Ticket Checks On Rail Replacement Buses

[whole diary]

[ReWind]

Before I proceed, I must stress I DO NOT condone fare dodging in any means whatsoever, and I always buy a ticket, regardless of journey or price.  However, this is a concern for people who are unfortunately, not so honest, and attempt/dont feel the need to buy ticket unless asked.

What means of ticket checking are there on journeys involving rail replacement bus services?

This weekend there were numerous rail replacement buses in operation, most noteably in my area were Birmingham - Gloucester and Bristol Parkway - Newport.

All of these stations have ticket purchasing facilities available. But this is not always the case.

Do tickets get checked before you board the coach?

If not, then surely it is wide open for fare dodging, as there is nothing stopping someone getting on a coach at Bristol Parkway and getting off at Newport, or if continuing there journey, just getting a ticket from Newport to their destination.

I accept it is unfeasible for a Guard to be present on the coach ( I'm sure they would love that  ) but surely checking tickets before boarding is necessary, to confirm all passengers are eligable to travel.

Does anyone know if tickets are checked on Coaches?

[Lee]

Slightly different from the engineering works scenario (which I usually plan to avoid where possible) contained in your post, but I do know that my ticket never used to get checked on the Avonmouth-Severn Beach rail-replacement bus.

[Tim]

During the long periods where the last two trains from London to Bath used to change into buses at Swindon, tickets were NEVER checked.  I got the impression that the semi-regular engineering work allowed FGW^▸ (First Great Western) to roster fewer staff. 

But when Bath station closed for a weekend with all bus services transfered to the Avon St coach park (about a year ago) there were a large number of staff at the coach station selling and checking tickets and  giving advice and the station ticket office was open as well. 

As well as the revenue protection aspect, checking tickets as people board a coach allows staff to assist the numpties who would otherwise catch the wrong bus. 

[Chris2]

I have had my ticket checked at Par for a rail replacement bus going to Newquay, to check I was getting on the right bus. They were checking tickets as there was a fast bus and a slow bus. But generally the tickets are not checked to ensure that a valid ticket is owned.

[devon_metro]

I've only ever had to produce a ticket, theyve never inspected it. Indeed - Ive showed an off peak ticket at about half 8 before to test it.

[inspector_blakey]

It's patchy - but I would say they are usually not checked. Some bus drivers will ask to see tickets but generally have no knowledge of how to examine them correctly so if you show them an orange and green thing of about the right size you're OK. Sometimes rail staff will check as passengers board, and on a few occasions back in the days of Wessex Trains I was on a few replacement buses that served unstaffed stations and actually had conductors (or possibly ATEs) travelling.

As a footnote, since this is a discussion of fares and ticketing I'm going to move it to the "Fares Fair" board.

[matt473]

Considering the bus companies are paid to provide a rail replacement service, they will do this regardless of whether the bus is empty or full as they are paid to run between stations even if they are carrying air at the most sometimes. Checking tickets to a degree would be more hassle than it is worth for drivers as thye are not paid as such for checking tickets in the same way the driver of the train doesn't get paid to check tickets. The only people really who check tickets are conductors, train manager, whatever they call themselves these days  but TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) use weekend engineering works as a reason to have less taff working, therefore pay less in wages leaving fewer staff to check tickets. Apparently this is one of the reasons TOCs don't want Sundays in the working week as they would have rostered staff doing nothing whilst replacement busses are transporting people leading to uneccesary costs. If this did happen though I would near guarantee that tickets on the busses would be checked

[RailCornwall]

Buying a ticket on a replacement bus is a challenge I am going to face on Wednesday.

[dmutony]

i travelled from pristol parkway-newport on saturday morning and they were checking all tickets and passes prior to boarding the bus many people were turned away trying to get on with out a ticket    fare dodgers i dispice them

[Brucey]

A year or so ago when the Sunday Westbury-Bristol buses were operating, I only ever had my ticket checked when attempting to enter BTM^▸ (Bristol Temple Meads (strictly, it should be BRI)) through that tunnel that takes you into the subway (the bus stops somewhere at the side of the station).  The check was simply that you had a ticket - not that it was valid for that service.  Many people (including myself on occassions) walked away from the bus and made our own way out of the drop-off area without having tickets checked (after all, why would I want to walk all the way through the station just to come back out again!)

[The Grecian]

In about 20 RR bus trips I've had to show my ticket twice in total. Even then on Saturday morning between BPW^» (Bristol Parkway - next trains) and Newport a cheap day single from Newcastle to Morpeth dated 20th June 1995 would have done, as long as it was orange and white. The most stringent check was Exeter-Exmouth (ironically given how ticket checks can be quite ropey on that line) where it was actually looked at by a member of staff at Digby.

[moonrakerz]

Several years back my son and daughter did a sponsored "jail break" for Cancer Research. They had to race other teams from Weymouth to Calne. The got as far as Bournemouth and decided to try and cadge a free ride to Southampton on the train, there were no trains (Sunday !), but the helpful man at the station said "just get on the bus, they don't check tickets" ! 

[RailCornwall]

Buying a ticket on a replacement bus is a challenge I am going to face on Wednesday.

None charged so freebie Perranwell <> Falmouth trip, but oh what an experience, within Falmouth some frankly bizarre routing was used and other replacement buses were seen following diverse routes. The return was fascinating I had time to walk to the Docks to pick up the return, the driver of the bus was nowhere, luckily the station wasn't fenced off so could sit on the platform and wait for him to return to the vehicle, when he did he proceeded to eat lunch in the front seat, whilst accepting passengers. On leaving for Falmouth town the journey was uneventful until he reached the station where he promptly reversed into the 'dual road' next to The Dell carpark, rather than continuing under the railway and joining the main road at the junction he then BACKTRACKED almost to the Docks and then set off from there. His approach to Penmere was ok but why then did he drive out to the industrial estates and come into Budock Hospital from there. As for his parking skills at Penryn ... Abysmal he overshot the raised kerb and several people had difficulty joining the service.

[plymothian]

Never shown a ticket on an RRP.