybody because it is all too easy for a dodger to remain silent when the guard walks through asking for "tickets from X", and unless the guard has a good memory ("hang on that pair of seats were empty beforehand" they can get away with it.
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I can remember my last trip on LNER, from Edinburgh towards London, the guard checked all the tickets from Edinburgh (first stop was Alnmouth so had plenty of time), returning for Alnmouth folk, but the new guard after Newcastle was invisible.
In a nutshell. None of these common thieves are likely to identify themselves.
Eh?
1. LNER are not a public service. They're operated by a publicly owned private company.
2. Who is more or less likely to get sacked? The guards? Management? Why should a public service be expected to have a lower level of acceptable service?
3. It was Virgin who removed the ticket barriers
dk1
Veteran Member
York station has full barrier ticket checks in operation today.
Esker-pades
Established Member
I don't think posting live updates as to which stations have full barrier operation/manual ticket checks is a good idea. It could make this thread a source of information for fare-evaders, which is not desirable.
a_c_skinner
Established Member
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York? Isn't the bridge public access to the NRM? We went through this years ago and they didn't install barriers because of this.
dk1
Veteran Member
Temporary manned barriers in operation. Will be needed especially on more localised services as trains will be severely crowded today meaning many onboard revenue duties will be impossible.
dk1
Veteran Member
Don't know.
The new electronic seat reservation displays can detect seat occupancy and could flag up newly occupied seats for ticket inspection.
gray1404
Established Member
I've found on LNER I have always had a ticket check during the day but of a night it can be hit and miss.
ValleyLines142
Established Member
Equally there are also never any ticket checks on board Cardiff to London GWR services.
sweeping statement- there certainly are on the trains I work.
I think it’s clear from this thread that there are just too many variables to define wether something does or doesn’t happen. Everyone has a different experience, travelling on different services at different times.
Sometimes tickets get checked, sometimes the barriers are closed, sometimes neither happens...
Kite159
Veteran Member
Certainly I can't remember the last time my ticket was checked between Paddington & Reading (and vice versa), even on some lightly-medium loaded services
ValleyLines142
Established Member
A sweeping statement yes, but equally I have travelled at various different times on various different days on both 5 and 10 car IETs and on many of those occasions I've not seen one single member of staff walk through the train.
By contrast, with TFW I've had my ticket checked the minute I've left Cardiff Central on my way to Llanharan.
BluePenguin
On Moderation
Well that was very naughty of her! I thought if you have an invalid ticket then they can only charge the difference betwern the invalid one and the correct one you should have had, the same way the couple were excessed to first from standard?
BluePenguin
On Moderation
No need to write anything on here, this information is already accessible elsewhere and has been for a while. If there is a particular staff member you wish to avoid or a station you want to check is barrierd it is not difficult to find out which is probably one of the reasons levels of fare evasion are so high
clagmonster
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For an operator restriction, Condition 10 of the old National Rail Conditions of Carriage explicitly stated that a brand new ticket had to be issued if the wrong operator was used on an operator specific ticket. Surprisingly, Condition 12 of the new National Rail Conditions of Travel, whilst stating that tickets may be operator specific, does not state what happens if a passenger breaches the restriction. Maybe I'm missing something.
Great northern tickets aren’t valid on LNER so it’s a full new ticket going by what she said to them.
The excess she quoted was the difference between whatever standard ticket the passengers had to whatever 1st class ticket that was applicable. She explained it to them and they didn’t seem phased at paying it.
DanDaDriver
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They usually end up on a bus anyway to be fair.
They are allowed through. I don't know who was manning the temporary barriers at York yesterday but in the past it has been private security who have not got a clue about the validity of tickets.
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