Man arrested at Liverpool Central over ticket row won't face prosecution

[6Gman]

The sooner that rail staff get over this "attitude test" bs the better.

But this wasn't really a case of the attitude test.

He refused to identify himself, BTP were called and he was arrested.

 

[Alex C.]

Ah… Well in that case!

So that brings “I didn’t have time” back into play, then.

Sadly, “I’ve paid but just don’t have the actual ticket” seems to be a fairly common issue for those checking tickets these days. It would seem that some passengers cannot see why it’s an issue, and others just refuse to be told. Either way, if you’ve made a conscious decision to purchase a product which requires you to collect a ticket prior to travelling, there is surely a perfectly reasonable expectation that you will do so. There may well be various times when the railway itself creates a barrier to that, in which case that ought to be a clear pass on any ‘punishment’, but a wilful decision not to collect one’s required travel documents does not deserve sympathy IMHO. The potential for fraud or abuse of the system is far too high.

Whilst I agree that the passenger should ensure they follow the instructions given, I'm struggling to think of any area of modern life now where you still need to collect tickets beforehand - airline boarding passes, national express, megabus, cinemas, theatres, festivals all take a QR code from the booking confirmation - given that the railway is so behind the times on this (Merseyrail in particular), they really should be making every effort to improve the ease of access in these scenarios.

 

[Haywain]

Buses tend to avoid it by not having any rear facing seats

Some buses do, and it's not at all unusual to see feet on them.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Some buses do, and it's not at all unusual to see feet on them.

Yep, usually just the back row because of the wheel arch. It's often solved by going side-facing there instead, and I've also seen a more recent design which had the seats on the back facing bit on springs so you could put your feet on the bit under them (which Merseyrail would still write you up for!) or if you wanted to sit you folded them down.

Nonetheless, if there's no seat opposite (or it's too far away, e.g. longitudinal) you can't put your feet on them. You do get the odd person that sits sideways with feet up, but it's very rare.

 

[Towers]

Yep, usually just the back row because of the wheel arch. It's often solved by going side-facing there instead, and I've also seen a more recent design which had the seats on the back facing bit on springs so you could put your feet on the bit under them (which Merseyrail would still write you up for!) or if you wanted to sit you folded them down.

Nonetheless, if there's no seat opposite (or it's too far away, e.g. longitudinal) you can't put your feet on them. You do get the odd person that sits sideways with feet up, but it's very rare.

Upstairs at the rear is another place where they’re occasionally found, the idea being to discourage vandalism of the seat backs. I’d suggest that seats on cushions is preferable to damage to the seat rears/housings.