Dodgers

[Jonfun]

Did you not have a valid ticket then?

Normally "excuse me" would be a more appropriate way of getting somebodys attention and if he had startled you and you had thumped him he would have very little redress. Surely he should have identified himself as an RPI? You would think he would have been taught that in basic training for the job?

In an ideal world, where nobody walks around in a daydream, or with their earphones in, or deliberately ignoring the revenue inspectors, then yes, an "excuse me" would suffice. There is a point where you've exhausted your repertoire of polite interjections and have to resort to a more "to the point" approach in order to get the message across.

If someone thumped a revenue inspector for tapping them on the arm they'd be leaving the station not by train, but in a police van...

 

[MassDiscussion]

In an ideal world, where nobody walks around in a daydream, or with their earphones in, or deliberately ignoring the revenue inspectors, then yes, an "excuse me" would suffice. There is a point where you've exhausted your repertoire of polite interjections and have to resort to a more "to the point" approach in order to get the message across.

He may well have said "excuse me", but I definitely didn't hear it.

If someone thumped a revenue inspector for tapping them on the arm they'd be leaving the station not by train, but in a police van...

Yes, and rightly so. I despise violence, but it is natural to be defensive if you're walking alone in the dark, minding your own business and someone grabs you.

 

[Clip]

Had a beauty yesterday when I got off my train behind a couple of blokes who claimed they got on at a station closer with broken facilities they certainly went pale when I said they didn't as they boarded with me at another.

Wonder if they'll come on here soon with regards to their pending prosecution

 

[Antman]

In an ideal world, where nobody walks around in a daydream, or with their earphones in, or deliberately ignoring the revenue inspectors, then yes, an "excuse me" would suffice. There is a point where you've exhausted your repertoire of polite interjections and have to resort to a more "to the point" approach in order to get the message across.

If someone thumped a revenue inspector for tapping them on the arm they'd be leaving the station not by train, but in a police van...

Not necessarily!

Ask any police officer, obviously circumstances vary but you approach somebody from the front and identify yourself as a police officer if not in uniform. If you approach somebody from behind and startle them you do so at your own risk. Surely it's just basic common sense?

 

[jon0844]

I've tailgated through barriers before. Though I was the one with the valid ticket a scrote slipped directly in front of me as I touched the reader with my Oyster. Quite a slick move and thankfully they were the modern (see: crap) barriers that take an age to close so I wasn't stopped from escaping the dreary charm of Croydon.

Very easily done. I had that happen a number of times at Old Street, and they had the old style gates so they DID close on me - but you can push through!

The person in front has an invalid card, or maybe even no card, but will still touch the pad. It will fail, but because in the morning all commuters are in autopilot mode, you still go forward and touch your card so the gates won't close, without noticing they already have.

So you let the person in front through, and then become trapped, or perhaps not. If the person behind is quick enough, you all get through - and someone did so without using a card.

Rush hour must make it incredibly easy to double up, and even staff who might see it will just assume someone didn't tap correctly and let you out - not pull you aside. Especially as it's not immediately obvious who didn't tap out.

RPIs can do a better job looking from the other side and potentially stop all the people who got caught up to check. I used to see this at King's Cross and Farringdon quite a bit.

 

[londonbridge]

I've posted this one before......used to work in Kingston and used to commute East Croydon-Clapham Junction-Kingston with a 2-6 travelcard. Guy in the office used to do the same journey with a 5-6 travelcard. Never saw him get caught.

If the card was on oyster, and if he had a PAYG credit, I'm not sure what he's doing wrong.

Sorry that's my fault, I should have clarified that this was back in 2008 before PAYG was accepted on National Rail.

 

[Kite159]

I've just seen a pair of young adults (at a guess college students) purchasing child day returns from Andover to Basingstoke.

How I wish the RPIs were on board the 18:06 from Andover to Waterloo tonight (or at Basingstoke)!

 

[fowler9]

Just realised I've been on 4 trains today on an out of date Trio ticket. Expired yesterday. Oops.

 

[Antman]

I've just seen a pair of young adults (at a guess college students) purchasing child day returns from Andover to Basingstoke.

How I wish the RPIs were on board the 18:06 from Andover to Waterloo tonight (or at Basingstoke)!

Maybe they were younger than they looked? Surely if they were up to no good they wouldn't have bought any ticket?

 

[221129]

Maybe they were younger than they looked? Surely if they were up to no good they wouldn't have bought any ticket?

It's very common for young adults (16-25 or higher) to buy child tickets and then try and blag it.

 

[trainophile]

I was on a LM train not long ago where two girls were sold Child tickets, even though one of them had earlier been talking to the other about some incident while driving her car. I couldn't really intervene even if I had been brave enough to, as the guard had assumed they were "children" when they asked him for tickets from * to **. One of them did look about 15, but the other one must have been 19 or thereabouts.

Also, they had been talking about what they were going to do when they got to ***, but upon being required to buy tickets they suddenly decided they were only going as far as ** :roll: .

 

[dcsprior]

I was on a LM train not long ago where two girls were sold Child tickets, even though one of them had earlier been talking to the other about some incident while driving her car. I couldn't really intervene even if I had been brave enough to, as the guard had assumed they were "children" when they asked him for tickets from * to **. One of them did look about 15, but the other one must have been 19 or thereabouts.

I wonder if some people do this without realising they're not entitled to child tickets? Where I grew up, child fares were available on buses for 16-18 year olds in full time education. I'd not really blame anyone for assuming the same applied on the train.

Although this...:

Also, they had been talking about what they were going to do when they got to ***, but upon being required to buy tickets they suddenly decided they were only going as far as ** :roll: .

...makes it more likely they were trying it on

 

[Kite159]

Maybe they were younger than they looked? Surely if they were up to no good they wouldn't have bought any ticket?

Basingstoke has barriers, so not buying a ticket wouldn't be an option.

When I was picking up some tickets I overheard one of them saying "should we risk buying child tickets?" "Yeah" (from the TVM rather than the rather lovely ticket office lady who sold me a rover ticket without batting an eyelid)

 

[Thedispatcher]

I did once see a guy I went to school with, attempting to buy a child ticket. He was in the year above me. Asked him if he was, he denied it and made up a date of birth that made him 18! Walked away with an adult ticket, wasn't thrilled...

 

[markindurham]

I did once see a guy I went to school with, attempting to buy a child ticket. He was in the year above me. Asked him if he was, he denied it and made up a date of birth that made him 18! Walked away with an adult ticket, wasn't thrilled...

Haha - like it! I suspect that maths wasn't his best subject then?

 

[LowLevel]

Oldest trick in the book. 'Are you 18 mate?' - 'no, I'm 17' - full fare then Ta

 

[Antman]

Basingstoke has barriers, so not buying a ticket wouldn't be an option.

When I was picking up some tickets I overheard one of them saying "should we risk buying child tickets?" "Yeah" (from the TVM rather than the rather lovely ticket office lady who sold me a rover ticket without batting an eyelid)

Barriers are often left open and if they're not kids will often claim to have lost their ticket or left it on the train and get let through.

My daughter was sold a child ticket recently, she just asked for a "return to Crawley" and thought it was cheap and it wasn't until later she realised it was a child ticket. She is 22 but still looks like she's of school age

 

[miami]

Basingstoke has barriers, so not buying a ticket wouldn't be an option.

When I was picking up some tickets I overheard one of them saying "should we risk buying child tickets?" "Yeah" (from the TVM rather than the rather lovely ticket office lady who sold me a rover ticket without batting an eyelid)

Perhaps they had no id on them, and thus had to risk not running into an officious check.

 

[MassDiscussion]

Just been reminded of another one:

I finished a night shift on a Sunday morning. The first train of the day was at 9am. There was only me and one other person waiting at the station. The train pulled in, doors opened and two guys (assuming they were RPIs) told the guy not to get on unless he got a ticket. He then walked off.

How did they know he didn't have a ticket?

 

[grumblingalong]

Just been reminded of another one:

I finished a night shift on a Sunday morning. The first train of the day was at 9am. There was only me and one other person waiting at the station. The train pulled in, doors opened and two guys (assuming they were RPIs) told the guy not to get on unless he got a ticket. He then walked off.

How did they know he didn't have a ticket?

Most likely a regular local dodger, we get to know them.

 

[Temple Meads]

Perhaps they had no id on them, and thus had to risk not running into an officious check.

Yeah, right...

 

[miami]

Yeah, right...

Innocent until proven guilty

 

[kevconnor]

Innocent until proven guilty

Or in the days of Northern Rail & G4S guilty until you prove yourself innocent.

 

[Thedispatcher]

Haha - like it! I suspect that maths wasn't his best subject then?

Obviously not but it only cost him a couple of pounds more anyway. He knew he was rumbled straight away. Classic

 

[DeeGee]

My daughter was sold a child ticket recently, she just asked for a "return to Crawley" and thought it was cheap and it wasn't until later she realised it was a child ticket. She is 22 but still looks like she's of school age

And had she been stopped by an RPI while using this ticket, she'd have had the book thrown at her.

Which would have been legal within the letter of the law, but morally utterly unfair.

 

[timbo58]

I remember a young passenger showing me a child ticket once and asking where the smoking carriage was........needless to say I reminded him he didn't need to know unless he wanted an adult ticket instead*
Must've killed him going without a fag from Exeter to Paddington.
(* yes, I Do know there is a legal restriction to buyers only and not to users -he clearly didn't however and wasn't going to risk it.)

I've certainly used the 'leaving scrotes behind at out of the way halts and stations way before they were aiming for by telling them they'd have a better connection or reached their stop' and locking doors smartly at short platforms and buzzing the driver whilst they struggled with the door handle unsuccessfully.

Left 6 lads at Frome once who were aiming for Plymouth & had got on the wrong train (terminated at Frome) the next train to Westbury to reconnect would have been mine but I neglected to tell them that since they'd told me to F*** off a few times when asked for tickets, so they wouldn't have got there in the next 12 hours that's for damn sure.

Told 2 lads who hid in the toilet from Gloucester they were at Stroud and oops! it was Stonehouse -silly me, last train too.

I'd like to think I was trained by some of the best old school senior conductors on intercity -always be scrupulously polite but have a really sharp memory and don't let anyone get away with anything at anytime.

 

[miami]

I remember a young passenger showing me a child ticket once and asking where the smoking carriage was........needless to say I reminded him he didn't need to know unless he wanted an adult ticket instead*

Perhaps he was asking because he wanted to avoid it?

 

[Deepgreen]

Perhaps they had no id on them, and thus had to risk not running into an officious check.

In what way is ticket checking "officious"?

 

[scotsman]

I remember a young passenger showing me a child ticket once and asking where the smoking carriage was........needless to say I reminded him he didn't need to know unless he wanted an adult ticket instead*
Must've killed him going without a fag from Exeter to Paddington.
(* yes, I Do know there is a legal restriction to buyers only and not to users -he clearly didn't however and wasn't going to risk it.

It's illegal to buy, consume, or supply where under 18s are involved in Scotland

 

[Agent_c]

Perhaps he was asking because he wanted to avoid it?

If you're not in it, you're already successfully avoiding it. If you need to get to something on the other side of it, you can't avoid it.