My single BIGGEST Gripe about the railways...

[mailman]

I get what you are saying Lee Again...so why doesnt the train company apply a little intelligence and just do the ticket check on the train? Why create a road block during peak periods when hundreds of people are moving at pace when you could do exactly the same ticket check, more thoroughly on the train when its under way?

Surely the train company isnt going to loose revenue either way?

Mailman

 

[GadgetMan]

I get what you are saying Lee Again...so why doesnt the train company apply a little intelligence and just do the ticket check on the train? Why create a road block during peak periods when hundreds of people are moving at pace when you could do exactly the same ticket check, more thoroughly on the train when its under way?

Surely the train company isnt going to loose revenue either way?

Mailman

From a guards point of view it is far easier to leave ticketless oiks behind at the station where there is back up from other staff and BTP than to have to deal with them on the train where it may lead to a delay later on. Unfortunately the honest passengers also get caught up in the check.

 

[ert47]

I get what you are saying Lee Again...so why doesnt the train company apply a little intelligence and just do the ticket check on the train? Why create a road block during peak periods when hundreds of people are moving at pace when you could do exactly the same ticket check, more thoroughly on the train when its under way?

Surely the train company isnt going to lose revenue either way?

Mailman

So how many tickets do you have to check between stops? You'd have to do several trips up and down the train in that journey and you're not going to see everyone are you?

Its far more efficient (especially on long distance services) to check tickets before the journey

 

[AlterEgo]

The answer is very simple - it's far better for all parties for the railway to deal with a passenger with a ticket issue within the confines of the station. Waiting until someone is on the train only causes more grief, in a confined space. Often the passenger won't have the means or wherewithal to sort out the ticket issue. Worst case is BTP are called and delay minutes accrue, inconveniencing thousands of people like you and I.

 

[lewisf]

What about marking tickets that permit a break of journey?

Say I had a ticket stamped with a time and headcode but I got off at an intermediate station and continued my journey later that same day. If it was checked again, what would happen?

 

[Anon Mouse]

What about marking tickets that permit a break of journey?

Say I had a ticket stamped with a time and headcode but I got off at an intermediate station and continued my journey later that same day. If it was checked again, what would happen?

A good Guard should know that you have broke the journey by checking the headcode. Also if your ticket was Edinburgh to London and you got on at say, Newcastle it would be pretty reasonable to assume that you have broke your journey and therefore are continuing. Normally one or two simple questions assertain if you are pulling a fast one

 

[Ferret]

The 'random' squiggle could be a signature or a circle to highlight the date of travel, I'm not exactly sure why it would hinder attempt at detecting fraud? Do you mean it makes it difficult to decide whether this is a barrier staff mark or a previously used ticket?

Say we on-board people don't know the barrier staff have been checking tickets. We see a ticket holepunched or squiggled on. How do we know if that was done at the barrier today as the customer claims, or if it was done by a colleague yesterday on board the train, when the customer first used the ticket, and is now having a free ride? If it's all the same, I'd rather barrier staff left the stamping to Guards...

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Ferret
Tickets & excuses please!

Sorry, off topic but love it.

It's a well-used gag, and I have been known to march into a carriage saying just that! Don't do it often though! More amusing was an ex-colleague who marched in saying 'chickens and pasties', justifying this by saying nobody ever listens to him anyway!

 

[ATW Alex 101]

before i haD a pass i used tickets on my daily jouney to school and more than a few times when inspections at stations happen ive nearly been refued because the gau rd has literally coloured my ticket in

 

[GNER 373]

Say we on-board people don't know the barrier staff have been checking tickets. We see a ticket holepunched or squiggled on. How do we know if that was done at the barrier today as the customer claims, or if it was done by a colleague yesterday on board the train, when the customer first used the ticket, and is now having a free ride? If it's all the same, I'd rather barrier staff left the stamping to Guards...

--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


It's a well-used gag, and I have been known to march into a carriage saying just that! Don't do it often though! More amusing was an ex-colleague who marched in saying 'chickens and pasties', justifying this by saying nobody ever listens to him anyway!

Got what you mean now, it is strange that barrier staff would mark the ticket I've never seen that tbh! It's always another guard's stamp never barrier staff?!?

 

[D6975]

Checking a ticket properly does require it to be taken out of the wallet. I can remember one individual who used to chop up a cheap rover ticket with a razor blade and graft the section containing the date onto an expired all-line. He got caught when a Goldie insisted on him taking it out of the wallet.

What really annoyed me last year was staff at Blackpool North not letting passengers on the platform until 1 min before the train was due to leave. Typically 100+ passengers to load, including a wheelchair on one day and guess what - we were late leaving.
Even with the padding in the timetable between BPN and Preston we were still late into Preston and missed the tight connection into the Northbound WCML service. What is so wrong with letting passengers on the train once it is ready?

 

[pemma]

I hate it when they use ink that smudges easily when used on rail tickets. I don't think writing the date in biro usually smudges.

If I designed ticket barriers they would not keep the ticket when you exit the station but print something like "EXIT LVC 21.03.12 11:17" Then in this example it it was an Open Return to Liverpool STNs it would be seen as used up but if it was an Open Return to Southport for the Liverpool-Southport leg. Also this would then end any problems about people needing to keep tickets for the likes of compensation claims.

 

[island]

If I designed ticket barriers they would not keep the ticket when you exit the station but print something like "EXIT LVC 21.03.12 11:17" Then in this example it it was an Open Return to Liverpool STNs it would be seen as used up

[pedant]It wouldn't necessarily be used up, if for example someone with too much time on their hands came up from Warrington and changed to Merseyrail at Liverpool South Parkway. Then it would still be valid to go around to Liverpool Lime Street.[/pedant]

I agree that this would go a long way towards resolving things, but would also require every gate in the country to be replaced because none of them can currently print visibly onto the ticket. Irish Rail's older gates used to print on single/return tickets when put through, but then they replaced them with new S&B ones which don't :roll:

 

[PinzaC55]

That might be the 'rule', but it was clear that the question was about the reason behind the rule.

And the reason , as has been explained by other posters, is to cut down on attempted fraud.

 

[Badger]

I hate it when they use ink that smudges easily when used on rail tickets. I don't think writing the date in biro usually smudges

I've had it before now not only smudge, but completely wipe off in my hand as they hand it back to me. (Weird that it wasn't indented).

 

[transmanche]

And the reason , as has been explained by other posters, is to cut down on attempted fraud.

Yes, I know. I was one of them.

I was making the point that your reply was perhaps somewhat less than helpful. Telling people that something has to happen "because it's the rules" doesn't really advance people's knowledge and understanding - and is one of the reasons why passengers get so annoyed with the railway.

 

[PinzaC55]

Delete

 

[Darandio]

Say we on-board people don't know the barrier staff have been checking tickets. We see a ticket holepunched or squiggled on. How do we know if that was done at the barrier today as the customer claims, or if it was done by a colleague yesterday on board the train, when the customer first used the ticket, and is now having a free ride? If it's all the same, I'd rather barrier staff left the stamping to Guards...

I'd be inclined to agree, because it does happen and does cause issues.

Before Darlington was fully barriered, they had a temporary set of barriers (railings) that would be introduced randomly and tickets checked/punched. The Saltburn train is half hourly and we had just missed one, leaving about 25 minutes to wait and on entering the station, the tickets were punched.

Roll forward to departure and the late stream of people arrive but unbeknown to me, the barrier had been taken back off so the majority of people are arriving and entering without the ticket being punched.

Cue the ticket check on departure from Darlington and the guard gets halfway down the first carriage after checking a load of tickets from those who had clambered into the back door at the last minute, obviously all had no tickets punched already. He then gets to us and the ticket is punched, a Q&A begins as to why the ticket is punched, an explanation is given and he satisfactorily moves on. To his credit, further down the carriage he had found more tickets the same, so actually apologised on the way back through.

 

[LE Greys]

At one point, I was in the bizarre position of having to make sure I got my ticket punched, since Herts County Council would not accept anything other than a "validated" ticket so that I could claim the expenses of getting to school (they were already paying the fees). On several occasions, I had to do the ticket with a hole punch when I got home. They didn't like receipts on "environmental grounds", for which I read "we don't trust you enough that we will take your word for it that you used the ticket, so provide us with proof of use".