Fare Dodgers on Heritage / Independent Railways

[John Luxton]

I must admit I enjoy reading the messages in this section and often wonder why people get themselves into the difficulties that they do mainly through their intent to defraud the operators; though I accept some have made a genuine mistake.

Something which has been intriguing me though is what is the situation with independent / heritage railways?

I have never seen anyone post a message saying that they have been caught on one of the heritage lines but given that there are so many of them with many providing a useful transport function in the areas that they serve they must also suffer from dodgers.

How are these people deal with? Same as on Network Rail lines? One never sees reports in the press.

Surely not everyone who visits a heritage line is honest?

John

 

[dquebec]

I highly doubt it is a problem.

People going out of their way to visit a heritage railway are generally not the type of person who will try to fare evade.

The legislation to prosecute does exist though, in the form of an 1889 Act.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

Did come across some well refreshed individuals on the Severn Valley who seemed to think a West Midlands Day Rover was valid.

They paid up eventually with some bad grace.

 

[gray1404]

In my days of being a Traveling Ticket Inspector volunteer on the West Somerset Railway there were some younger people who would try and chance a free ride. All paid up when asked for a ticket though. I guess that line is used by locals too in order to get about. I noticed a common move was to ask for a child fare even if it was totally clear that they were an adult. Another problem was customers using a return as a rover type ticket. At which point we could actually excess it if that is what the customer actually needed (rather then a return). Never had any problems.

Never had any such issues doing the same role on the South Devon Railway. That was mainly pure tourists.

 

[6Gman]

If you're prosecuted by a heritage railway do you get a heritage fine of fifteen shillings, or two guineas, or similar?

 

[Llanigraham]

Friend is a Guard on the SVR and says it does happen occasionally, generally between Bewdley and Kidder, by youngsters going for a "night out", but is generally dealt with by persistence.
Never heard of it on any of the local NG lines!

 

[Busaholic]

Not on a heritage line as such, but on Steam Specials in Somerset and Devon there used to be an individual (female) who may have had mental issues who used to get on and, if challenged, would say the ticket was with her 'husband' who didn't exist or, if he did, certainly wasn't on the train.

 

[The Quincunx]

Some heritage operators have their own Bye-laws, which are fairly similar to those applying to franchised operators - including Bye-law 18, ' Ticketless travel in non-compulsory ticket areas'.

 

[reb0118]

If you're prosecuted by a heritage railway do you get a heritage fine of fifteen shillings, or two guineas, or similar?

I'm sure I've seen a warning sign with regard to Transportation - to Van Dieman's Land however not the end of the line.

 

[headshot119]

I've had somebody attempt to travel using a diplomatic passport claiming I wasn't allowed to charge them because it said they where allowed free unhindered travel in any country. :roll:

 

[Spamcan81]

BAck in the 70s there was a guy who was well known for blagging places on rail tours. Haven't seen him in years and no idea if he ever got caught/thrown off the train.

 

[matt_world2004]

I imagine that most fare dodging incidents o. Heritage railways are innocent mistakes as people assume that their regular ticket 9s valid on the service . Either because they assume that the ticket is valid on any train between two stations or because they think the steam train is being run because the other ones have broken down,

 

[scipiiouse]

I doubt it's much of an issue. Most heritage railways don't really run on commutes or busy routes between large urban centers.

Most run on scenic routes and I doubt people who would want to look at some lovely scenery on a heritage railway would dodge a fare.

 

[plarailfan]

In my experience, it can sometimes be possible to travel without a ticket and I expect it does happen on occasion.
The thing is, ticket checks usually tend to be random and frequent on heritage lines because they depend 100% on the revenue, to provide the travel experience package to their customers and so, chances are anyone travelling without a ticket will be discovered and asked to pay up.
Guards, conductors and other staff on trains can sell tickets when the need arises, so there's no point in an individual, risking bringing controversy among themselves by hoping not to pay for the journey.
Many heritage lines, even go so far, as to offer discounted travel to their local communities, to encourage them to use the service for shopping and leisure journeys.

 

[James Wake]

As a Travelling Ticket Inspector on the Bluebell Railway, sometimes we get people in first class who haven't been told there is a difference at the booking office and can get a little awkward, but most of the time people have the right ticket. There used to be one passenger who would always buy his ticket off me if I was on the train, going past the ticket office at Sheffield Park. The barrier is manned, and the next time I saw him he had a ticket from the ticket office, presumably told by the barrier staff to get his ticket first.

 

[The Lad]

Most lines do not provide a speedy service between two points which is less attractive to a regular traveller