First Great Western prosecutes 13 people for travelling without train tickets

[whole diary]

[chrisr_75]

It's clearly a typo. 

The journalist forgot to type the word 'not'?

Yes, that was my suspicion, too: journalists, eh? 

If that was the case, it's interesting that Mr Gerrard seems to have travelled all the way from Liverpool to Bath Spa without his apparent lack of a ticket being picked up previously, somewhere along the line ...

Oops, I didn't pick up on the typo, but now you all mention it, it's so obvious! 

It's quite easy to travel quite long distances without ticket checks. Depending which TM^‡(resolve) is on duty, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) late evening services to S.Wales often have a ticket check done between Paddington & Reading, then nothing at all for the remainder of the journey. Certain TM's prefer to stand in the buffet chatting to the other staff than doing that aspect of their job...so I'm not really surprised someone could travel from Merseyside to Bath unchecked.

[Steve Bray]

I'm assuming that this went to court, rather then the man being ordered to pay the amount on the spot?
Based on the fines that are reported in my local paper, the ^686 would have comprised ^400 fine (or so) + Court Costs + the fare

[Chris from Nailsea]

I'm assuming that this went to court, rather then the man being ordered to pay the amount on the spot?
Based on the fines that are reported in my local paper, the ^686 would have comprised ^400 fine (or so) + Court Costs + the fare

Yes - as reported in the Bath Chronicle:

Bath Magistrates gave the majority of the people caught travelling without a valid train ticket a fine of ^400, though for some this was reduced if they entered a guilty plea to the charge.

The magistrates also ordered each person to pay varying amounts of court costs, compensation and a surcharge.

[Brucey]

Although there needs to be a penalty, does anyone feel the penalty is rather excessive compared to the actual fare evaded?

E.g. the highest penalty: "Charlotte Cox, 19 of Grebe Close, Waterlooville, was ordered to pay ^786.90 for not buying a train ticket for ^36.90 to travel to Bath Spa Railway Station on April 17."

What would the penalty be for stealing a ^40 item from a shop?  Far less than ^800 probably.

Also, the fact she got from (presumably) Cosham to Bath without being checked for tickets is an indictment of how poor FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s on-board revenue protection remains on this route.  My travels on this route between 2007-2011 regularly had no ticket inspection.  At other times, one could easily get away without showing a ticket as the guard simply walked past asking for "unchecked tickets only".

[Electric train]

Although there needs to be a penalty, does anyone feel the penalty is rather excessive compared to the actual fare evaded?

E.g. the highest penalty: "Charlotte Cox, 19 of Grebe Close, Waterlooville, was ordered to pay ^786.90 for not buying a train ticket for ^36.90 to travel to Bath Spa Railway Station on April 17."

What would the penalty be for stealing a ^40 item from a shop?  Far less than ^800 probably.

Also, the fact she got from (presumably) Cosham to Bath without being checked for tickets is an indictment of how poor FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s on-board revenue protection remains on this route.  My travels on this route between 2007-2011 regularly had no ticket inspection.  At other times, one could easily get away without showing a ticket as the guard simply walked past asking for "unchecked tickets only".

Would need to see the evidence presented, shoplifters do get heavy finds and even imprisonment

[TaplowGreen]

Just to give another perspective on this - I travelled 1st class on the Cornish Riviera from Plymouth to Reading this morning and there wasn't a single ticket check throughout the entire journey.

[NickB]

Whilst not defending fare dodging in any shape or form the punishments appear very steep. I am going to qualify that statement very clearly by saying that they appear steep when compared to other magistrate court fines for offences that I would consider more severe such as physical violence or burglary/theft. Quite often in the local paper the prosecutions by FGW^▸ (First Great Western) will appear alongside 'joe blogs was convicted of three counts of actual bodily harm and was ordered to pay ^25 victim compensation and a fine of ^100.'

Whilst fare evasion is far from a 'victimless crime' worse things happen out there. Do TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s lobby hard for punishments?

[Eliza]

Hi,

There is a website of case studies at Penman Sedgwick, Solicitors, of Watford, who represent clients accused of fair dodging:

http://www.penmansedgwick.com/PracticeAreas/Criminal/FareEvasion/FareEvasionCases.aspx

One case stood out for me:

LONDON UNDERGROUND .v. P
HAMMERSMITH MAGISTRATES COURT

The Defendant was charged .............................. WITH travelling on the Railway without having paid the fare and with intent to avoid payment.

64 OFFENCES between the period of 4 March 2013 and 23 April 2013.

A GUILTY PLEA was entered.

MITIGATION PROVIDED

SENTENCE:
A CONDITIONAL DISCHARGE FOR 2 YEARS
PROSECUTION COSTS         ^130.00
COMPENSATION                 ^344.50
VICTIM SURCHARGE            ^15

The costs add up to only ^489.50, although I suppose the solicitor's fees are on top of that.  Contrast that with the draconian fine of ^603.70 meted out by Bath Magistrates' Court for a fare evasion of ^3.70.  Would the defendant, in that instance, have first been issued with a cheaper Fixed Penalty Notice but chose to ignore it?

[ChrisB]

Firstly, quite possibly, & secondly, swpending on the number of journeys that the Bath case prosecuted for, train tickets are generally more expensive & thus the compensation will be higher. The TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) will also request full anytime single for each journey, regardless of time of day. Thus the extra ^100 would quite easily be reached if several journeys were involved

[JayMac]

Also in that LU -v- P case there was representation, mitigation and a guilty plea. All can contribute to a lessening of a sentence. Particularly the latter where there is almost always a percentage reduction as per the sentencing guidelines magistrates must follow.

[thetrout]

I can't help but think that some of those cases on the Penman Sedgwick website should never have escalated as far as they did.

I counted 3 cases that were the result of TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) being out of order but the case was still brought before or Court or withdrawn at a very late stage. I also thought the case of the drunken man picking up a receipt instead of his ticket was amusing. Taking the wording on face value, an easy mistake to make and one I've done myself before now whilst fully sober.

Whilst I don't condone using a failed TVM as an excuse for deliberate fare evasion... I'm not sure I like the idea of a "baseless allegation" (using that that term very loosely) being brought before court, causing considerable distress to a person who actually hasn't done anything wrong. (Again to reiterate I am taking the events on face value)

[Bmblbzzz]

9 of the 13 were under 30. I wonder if this is just because young people are more likely to fare-dodge, for various reasons, or if there was some 'suspect profiling' at work?

[Tim]

9 of the 13 were under 30. I wonder if this is just because young people are more likely to fare-dodge, for various reasons, or if there was some 'suspect profiling' at work?

I suspect that some of this will be simply because the profile of dodgers matches the profile of passengers in general.  The middle aged people were not caught because they were not on the train (they were in the cars committing traffic offenses)  or if they were they were commuters on a season ticket.   

[Penzance-Paddington]

Do TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s lobby hard for punishments?

Yes, and rightly so! Fare evasion cost the railways a substancial amount every year. Those who think it's alright to pass a ticket vending machine or ticket office without a valid ticket are committing an offence and the punishment should be just as serious as any other offence.

There are various options open to all train operating companies (TOCs). They could either issue a Penalty Fare (if there is believed to be an honest mistake) or they could issue an MG11^▸ (Form to take a statement for use in court) which could result in a prosecution under railway bylaws or they could prosecute under the Regulation Of Railways ACT 1889, which would result in a criminal record as well as a fine and even a custodial sentence! I'd also like to mention that those who try and avoid providing contact details when being suspected of committing an offence and those who try and run away from RPOs can be arrested by either an RPO or a member of BTP^▸ (British Transport Police). Thereare no excuses and no escape!

[grahame]

Do TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s lobby hard for punishments?

Yes, and rightly so! Fare evasion cost the railways a substancial amount every year.

Agreed - and indeed it's not only the money that's concern - it's that the money and the numbers can make a difference in the level of future services ... however ...

Those who think it's alright to pass a ticket vending machine or ticket office without a valid ticket are committing an offence and the punishment should be just as serious as any other offence.

... that is, in my understanding, a simplification of the situation or things have changed.  I understood, for example, that it's all right to pass a TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) that only accepts credit cards if you're paying with cash on the train, and that if you pass by a ticket office you can only be committing an offence if it's open.    Sorry to be a bit of a pedant, but as written I believe your statement says that people are guilty of an offence in some circumstance when they're not, and I think that's a dangerous thing for someone who's hoping to become an RPO to assume.