Train GraphicClick on the map to explore geographics
 
I need help
FAQ
Emergency
About .
Travel & transport from BBC stories as at 21:15 28 Mar 2024
* Bus plunges off South Africa bridge, killing 45
- Easter getaways hit by travel disruption
- Where Baltimore bridge investigation goes now
- How do I renew my UK passport and what is the 10-year rule?
- Family anger at sentence on fatal crash driver, 19
- Easter travel warning as millions set to hit roads
Read about the forum [here].
Register [here] - it's free.
What do I gain from registering? [here]
 02/06/24 - Summer Timetable starts
17/08/24 - Bus to Imber
27/09/25 - 200 years of passenger trains

On this day
28th Mar (1992)
MOD Kineton tour, branch line society (*)

Train RunningCancelled
18:30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour
18:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
19:33 London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill
19:35 Exeter St Davids to London Paddington
19:59 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:29 Gatwick Airport to Reading
20:54 Reading to Gatwick Airport
20:56 Worcester Foregate Street to London Paddington
21:16 Bedwyn to Newbury
21:30 Shalford to Reading
21:53 Newbury to Bedwyn
22:25 Bedwyn to Newbury
22:30 Gatwick Airport to Reading
22:47 Newbury to Bedwyn
Short Run
16:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:03 London Paddington to Penzance
17:30 London Paddington to Taunton
17:36 London Paddington to Plymouth
18:03 London Paddington to Penzance
19:04 Paignton to London Paddington
20:03 London Paddington to Plymouth
20:11 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads
20:42 Bedwyn to London Paddington
21:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
23:04 Reading to Bedwyn
23:17 Bedwyn to Reading
Delayed
16:15 Penzance to London Paddington
Additional 17:26 Castle Cary to Penzance
19:04 London Paddington to Plymouth
21:30 Gatwick Airport to Reading
23:45 London Paddington to Penzance
PollsOpen and recent polls
Closed 2024-03-25 Easter Escape - to where?
Abbreviation pageAcronymns and abbreviations
Stn ComparatorStation Comparator
Rail newsNews Now - live rail news feed
Site Style 1 2 3 4
Next departures • Bristol Temple MeadsBath SpaChippenhamSwindonDidcot ParkwayReadingLondon PaddingtonMelksham
Exeter St DavidsTauntonWestburyTrowbridgeBristol ParkwayCardiff CentralOxfordCheltenham SpaBirmingham New Street
March 28, 2024, 21:25:49 *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Forgotten your username or password? - get a reminder
Most recently liked subjects
[104] West Wiltshire Bus Changes April 2024
[103] would you like your own LIVE train station departure board?
[78] Infrastructure problems in Thames Valley causing disruption el...
[56] If not HS2 to Manchester, how will traffic be carried?
[41] Return of the BRUTE?
[25] Reversing Beeching - bring heritage and freight lines into the...
 
News: A forum for passengers ... with input from rail professionals welcomed too
 
   Home   Help Search Calendar Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Penalty fare changes from 1st April 2019  (Read 2898 times)
grahame
Administrator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 40690



View Profile WWW Email
« on: February 04, 2019, 20:28:36 »



I am 100% in favour of ensuring that all passengers pay their fares.     

I am also in favour of ensuring that it's clear to all passengers how they can buy their tickets, and that the railway offers a good selection of options for everyone.

The ticket machine at Melksham, which is where the above sign has appeared, takes debit and credit cards only (not cash and not travel warrants / vouchertesthat need to be exchanged for tickets) and does not sell Groupsave, nor ranger or rover tickets.  I'm not sure how it is on longer period seasons.  And in my view it fails to provide adequate guidance on what off peak and super off peak are, referring you to the help point along the platform if you need to ask.

I was down at the station on Sunday chatting with a mother who's son often travels to Chippenham or Swindon on his own. Amazingly, he does not have a credit or debit card and she gives him cash; he's always bought his ticket from the train manager, or on those not infrequent occasions where the train manager hasn't had a working machine, at the far end of his journey.

Question 1.   The conditions now say "if ticket selling facilities are not available" and not "if facilities for selling you the ticket you need using the payment method you have are not available" - does that mean that from 1st April penalty fares may be charged to those who turn up and want to pay with cash?

Question 2. If you have purchased an advance ticket but are unable to collect it, (e.g. the TVM (Ticket Vending Machine) is out or order or the queue is too long), is the notice telling us that you will NOT be liable to a penalty fare (since you have already purchased your ticket as they require, even though you can't produce it)?

Question 3. Is the sign guaranteeing that Trains Manager will henceforth always have a working ticket machine and be around to sell you a ticket during even the shortest of journeys?

Unless the answers are Yes, yes and yes (which I doubt) ... it strikes me that the penalty fare notice is pretty poorly worded and come across as threatening to some legitimate customers, while encouraging others to believe they're in the clear when perhaps they're not.   Oh dear ....
Logged

Coffee Shop Admin, Acting Chair of Melksham Rail User Group, Option 24/7 Melksham Rep
didcotdean
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 1424


View Profile
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2019, 21:12:08 »

GWR (Great Western Railway) are having a bit of a giraffe putting up this online pdf on Revenue Protection. This might print out correctly (I'm not going to try but it seems to be an A5 booklet), but it should be readable on the screen without having to twist your neck round.


The buy before you board document is readable, but refers to the old areas. It does say "Self-service ticket machines: These are available at many of our stations and will usually accept cash or credit and debit cards." (My emphasis.)
Logged
MVR S&T
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 438


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2019, 21:12:42 »

My experience with SWT (South West Trains)/SWR» (South Western Railway - about) and penalty fares, which we have had for many years now, is that the passenger needs to be pro active, get a ticket upfront, if not possible, seek out the guard/train Manager, explain the situation and offer to buy the ticket, sometime no machine or faulty, they will advise you buy at interchange or destination, if you just sit down and they come to you a penalty charge could be applied, its the attitude thing agian.
We used to have revenue protection staff, but not seen them about recently...
Logged
lympstone_commuter
Transport Scholar
Full Member
******
Posts: 82


View Profile
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2019, 21:28:06 »

I notice that Topsham is listed as being a Penalty Fare station after 1 April.

This may cause a problem for southbound passengers unless a ticket machine is to be provided on the southbound platform. (There is indeed a ticket machine on the northbound platform, but when the level crossing barriers come down there is no way to cross the tracks. Thus, a southbound passenger coming to the station from Topsham town centre has to get to the southbound platform early enough not to get caught on the wrong side of the barriers, and has no reasonable opportunity to purchase a ticket before boarding.) Under current conditions it is unreasoable to treat Topsham (southbound) as a Penalty Fare station. I have argued this very point with GWR (Great Western Railway).

More generally, I fear the mix of Penalty Fare / non-Penalty Fare stations on the Exmouth line will cause unnecessary problems for honest passengers who have been *unable* to purchase tickets. I am, of course, all in favour of penatlty fares for those who are *evading* fares.



Logged
Adrian
Transport Scholar
Sr. Member
******
Posts: 171


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2019, 22:15:59 »

Question no. 4 - Why doesn't it apply in Wales?  It's not as if TfW has a completely different policy on the matter.
Logged
ellendune
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4452


View Profile
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2019, 22:57:05 »

Perhaps because the Welsh Government would have to make the Regulations not DfT» (Department for Transport - about).
Logged
Adrian
Transport Scholar
Sr. Member
******
Posts: 171


View Profile
« Reply #6 on: February 05, 2019, 06:47:21 »

Perhaps because the Welsh Government would have to make the Regulations not DfT» (Department for Transport - about).

I thought that this regulation was already in place; just often not enforced in practice.  It is exactly the same message as has been broadcast across the PA (Public Address) at many Welsh stations for the last year or so - including my own local station which has no ticket buying facilities.
Logged
ellendune
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 4452


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2019, 07:48:57 »

Perhaps because the Welsh Government would have to make the Regulations not DfT» (Department for Transport - about).

I thought that this regulation was already in place; just often not enforced in practice.  It is exactly the same message as has been broadcast across the PA (Public Address) at many Welsh stations for the last year or so - including my own local station which has no ticket buying facilities.

It would need some sort of Statutory Instrument to extend the area. 
Logged
Reginald25
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 301


View Profile
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2019, 09:56:42 »

A often repeated complaint of mine is that the TVM (Ticket Vending Machine) at Melksham is virtually impossible to use when the sun shines (yes I do mean that). the screen is unreadable, I've had trouble collecting prebooked (and hence intent to operate honestly) tickets due to this.
Logged
Ralph Ayres
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 336


View Profile
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2019, 11:02:29 »

Those GWR (Great Western Railway) documents (just use the rotate button on your pdf reader if you don't want a stiff neck!) are very big on the consequences of avoiding buying a ticket, but far less helpful where for all sorts of reasons the passenger cannot buy the ticket they want.  It would be far clearer if they said what to do if you needed something the machine couldn't handle (Group save, a different payment method, a ticket type not shown, an excess/extension of some sort etc).  I know the machines barely exist now, but I do particularly like the bit about Permit to Travel machines where it says you should "insert the maximum amount of coins that you have".  Can't I keep even one 10p piece for an emergency phone call?
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2019, 11:40:30 »

Hah! you obviously haven';t needed to make one of those in an awfully long time! Minimum charge in a coinbox phone is now 60p......
Logged
ChrisB
Transport Scholar
Hero Member
******
Posts: 12334


View Profile Email
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2019, 15:59:17 »

Question 1.   The conditions now say "if ticket selling facilities are not available" and not "if facilities for selling you the ticket you need using the payment method you have are not available" - does that mean that from 1st April penalty fares may be charged to those who turn up and want to pay with cash?

I hope you are expecting a 'No' answer to this question - not a 'Yes' you refer to further down your post!

It should be a 'No' and the original statement should still be valid, as cash is a perfectly legitimate way to pay (still!). Just because the TOC (Train Operating Company) can't built a theft-proof ticket machine isn't the fault of the customer, and cash should still be accepted. If they choose not to accept that at TVMs (Ticket Vending Machine), it's *their* problem to deal with properly, not the customers. I will take it up with the suitable management member if/when I get a chance - and I suggest your RUG» (Rail User Group - about) does the same!

Quote
Question 2. If you have purchased an advance ticket but are unable to collect it, (e.g. the TVM is out or order or the queue is too long), is the notice telling us that you will NOT be liable to a penalty fare (since you have already purchased your ticket as they require, even though you can't produce it)?

hmmm - "the queue is too long" is a tad subjective - how long is too long? yes, customer can be expected to arrive earlier for their train if they know they need to collect a ticket. I would suggest 10 mins isn't too long to wait in the peak - but
this should be shorter/less likely as more people swap to buying tickets within their app? Allowances would need to be made by revenue staff, and I'm sure it's something that the new Ombudsman will be taking up.

In answer to your question though - I don't know the answer to this from a legal point of view - I wonder whether it's been tested? My guess is that no penalty fare should be charged if proof is carried of online purchase, but if you are made to buy again, a refund of the first fare should be made without deduction. Depends whether the online purchase T&Cs can stand up in court.

Quote
Question 3. Is the sign guaranteeing that Trains Manager will henceforth always have a working ticket machine and be around to sell you a ticket during even the shortest of journeys?

It is for the customer to be pro-active as mentioned elsewhere in this thread. On non-DOO (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) services, the train manager/guard will be on the platform during despatch so there certainly is no argument about not being able to find them, even on one-stop journeys. If DOO obviously likely generally not to have anyone on board to purchase from.

Quote
Unless the answers are Yes, yes and yes (which I doubt) ... it strikes me that the penalty fare notice is pretty poorly worded and come across as threatening to some legitimate customers, while encouraging others to believe they're in the clear when perhaps they're not.   Oh dear ....

That would presumably be No, yes & yes?

THis area is something that I can see the Ombudsman getting their teeth into quite soon....
« Last Edit: February 06, 2019, 09:17:54 by ChrisB » Logged
Surrey 455
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 1229


View Profile
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2019, 22:17:11 »

Hah! you obviously haven';t needed to make one of those in an awfully long time! Minimum charge in a coinbox phone is now 60p......

It actually costs more than that. 60p for the call & about £1 for a pack of wet wipes to clean the disgusting phone before touching it. Wink
Logged
JayMac
Data Manager
Hero Member
******
Posts: 18894



View Profile
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2019, 23:58:58 »

Not forgetting the wear and tear on your shoes walking to find one.
Logged

"Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."

- Sir Terry Pratchett.
Phantom
Global Moderator
Hero Member
*****
Posts: 484



View Profile
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2019, 10:23:21 »

Is there an online list anywhere of stations that are in / out of this penalty fare zone?
Notice the PDF above is a bit out of date
Logged
Do you have something you would like to add to this thread, or would you like to raise a new question at the Coffee Shop? Please [register] (it is free) if you have not done so before, or login (at the top of this page) if you already have an account - we would love to read what you have to say!

You can find out more about how this forum works [here] - that will link you to a copy of the forum agreement that you can read before you join, and tell you very much more about how we operate. We are an independent forum, provided and run by customers of Great Western Railway, for customers of Great Western Railway and we welcome railway professionals as members too, in either a personal or official capacity. Views expressed in posts are not necessarily the views of the operators of the forum.

As well as posting messages onto existing threads, and starting new subjects, members can communicate with each other through personal messages if they wish. And once members have made a certain number of posts, they will automatically be admitted to the "frequent posters club", where subjects not-for-public-domain are discussed; anything from the occasional rant to meetups we may be having ...

 
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.2 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
This forum is provided by customers of Great Western Railway (formerly First Great Western), and the views expressed are those of the individual posters concerned. Visit www.gwr.com for the official Great Western Railway website. Please contact the administrators of this site if you feel that the content provided by one of our posters contravenes our posting rules (email link to report). Forum hosted by Well House Consultants

Jump to top of pageJump to Forum Home Page