Fare evasion must be rife in the evenings

haddockman · 22-10-2013, 10:39

I took the 2039 from Thurles to Heuston last night with my wife who is a free pass holder. The booking office was closed, which seems to be standard practice in Thurles for evening departures with a notice directing people to the TVM. SW tickets cannot be obtained from the TVM.

We got on the train and expected to see a ticket inspector but there was none. On arrival in Heuston we expected to have to ask for the barrier to be opened as we had no tickets. However on arrival the ticket barriers were left open.

Now this carry on is facilitating fare evasion. It doesn't take a genius to work out when booking offices are closed and which trains to use to evade fares.

Is it normal for barriers to be left open in Heuston in the evenings?

What is the correct procedure for SW pass holders where the booking office is closed?

Colm Moore · 22-10-2013, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by haddockman

What is the correct procedure for SW pass holders where the booking office is closed?

Obtain a ticket at the earliest opportunity.

haddockman · 22-10-2013, 12:42

Which was impossible last night.

Jamie2k9 · 22-10-2013, 12:49

There is usually someone at the barriers in Heuston, and pass holders couldn't be classed as fare evasion because they don't have a ticket. Having a ticket on a pass won't change the amount IE receive per year for passes so its not a problem for them.

James Howard · 22-10-2013, 12:56

I think the point was that it was not possible to buy a ticket between the departing station and passing the barriers at Heuston. It is possible that there would have been somewhere to buy a ticket in Heuston but given that you would be free and clear once past the barriers why bother if you had gotten away with it.

In general fare enforcement is too predictable to work. By way of example, I haven't seen somebody checking tickets on the 1805 to Longford for at least 5 years and I take this train about 180 times per year. So if you wanted to go from Dublin to Longford for a bargain price, a single to Maynooth (or indeed to Tara St.) will serve quite well if you want to get it from Connolly at 18:05. From my experience, there is a less than 0.2% chance of being caught which is odds I'll take for 100 euro fine.

Note that I'm not condoning this, and I pay handsomely for my annual pass so I am a bit annoyed that it is so easy to avoid paying a fare.

berneyarms · 22-10-2013, 15:15

Which is why the recent ticket checking blitzes are a good idea.

The new CEO has made revenue protection a major objective and rightly so. It isn't fair on honest people such as yourself who has paid your fare that others are getting away with not paying.

Hopefully there will be a move to have more RPU staff to check tickets on a regular basis.

James Howard · 22-10-2013, 16:07

It isn't regular checking that is needed. Deploying the existing resources a bit more randomly would help enormously as that would mean that you couldn't depend on not getting caught.

Going 5 years on the same service without seeing a ticket checker is not sensible. Also the standard 100 euro fine needs to be a lot more to be a proper deterrent - at least double, if not 500 euro. There is no real excuse for not having a ticket now that there are TVMs working everywhere.

22-10-2013, 10:39	#1
haddockman Regular Poster Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 113	Fare evasion must be rife in the evenings I took the 2039 from Thurles to Heuston last night with my wife who is a free pass holder. The booking office was closed, which seems to be standard practice in Thurles for evening departures with a notice directing people to the TVM. SW tickets cannot be obtained from the TVM. We got on the train and expected to see a ticket inspector but there was none. On arrival in Heuston we expected to have to ask for the barrier to be opened as we had no tickets. However on arrival the ticket barriers were left open. Now this carry on is facilitating fare evasion. It doesn't take a genius to work out when booking offices are closed and which trains to use to evade fares. Is it normal for barriers to be left open in Heuston in the evenings? What is the correct procedure for SW pass holders where the booking office is closed?

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22-10-2013, 12:42	#3
haddockman Regular Poster Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 113	Which was impossible last night.

22-10-2013, 12:49	#4
Jamie2k9 Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2,146	There is usually someone at the barriers in Heuston, and pass holders couldn't be classed as fare evasion because they don't have a ticket. Having a ticket on a pass won't change the amount IE receive per year for passes so its not a problem for them.

22-10-2013, 12:56	#5
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	I think the point was that it was not possible to buy a ticket between the departing station and passing the barriers at Heuston. It is possible that there would have been somewhere to buy a ticket in Heuston but given that you would be free and clear once past the barriers why bother if you had gotten away with it. In general fare enforcement is too predictable to work. By way of example, I haven't seen somebody checking tickets on the 1805 to Longford for at least 5 years and I take this train about 180 times per year. So if you wanted to go from Dublin to Longford for a bargain price, a single to Maynooth (or indeed to Tara St.) will serve quite well if you want to get it from Connolly at 18:05. From my experience, there is a less than 0.2% chance of being caught which is odds I'll take for 100 euro fine. Note that I'm not condoning this, and I pay handsomely for my annual pass so I am a bit annoyed that it is so easy to avoid paying a fare.

22-10-2013, 15:15	#6
berneyarms Really Regular Poster Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 602	Which is why the recent ticket checking blitzes are a good idea. The new CEO has made revenue protection a major objective and rightly so. It isn't fair on honest people such as yourself who has paid your fare that others are getting away with not paying. Hopefully there will be a move to have more RPU staff to check tickets on a regular basis.

22-10-2013, 16:07	#7
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	It isn't regular checking that is needed. Deploying the existing resources a bit more randomly would help enormously as that would mean that you couldn't depend on not getting caught. Going 5 years on the same service without seeing a ticket checker is not sensible. Also the standard 100 euro fine needs to be a lot more to be a proper deterrent - at least double, if not 500 euro. There is no real excuse for not having a ticket now that there are TVMs working everywhere.