From a TransWilts user / one of our active reporting team who's concerned at the lack of ticket checks, ticket sales, etc at times on the TransWilts, and at some other passenger handling issues which will become apparent from the following letter from
FGW▸ , which I'm sharing with his permission as it gives some interesting through and in sites. I'll leave it for folks to read / comment before I do so - but I have thoughts on certain aspects
Dear Mr Xxxxx
Thank you for your telephone call of 25 November 2014. First, I^d like to apologise for the delay in my response. Unfortunately, we^ve received an unusual amount of incoming customer contacts in to our office of late, which has delayed our response time. But, I do appreciate just how frustrating it can be to have to wait for a reply.
I was concerned to learn what you were witness to whilst on-board our 21:14 service from Swindon on 22 November. I realise the poor impression that can be created by observing someone else seemingly getting away without having to purchase a ticket, especially when you^re an honest fare-paying customer such as yourself. To this end, I do hope you^ll feel able to accept my sincere apologies.
Unfortunately, the reality of day-to-day rail travel is that some customers will not be able to pay for a ticket. Whilst we do have robust and effective processes in-place to combat the thorny problem of fare evasion, the truth of the matter is not always so ^black-and-white^. There will remain occasions when we need to look beyond the dry confines of policy and procedure, in order to do the right thing in view of our wider social responsibilities.
For instance: if our crew find an unaccompanied child travelling alone at night, a confused elderly person or someone with learning difficulties etc, then they may exercise discretion ^ prioritising the immediate well-being of the person above that of revenue.
Of course, this isn^t to say that effective ticket inspections aren^t important, and just how unfair this can all seem to other passengers. Clearly, offering such discretion should be very much the ^exception-to-the-rule^, and not standard practice. After all, we recognise the point that on the whole we need to be offering a fair and consistent service to all of our customers.
Whilst these occasions will sometimes naturally arise, the industry does have means to accommodate them. For example: there^s the ^S.I.L.K^ arrangement put into place for stranded passengers who cannot pay for their journey ^ but whereby they nominate someone else to, or the likes of an Unpaid Fares Notice issued by our crew, which is a legally obliging document whereby the traveller has to pay for their journey within 10 days of completing it (at risk of court proceedings should they fail to). Neither of these arrangements should be considered as a convenient alternative, as they usually work out more expensive for the passenger, whereby we don^t allow for the usual discounts.
What this means is that there are occasions when it can seemingly appear that a traveller is getting away without having paid for their journey, but when this is not necessarily the case. Unfortunately, given the nature of the likes of Unpaid Fare Notices I^m not in a position to discuss their application concerning individual customers. However, what I can assure you is that as a commercial entity we fully recognise that there^s just no benefit to our allowing any of our staff to forego their ticket inspection duties on a frequent basis, or allowing anyone to travel without (eventually) having paid the correct fare.
Our various Train Crew can often face quite challenging situations ^ whereby they don^t always get to meet the (conflicting) needs of all the various passengers. To this end, positive feedback and support like yours can make the world of difference to our staff ^ in letting them know that their efforts have been both recognised and appreciated. So, despite the poor impression these scenarios can sometimes create, I was pleased to learn of your satisfaction with regard to how well you felt our Train Manager responded to matters on this particular occasion. Indeed, it's extremely pleasing when we hear that our representatives are able to make a very real difference during some difficult circumstances. I will therefore ensure to pass your kind comments on to the individual concerned, and their own Line Manager.
I was also concerned to learn of the problems you^ve faced when travelling between Swindon and Melksham during football matches ^ particularly on 15 November. I recognise just how unpleasant it is to be subject or witness to any kind of anti-social behavior, and I cannot apologise enough.
It's particularly upsetting when inconsiderate passengers spoil the journey for others. Whilst we have thought about putting extra notices in the carriages, these tend to be ignored by the people they are aimed at. Signs like these can also appear too authorative and off-putting to our more considerate customers.
When there is any kind of anti-social behaviour on-board our crew do their best to make sure you enjoy a trouble-free journey. But clearly, there is going to be a limit to their actions. After all, it^s not as though they can physically remove anyone from the train.
Sometimes our crew have a very hard, and even dangerous job, and we are doing everything we can to help them develop the skills they need in difficult situations. If they face a serious problem they can call on support from the British Transport Police or Security Patrol, although this isn't generally available between stations.
Sometimes it may look as if our crew are taking no action, but they are under instruction to consider each situation carefully, and avoid confrontation if it risks making matters worse. After all, not every member of the public reacts well to being challenged ^ especially when alcohol or group-dynamics are concerned ^ which can often just escalates matters and lead to a more unpleasant atmosphere for everyone else on-board.
To illustrate the difficulties our crew face ^ if they do call on the British Transport Police, then this sort of help isn^t normally immediately available. So, the train has to wait at the station, which means the other passengers on-board will most likely miss their connections further down the line. Similarly, whilst the train is stationary, it^ll be getting in the way of other services (not just trains from other passenger companies, but also freight and maintenance trains too).
What this means is that our crew have to weigh-up the benefit of having the offending passengers removed in consideration to the significant disruption this would likely cause. I am sure you can appreciate that this puts our crew in a difficult position, as they will always want to do what^s best for the majority of customers overall.
As you'd expect, when it comes to football fans travelling on our services, we take the matter extremely seriously. We want all our customers to travel in comfort and safety so we do everything we can to stop any problems before they start. If ever we have any problems like this we investigate with British Transport Police (BTP▸ ) to find out how things reached the point they did, and see what we can do to stop it happening again.
We rely on Police advice when we're deciding how to manage a train going to a football match. They grade all football games on the potential for bad behaviour, and where they anticipate any problems they often travel on the train with the fans. Whilst we would like them on-board more often, the British Transport Police (BTP) ultimately decides which services have a Police presence. We do however have a number of Community Support Officers and we're looking at the role they could play on trains specifically going to/from football venues.
We do know alcohol can cause problems, and for big games we try to restrict its sale and monitor passengers who are trying to take their own supplies onto the train. While we can take a fair amount of control when we know what is going to happen, we can't always anticipate which services fans will use for regular matches. That means there are times when large numbers of supporters use a train where there's no Police support. When that happens our Crews do their best, albeit amidst a scenario that clearly isn^t ideal.
At the policy level we are working to build even better relationships with the likes of football clubs. Our Specialist Events Manager liaises with clubs, to explain the service we can provide and to tell them what we expect from their fans. For example, we are asking for official club representatives to travel with fans, and be responsible for their conduct. And we will be pushing them to withdraw season tickets from anyone we find causing offence and disturbance on our trains.
But, just like the issue of ticket inspections, anti-social behaviour during football matches doesn^t offer the simple ^black-and-white^ solutions that we^d also hope for. Alas, football matches see a large number of passengers travelling within a relatively confined space of time ^ which is by far nowhere representative of normal rail travel. As such, the situations sometimes come hand-in-hand with a degree of compromise, whereby it^s the case of our having to make the best of a bad situation.
Of course, I appreciate that when it comes to football matches, that you feel we^re getting the balance wrong overall. This really isn^t what we want at all, and to this end I do hope that you^ll feel able to accept my sincere apologies.
I will though make sure that your feedback is fed-back as part of our reports to our Senior Management Team. This^ll allow them to take your concerns into consideration as part of their on-going reviews ^ for instance: when examining the effectiveness of our contingency plans during football matches, and the suitability of our wider ticket inspections. So, whilst these two particular issues don^t allow for easy or straightforward solutions, we^ll certainly do what we can to improve things for future. To this end, customer contact like yours really does remain invaluable to us!
My thanks again for taking the time and trouble to raise these concerns. We really do value all feedback, both good and bad ^ as it gives us the information we need to find and make continual improvements.
Yours sincerely
Just found the original report to me ...
I returned home on the Ex-Cheltenham 20.02 which I joined at Swindon (21.14) to come back home. Only a handful of passengers on this two-coach 150 but one disturbing matter. The young conductor that I had been talking to came back to chat Cpm - Mkm and lamented that a couple had got on at Chippenham for Melksham and absolutely refused to pay. They had a lot of shopping with them and told an unconvincing story of losing their wallet. The young conductor was frustrated at not being able to do anything about it as they refused to give their names and there was no hope of getting Transport Police in place. I mentioned the CCTV▸ and he agreed to follow this up. It might be worth passing this on to FGW if the conductor hasn't but I am sure that there is no easy answer.
And from 15th November
I went to Swindon on the 13.48 train yesterday and the conductor sold me a ticket between Melksham and Chippenham. Around 30 people got on at Chippenham on their way to football and already inebriated and the conductor remained in his room till Swindon. I was out first and mentioned to the Swindon barrier staff that lots had got on at Chippenham and there had been no ticket check. When I returned later I found out that hardly any had tickets (yet it is a penalty fare area!) and that there had been three lines of people waiting to buy tickets to exit the station.
While I was talking at the barrier waiting to get on the 19.46 home around eight party goers came of the incoming TransWilts and had got on at Chippenham without tickets, so had to line up to pay to exit. When I got on the 19.46 I asked the conductor about this and she told me that they said they had tickets (I guess hoping for a free journey if the barrier was open at Swindon). I didn't trouble to ask the conductor the obvious question - why didn't you check their tickets?
