The chief magistrate has insisted 74,000 fines for alleged fare-dodging on the railway should be quashed. The decision has focused attention on the extent of fare-dodging.
Often rail passengers are guilty only of a misunderstanding. Thousands of people have inadvertently made journeys they assumed could be paid for by contactless card – only to discover they could tap in but had strayed across an invisible “tariff border” and could not a tap out. Others get impatient after queuing for ages for a ticket and jump on a train without one, intending to pay on board or at the other end.
At the other extreme, some commuters deliberately set out day after day to travel without paying, robbing the railway of revenue and increasing the financial burden on the majority of law-abiding passengers.
The cost to the rail industry of people travelling without a ticket is an estimated £330 million per year – about 3.2 per cent of rail revenue. This figure correlates to the estimate from one train firm, TransPennine Express, that 3.5 per cent of passengers travel without a ticket.
A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing train operators, said: “Fare-dodging is unfair because it means less money to invest in improving services and increases the burden on fare-paying passengers and taxpayers.”
In 2023, the standard Penalty Fare increased from £20 to £50 (or £100 if the errant passenger has not paid within 21 days).
These are the key questions and answers.
What does the law say?
The Regulation of Railways Act 1889 requires the rail passenger to produce “a ticket showing that his fare is paid” on request by a staff member.
The rather more modern National Rail Conditions of Travel from April 2024 specify “you must purchase, where possible, a valid ticket before you board a train” and use it “in accordance with the specific terms and conditions associated with it” – for example, if it is a ticket with time restrictions or has been bought with a railcard discount.
A 21st-century ticket takes rather more forms than in the Victorian era, and can include:
- One on “a mobile telephone or tablet device”
- A smartcard as used in Greater London (with the Oyster card) and elsewhere
- A bank card on which you have tapped in at station entry gates or on a reader on the platform
Why wouldn’t everyone simply buy a ticket?
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