Train firms and rail companies nationwide have been urged by the rail passenger watchdog to give a “yellow card” to people travelling without the correct ticket
UK train companies might soon be dishing out ‘yellow card’ cautions instead of immediate fines in a fresh approach designed to tackle fare dodging with a softer hand.
Rail firms across the UK have been called upon by the transport watchdog to give travellers who’ve got the wrong ticket a bit of leeway, choosing to warn them first before doling out penalties.
The push for this new system comes on the heels of an incident where a Northern rail commuter was slapped with a hefty £462 penalty for jumping on an early train with an Anytime ticket that she inadvertently bought at a discounted rate using her railcard — saving herself a mere £1.60 in the process. Transport Focus, the passenger champion, has voiced that it’s high time for a change, arguing that people shouldn’t bear the brunt for slips that are genuine gaffes, amidst growing unease over fare-dodging crackdowns.
The suggested yellow card setup would mean a first-time offender gets a warning and their details noted, but only if they stumble again would a fine be issued. Natasha Grice, the director for rail at Transport Focus, has weighed in: “We understand and support the principle that all users of rail should be paying for their ticket, but we want to make sure that passengers who make an innocent mistake aren’t punished unfairly.”
She drove the point home, stressing that immediate change could significantly improve the current state of play. Grice underlined how trust and confidence in the rail system hinge on a revamped approach to managing ticket revenues — and recouping lost funds through this method could inject some much-needed cash into service enhancements, ultimately benefiting passengers.
This follows a court ruling that will see tens of thousands of alleged fare evasion prosecutions brought by train companies overturned. Four companies, including Northern Trains and Greater Anglia, were found to have unlawfully prosecuted over 74,000 passengers in England and Wales using the single justice procedure (SJP), reports Birmingham Live.
This allowed for swift magistrates hearings on fare evasion cases to be conducted behind closed doors. The challenge was initiated when the Department for Transport (DfT) informed the Ministry of Justice that four train operating companies were utilising SJP to prosecute without authorisation.
Cerys Piper, 23, was fined £462.80 and given a criminal record after using her railcard discount on an ‘anytime day return’ ticket. Cerys, from Westhoughton, Greater Manchester, traveled from Daisy Hill station to her sales agent job in Wigan and had purchased an ‘anytime day return’ ticket from the station’s ticket office, using her 16-25 railcard to get a £1.60 discount on the £4.80 ticket.
However, she was informed that her ticket was invalid once she boarded the train. The discount she used did not apply to ‘anytime’ or ‘off-peak’ tickets under the value of £12 before 10am.
