Dyslexic Edinburgh man left stunned by city tram ticket snub

[Adlington]

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....ft-stunned-by-city-tram-ticket-snub-1-4895599

A disabled man has spoken of his dismay, claiming he was discriminated against by a tram conductor who refused his money and left him stranded on a station platform.

Drew Bain has severe dyslexia which means he is unable to read the information on machines in order to purchase a ticket before boarding the tram.

As a result the 42-year-old usually explains his condition to the on-board conductor and hands over the exact change to buy his ticket.But upon his last trip to the airport the Edinburgh man was initially flabbergasted when the member of staff firstly refused his cash on the busy carriage. To make matters worse, she ordered him to leave the tram and while he was struggling at the ticket machine, ran back on the tram before it departed, leaving Drew in disbelief.

The Edinburgh trams website says "You can purchase an on-board fare from the Ticketing Services Assistant for £10" so how come the member of staff refused to sell the ticket?

 

[MetroCar4058]

Sounds like very poor treatment from the member of staff involved. I don’t know about the Edinburgh trams and if onboard staff have ticket selling means (and ways of documenting money received) but I know some railway staff who don’t have this are very reluctant to handle individuals money in case they are accused of stealing change etc.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sounds like very poor treatment from the member of staff involved. I don’t know about the Edinburgh trams and if onboard staff have ticket selling means (and ways of documenting money received) but I know some railway staff who don’t have this are very reluctant to handle individuals money in case they are accused of stealing change etc.

Edinburgh has a really bizarre system in which they have conductors on board, but they can only issue £10 standard fares, they cannot sell proper tickets. This makes about as much sense as, er, something that doesn't make sense. The two models that do make sense are "conductor sells tickets, no off tram ticketing" or "all ticketing off-tram, no conductors, random revenue stings".

 

[Bletchleyite]

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....ft-stunned-by-city-tram-ticket-snub-1-4895599
The Edinburgh trams website says "You can purchase an on-board fare from the Ticketing Services Assistant for £10" so how come the member of staff refused to sell the ticket?

I suspect he had the fare for the regular ticket, not what is essentially a decriminalised "penalty fare".

 

[MetroCar4058]

Personally I would feel uncomfortable taking money without giving a receipt (ticket). I’d just let him travel for free as it’s not his fault the system isn’t accessible for him.

 

[Adlington]

I suspect he had the fare for the regular ticket, not what is essentially a decriminalised "penalty fare".

Possibly, but the difference is only £1.50. Choice was 'pay a bit extra and go' or 'stick to your guns and wait for help on the platform'. Personal choice....

 

[Bletchleyite]

Possibly, but the difference is only £1.50. Choice was 'pay a bit extra and go' or 'stick to your guns and wait for help on the platform'. Personal choice....

True. The decriminalised nature of this is actually quite useful in a way - if you're in a hurry you can choose to pay £10 without any risk of prosecution or anything more serious, a bit like the way SBB used to sell tickets on board trains for an additional non-waivable CHF10.

 

[Adlington]

The decriminalised nature of this

What this has to do with criminality? It's fairly common to pay more when buying tickets (music events, flights, trains &c) at the last moment and/or on the door.

 

[Bletchleyite]

What this has to do with criminality? It's fairly common to pay more when buying tickets (music events, flights, trains &c) at the last moment and/or on the door.

On most other UK railed public transport other than a couple of the tram systems, paying on board where you could have paid before boarding is a criminal matter, or at the very least is a civil penalty. This is a bit different in that it's just a higher fare for on board, set high enough to be a deterrent but low enough that people might choose to pay it if in a hurry. I don't think any other UK transport system implements that policy.

 

[Journeyman]

Surely if his dyslexia is that much of a problem, it would be a significant enough disability for him to have a concessionary card granting free travel?

While he clearly had a stressful time here, I don't think it's particularly unfair for Edinburgh Trams to enforce the rules they do make quite clear, and it sounds like he's a regular tram user, so he should know how it works.

 

[whhistle]

I’d just let him travel for free as it’s not his fault the system isn’t accessible for him.

In that case, it's not the fault of the person who can't drive trying to drive a car and crashing.
It's the err.. car manufactuers fault?

Fact is in this life, no station / tram / supermarket / anything is going to meet everyones needs.
Perhaps making the machines acceptable for (as far as we know) just one person, but it causes hassle with many other people isn't worth the reasonable adjustment.

 

[MetroCar4058]

In that case, it's not the fault of the person who can't drive trying to drive a car and crashing.
It's the err.. car manufactuers fault?

Fact is in this life, no station / tram / supermarket / anything is going to meet everyones needs.
Perhaps making the machines acceptable for (as far as we know) just one person, but it causes hassle with many other people isn't worth the reasonable adjustment.

Yes but if there are no staff to help on stations or those who can issue fares I’d rather not put myself in a position where I could be accused of taking someone’s money. There are a few similar issues where I work which often results in free travel.

 

[whhistle]

Yes but if there are no staff to help on stations...

Sorry, I don't know what bit you are responding to as you just quoted my whole post instead of editing it to show the bit you were responding to.

 

[MetroCar4058]

Sorry, I don't know what bit you are responding to as you just quoted my whole post instead of editing it to show the bit you were responding to.

I was responding to the whole thing and I believe the response is pretty legible.

To summarise, public transport is a vital lifeline for vulnerable people and the attitude of ‘oh well can’t help everyone’ isn’t helpful and doesn’t offer a solution.