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Inspectors on Buses

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Busaholic

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In Prague, a man and woman carrying shopping bags would get on the tram, then once the tram had started moving, they would pull out their ID badges and start checking tickets. Used to happen regularly, at least once per visit there, but not for a couple of years now.
I've seen exactly the same in London, on both tram and bus, and I'm not a regular visitor there.
 
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quarella

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The last inspector I recall checking my ticket was on the First operated X95 Edinburgh - Carlisle a few years ago. I had visited Edinburgh for a solar eclipse so possibly 2015. He was waiting in the middle of nowhere and got off in the middle of nowhere to cross the road for one heading north. I assume it was primarily due to the conditions of concessionary passes between England and Scotland which were valid cross border but only between certain locations.
 

ivanhoe

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Seen one on an Arriva in Leicestershire. Not seen anybody for years before that.
 

sonic2009

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I've seen an inspector only once on Arriva in the 5 years I've been using them around Winsford & Northwich.
 

moogal

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I rarely seem to see them in London, the only buses I've ever been checked on have been in Zone 1, in 10 years of living here and using buses regularly at various times of day.
 

martian boy

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If the inspector finds a serious irregularity they can suspend the driver there and then and take over driving the bus.
Wow, never heard that one. Any instances you know of?
And would they leave the driver behind at the stop they got on at to carry out the inspection in the first place?

No. The Inspector would take over the driving for the remainder of the route. The driver would be told to sit in one of the passenger seats. More likely, the driver would continue with the Inspector standing there next to him/her, watching.

The Inspector would contact the depot to clarify what is happening. The driver and Inspector would more likely continue until they are relieved by another driver.
 

ainsworth74

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When the TV series on then-independent East Yorkshire was shown there was an episode showing an inspector checking bus tickets.

They are the only firm where I've ever experienced an inspection on a bus which only happened once. This was about eight years ago I'd venture. It struck me as very odd then indeed I wasn't entirely sure what was going on at first!! :lol::lol:
 

Busaholic

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They are the only firm where I've ever experienced an inspection on a bus which only happened once. This was about eight years ago I'd venture. It struck me as very odd then indeed I wasn't entirely sure what was going on at first!! :lol::lol:
You were probably being filmed!
 

route101

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First do it in Glasgow on the bus every so often. Not seen any for quite a while personally but it does happen

Had one few days ago on no 6 , only seem to get them between city centre at caley depot
 

PaulMc7

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Had one few days ago on no 6 , only seem to get them between city centre at caley depot

I've had a few on the 1s but not for quite a while but that was also in the city centre along Argyle Street
 

omnicity4659

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Arriva Northumbria & Durham County have 2, both with the same first name who regularly are out on the buses. Had four ticket checks from them in as many years.

Go North East also have them, had two off them, although haven't seen them since.
 
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West Yorkshire Metro regularly send out people who seem to be more 'data collectors' than ticket inspectors, but they do check all passes/ tickets.

I used to occasionally have a ticket inspector on my morning Transdev Keighley bus to work though I am unsure if he worked for Metro or Blazefield, he never quite mastered the art of walking around a bus whilst it was moving and ended up getting thrown all over, leaving me trying not to burst out in laughter every time.
 

WestCoast

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I'd say it was almost a regular occurrence on NXWM buses in/around Birmingham when I used them between 2012 - 2016. Usually there would be three or four of them working together always in uniform.
 

GusB

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When I was at school, I recall inspectors being a fairly regular sight on our local route - perhaps not weekly, but maybe every three or four weeks. I don't know exactly how many were based at our local depot, but being a fairly rural location, you got to know them. As the older ones moved on (retirement etc.), they'd be replaced by some of the more senior drivers - those who were considered to be in the "top group", mainly. I didn't attend the "zoned school" for my village, therefore my parents had to pay for my travel to and from school on the regular service bus (kids that went to the zoned school had a separate contract bus). When I turned 16 my fare doubled and, wishing to avoid any conflict, refused half-fares. As a result, I'd often find that the punch on the ticket machine frequently "accidentally" missed my returns and 10-journey tickets. The inspectors, having been drivers when I was in my earlier school years, more or less turned a blind eye.

If I may be permitted to indulge in a little more reminiscing, my mother organised a depot visit for one of my birthdays (I think it was my 11th). The tour was conducted by a chap by the name of Sammy Fraser who was one of the inspectors at the time. I recall being shown how tyres could be re-grooved, a bus in the paint shop (all brush painting - none of your spray guns here) and then a photographer took some pictures with me at the wheel of one of the then new-ish Olympians. I left with a goodie-bag full of stickers, timetables, a copy of the latest fleet allocation list, and a copy of the book he'd written. Before dropping us off at the bus station, he took us up to an old shed where he showed us his own personal collection of vintage bikes.

Today's "elf'n'safety" brigade would be clutching their pearls in horror :)
 

Journeyman

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We get some on First in West Lothian. They appear every few months, particularly when there seems to be a large amount of new drivers.

Doesn't seem to happen very often, though. I use the 38 very often, and I've been inspected once.
 

Tom B

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Been living in Doncaster for 38 years and never, ever, had an inspector on a bus.

I once saw an inspector on a Leon Motors bus - employed by SYPTE, purely collecting use data and checking on concession passes. This was the one occasion on a Leon bus where the driver issued a ticket and put the money in the cash drawer without an argument...!

Lothian,in 4 years in the city probably got checked 2/3 times, although the inspector didn't have a ridacard reader so simply checked you had a ridacard not that it was in date!

London seems to have various different types of inspector. Some who purely do revenue checks, others who deal with diversions or incidents, others (employed by the contract firms) who check up on drivers and hang around changeover points. Indeed yesterday I saw a Metronet inspector driving a service 91.
 

blue87

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NXWM inspectors still operate checking tickets and sometimes work in conjunction with the police to tackle other issues too such as drugs, antisocial behaviour and carrying knives on known problematic spots.
 

johntea

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The only time I ever had my ticket inspected was on a Transdev service between Keighley and Saltaire, from what I remember the inspector boarded at a totally random stop then got off again a few stops later!

I haven't seen the WYMetro 'survey' people for several years now, I would assume they can gather a lot of data through MCard now rather than having to send them out
 

Springs Branch

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As with previous posters, my impression is inspectors are a lot less common these days than in the past. However I have had my ticket checked onboard a Stagecoach Wigan bus once since deregulation (probably this was when First were still running them, so before 2012).

In the past, I believe roving inspectors were just as much about detecting fiddles by bus crews as ticketing irregularities by passengers. For example conductors who helped to minimise wear-and-tear on their mechanical ticket machine by issuing some of the tickets from the "spare" machine they kept secreted away. Or early adopters of the recycling ethic, who "re-purposed" tickets retrieved from the Used Tickets box.

With electronic ticket machines, GPS vehicle tracking and constant CCTV surveillance (including in the driver's cab), is it harder for drivers to carry out worthwhile fiddles these days, and easier to detect these just by sitting in an office looking at spreadsheets or CCTV images?

An account of life on the buses with Glasgow Corporation back in the day described how, as well as the usual uniformed inspectors, they had plain-clothes travelling inspectors surreptitiously keeping an eye on crews and known locally as "The Gestapo". I also seem to recall reading that members of the Gestapo were all cut from the same mould - ex-sergeant-major types with bristly moustache and tweed jacket, so not that hard to spot when about their clandestine duties, once you knew who to look out for.
 
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Tom B

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I assume that it is fairly easy to do the stats on particular duties and identify if a given driver is underpaying. That said, nowadays many fares are by card or pass so less of an issue.

Yorkshire Terrier used to have a sign on buses encouraging passengers to phone in if they did not get a ticket! This was a common going on with some smaller operators as mentioned above, indeed some drivers would offer a £1.50 fare for £1.00 without a ticket.
 

6Gman

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I assume that it is fairly easy to do the stats on particular duties and identify if a given driver is underpaying. That said, nowadays many fares are by card or pass so less of an issue.

Yorkshire Terrier used to have a sign on buses encouraging passengers to phone in if they did not get a ticket! This was a common going on with some smaller operators as mentioned above, indeed some drivers would offer a £1.50 fare for £1.00 without a ticket.

Some smaller operators relied largely on honesty. I remember using a Parish of Morda (Oswestry) service years ago where fares were dropped into a margarine tub; no ticket issued!

Well, a margarine tub's cheaper than a Johnson farebox.
 

Darklord8899

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I once saw an inspector on a Leon Motors bus - employed by SYPTE, purely collecting use data and checking on concession passes. This was the one occasion on a Leon bus where the driver issued a ticket and put the money in the cash drawer without an argument...!

Lothian,in 4 years in the city probably got checked 2/3 times, although the inspector didn't have a ridacard reader so simply checked you had a ridacard not that it was in date!

London seems to have various different types of inspector. Some who purely do revenue checks, others who deal with diversions or incidents, others (employed by the contract firms) who check up on drivers and hang around changeover points. Indeed yesterday I saw a Metronet inspector driving a service 91.

Given Lothian have had only single door buses until introduction of the new B8L's, it is pretty hard to board a bus and get on without a valid Ridacard as it has to be placed on the ticket machine.
Also the Ridacard is valid for all Journeys on Lothian City, Airlink and Skylink (including Airport fare zone) so no reason to check validity (its not like you can ride into a zone where ridacard is not valid*) Only need to check that photo matches person presenting card for inspection.
(* this only becomes an issue if travelling on LCB or ECB, but I'm assuming you were referring to Lothian Buses city routes)
 

noddingdonkey

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I see inspectors on my morning commute in Huddersfield maybe two or three times a year. Amusingly the guy was puzzled by my Commuter Travel Club variant m-Ticket - accepted it as valid without question but remarked that he had never seen one before.

TfGM data collectors in the 184 are more frequent.

On the comparison with the East Yorkshire set up shown in the documentary, some presence at Huddersfield bus station from First would not go amiss, particularly with the authority to do what is necessary to get people moving when the job is up the wall.
 

Black Lane

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I saw an off duty First Manchester driver pretend to be an inspector to get a troublesome passenger to shut up.
 

Busaholic

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Noticed a police officer, rather than an inspector, on Landflight bus in Solihull Town Centre checking tickets earlier today.
The bus was on an A6 to Cheswick Green.
How would a police officer be in a position to know the validity of bus tickets and, more importantly, how could his/her use be justified?
 

dmncf

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How would a police officer be in a position to know the validity of bus tickets and, more importantly, how could his/her use be justified?

I think the difference in the West Midlands is that TfWM pays extra money to West Midlands Police and British Transport Police to form a Safer Travel Partnership, so they will regularly get involved in things like revenue inspections: https://safertravel.info/about-us/who-we-are/
 

ed1971

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As with previous posters, my impression is inspectors are a lot less common these days than in the past. However I have had my ticket checked onboard a Stagecoach Wigan bus once since deregulation (probably this was when First were still running them, so before 2012).

In the past, I believe roving inspectors were just as much about detecting fiddles by bus crews as ticketing irregularities by passengers. For example conductors who helped to minimise wear-and-tear on their mechanical ticket machine by issuing some of the tickets from the "spare" machine they kept secreted away. Or early adopters of the recycling ethic, who "re-purposed" tickets retrieved from the Used Tickets box.

With electronic ticket machines, GPS vehicle tracking and constant CCTV surveillance (including in the driver's cab), is it harder for drivers to carry out worthwhile fiddles these days, and easier to detect these just by sitting in an office looking at spreadsheets or CCTV images?

An account of life on the buses with Glasgow Corporation back in the day described how, as well as the usual uniformed inspectors, they had plain-clothes travelling inspectors surreptitiously keeping an eye on crews and known locally as "The Gestapo". I also seem to recall reading that members of the Gestapo were all cut from the same mould - ex-sergeant-major types with bristly moustache and tweed jacket, so not that hard to spot when about their clandestine duties, once you knew who to look out for.

Bus inspectors are certainly much rarer these days. Around 40 years ago, I used to travel frequently to Bolton on LUT buses. Inspectors checking tickets then was quite frequent.
 

Chris217

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2 inspectors at Gillmoss to cover the entire
Merseyside & South Lancashire and Wirral/Chester area.
And if they ever do get on,they go after drivers first for not wearing their ties for instance!
We complain constantly regarding MY tickets which offer children up to the age of18 all day travel for £2.20.
Every single day I see blokes with tattoos getting on with MY tickets.
Some going home from work 1130 in the evening. Women with 3 kids with one MY ticket! And when you question them,they always say they are 18 and the kids are all under 5.
A bloke got on recently. Tattoos all round his neck,down both of his arms. Must have cost him a fortune. When I asked him his date of birth ,it worked out his 18th birthday was 2 weeks ago!
Another lad has been 18 for 3 years at least!
You inform the operations manager and all we get is let them on.So they get clean away with it every time.
Stagecoach says having inspectors checking tickets is a negative vibe towards passengers.
Obviously they ain't bothered about losing at least a quarter of a million pound each year for lost revenue and ticket misuse.
And I reckon that figure is an under estimate too.
 

Darklord8899

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In Prague, a man and woman carrying shopping bags would get on the tram, then once the tram had started moving, they would pull out their ID badges and start checking tickets. Used to happen regularly, at least once per visit there, but not for a couple of years now.

....last time I was in Prague, the inspector jumped on to the tram and waved his ID around with a great flourish..... given his 80's style bomber jacket, jeans and curly hair I felt he had just binged watched the entire Professionals tv series the night before.....
 
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