Discounted Tickets

[Lawman]

Folks,

just a wee ticket question, hope someone can help!

l may be wrong, l understand HM Forces get a discount, reduced rate of travel on the rail network. Do other emergency services, police, fire, ambulance also get this discount......curious,:roll:

 

[scotsman]

HM Forces only get a discount with a £20 railcard

 

[attics26]

since when were HM Forces an emergency service??

 

[Lawman]

since when were HM Forces an emergency service??

RAF...Search&Rescue
HM.....Coast Guard
Army.....Fire Fighting duties during Fire Brigade Dispute
RMP......Disorder amongst squadies/assisting civil police

 

[Safety365]

Folks,

just a wee ticket question, hope someone can help!

l may be wrong, l understand HM Forces get a discount, reduced rate of travel on the rail network. Do other emergency services, police, fire, ambulance also get this discount......curious,:roll:

The Metropolitan Police pay for its officers to have free travel within a 50 mile radius of London. This includes commuting and off duty leisure travel. In 2008 this cost the met £24m. AFAIK this doesn't extend to City of London Police, which is an entirely separate police constabulary who police London's financial 'square mile'.

 

[Soupdragon]

Army.....Fire Fighting duties during Fire Brigade Dispute

Make that ALL 3 services when the firemans strikes were on..

 

[Nevasleep]

I don't think the other emergency services need a discount.
Only military personnel are posted across the UK, and world.

 

[GodAtum]

Metropolitan Police special constables get free travel on TFL buses, tubes, DLR and trams. I think this was negotiated with the Mayor.

 

[scotsman]

since when were HM Forces an emergency service??

I never said they were, I just said that HM Forces got a discount

 

[DavidSmith]

I *believe* the police get free travel on LM, so long as they agree to step in and help sort out any trouble.

 

[transportphoto]

RAF...Search&Rescue
HM.....Coast Guard
Army.....Fire Fighting duties during Fire Brigade Dispute
RMP......Disorder amongst squadies/assisting civil police

Sorry for being pedantic but HM Coastguard is not an HM Force as it is part of the MCGA

 

[Lawman]

Sorry for being pedantic but HM Coastguard is not an HM Force as it is part of the MCGA

Everyday is a school day I stand corrected

 

[Flamingo]

Met and City of London police get free within 50 miles of London, BTP on duty, HMF have a forces railcard for reduced leisure travel (not on duty). I don't know if any TOC's have local arrangements with their local police forces.

All else pay

 

[323235]

Saw a Policeman flash his warrant card during a ticket check just yesterday on a Northern Manchester-Stoke service.

 

[GodAtum]

Do rail staff get a list of all the different ID cards that can be used?

 

[Mojo]

Do rail staff get a list of all the different ID cards that can be used?

Underground staff have photographs of the different badges and warrant cards from the forces which get free travel. Off the top of my head I think it's Essex, Hertfordshire, BTP, Met, City of London and Thames Valley but there might be others.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I think security services staff can travel free, at least within London, if they ( discretely ) show their ID cards at the barrier?

A few months ago I actually saw a bloke at Paddington ( Bakerloo entrance ) very discretely flash an ID card that looked like a police warrent card but was much bigger and more robustly cobstructed and instead of any police force emblem it had a Crown emblem on it. He was let straight through the barrier without any hesitation whatsoever.

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see it!

 

[barrykas]

Underground staff have photographs of the different badges and warrant cards from the forces which get free travel. Off the top of my head I think it's Essex, Hertfordshire, BTP, Met, City of London and Thames Valley but there might be others.

For National Rail there's a list in "The Manual" of all the official agreements.

Briefly:

• City of London and Met : Free travel within around 60 - 70 miles of London (broadly the former NSE area) and on LU/DLR/Tramlink for all serving officers. No freebies for PCSOs, Specials, Traffic Wardens, Civilian Staff or Retired Offficers.
• BTP : Free DUTY travel at all times throughout the network. In addition, safeguarded and non-safeguarded Officers and PCSOs get free residential travel up to 70 miles (for those based within the former NSE area) or 8 miles (outside the former NSE area) and PRIV seasons if their journey exceeds this. Safeguarded civilian staff get the "standard" free residential travel allowance of 8 or 40 miles.
• Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Thames Valley : Free travel on London Midland at any time for uniformed and plain clothes officers, and PCSOs, on production of a warrant card.
• West Midlands : Free duty travel on London Midland on production of a warrant card.
• Essex : Free travel for uniformed officers on National Express East Anglia at all times.
• Dyfed, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales : Free travel on ATW for uniformed officers, PCSOs and Specials whilst on duty.

It goes without saying, of course, that most staff are only too happy to have backup available on-train or at stations, so will generally use their discretion to permit travel outside of the official areas.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[Safety365]

Do rail staff get a list of all the different ID cards that can be used?

A week long 'commercial course' was part of my training, so yes

 

[GodAtum]

For National Rail there's a list in "The Manual" of all the official agreements.

Thats very interesting thanks

I think security services staff can travel free, at least within London, if they ( discretely ) show their ID cards at the barrier?

A few months ago I actually saw a bloke at Paddington ( Bakerloo entrance ) very discretely flash an ID card that looked like a police warrent card but was much bigger and more robustly cobstructed and instead of any police force emblem it had a Crown emblem on it. He was let straight through the barrier without any hesitation whatsoever.

Just happened to be in the right place at the right time to see it!

Wow I wonder if it was in "The Manual"?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Wow I wonder if it was in "The Manual"?

I would suspect that that particular one would be covered in verbal briefings rather than published in a document?

 

[Mojo]

In my experience of working on the Gateline, most Police show you their badge in the most awkward and hard to see way possible, and snap it back within seconds, meaning you get no chance of looking at what they show you anyway.

 

[Flamingo]

I've personally become much less forgiving of police trying to grab a freebee trip, for a number of reasons:
1. On one of the few occasions I've had to put out a shout for police on-board. I had four MET police on-board, three of whom travelling outside of area and flashing warrant cards. The only one to turn up was the guy who had a valid ticket for the remainder of his journey. So, that kicks the "They are there if you need them" argument into touch for me.
2. I've had to call for Drs or Nurses as often as I have had to call for police on-board. I've never had a Dr or Nurse come up to me and say "can I have free travel, and I'll be in 1st class if you need me". Police are paid considerably more that Nurses, just as an aside, but we expect nurses to pay their fare along with everybody else.
3. I've had a (drunk) police officer attempt to assault me after I charged him up as they plonked himself in 1st with his buddy and said "I'll sit anywhere the f*** I want" when told his buddy's tickets didn't cover him for 1st class, and the PC did not belong to a force that had "free" travel and therefore needed a ticket.

I'm not saying that I've never had cause to ask police who were on-board to assist, and I have been grateful to them for their assistance and made that gratitude known officially, also the regulars I recognise I invite to sit in 1st (especially on late trains).

However, if some bod I don't know from Adam flashes a Thames Valley, South Wales or Avon and Somerset warrant card when I'm going through doing tickets (especially when they are drunk and bugger-all use to me if anything does go pear-shaped), they will be charged.

 

[CrackBerry]

In my experience of working on the Gateline, most Police show you their badge in the most awkward and hard to see way possible, and snap it back within seconds, meaning you get no chance of looking at what they show you anyway.

Indeed this is true. I know I do because I do not really want to be identified to everyone standing around as police and because when you open the wallet the card isn't readily presented, meaning most of the time I just end up showing the badge. Most gateline staff seem to open the barrier before I even have a chance to get the wallet open anyway.

The following forces get free travel on TfL services:
Met Police (including specials)
City of London (including specials)
BTP (including specials)
Herts
Essex
TVP
Surrey

This is in guidance I have received from TfL on the subject.

 

[WestCoast]

3. I've had a (drunk) police officer attempt to assault me after I charged him up as they plonked himself in 1st with his buddy and said "I'll sit anywhere the f*** I want" when told his buddy's tickets didn't cover him for 1st class, and the PC did not belong to a force that had "free" travel and therefore needed a ticket.

That is truly shocking - should not be allowed to serve as a police officer. I would have reported him.

 

[Flamingo]

That is truly shocking - should not be allowed to serve as a police officer. I would have reported him.

I didn't for a variety of reasons, one being that had got £100 out of him, and the other that I have been advised in the past by a solicitor friend (criminal law) that taking complaints against the police is really more hassle than it is worth, as the do operate a black-list when you do.

At some stage in the future I will probably need to call on the services of his force.