FGW approach to checking of tickets

[whole diary]

[Mookiemoo]

wait, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) check tickets on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s to london? Are you sure about this?

i havn't been checked for at least the last year...

Yep.

0634 shrub hill to Paddington - usually checked just after Oxford

1822  Paddington to shrub hill - first class always checked in first 20-30 minutes - certainly before you get to Reading.

0552 from shrub to PAddington - frequent checks

1922 paddingtont o shrub hill - so busy I doubt the manager can get through

[Conner]

In Cornwall HST^▸ (High Speed Train) guards hardly ever check tickets. I dont think they can be bovered to walk the length of the train. On HST's from London the guard is in the buffet,which is usually closed, and just walks to coach E to open the doors and usually lets platform staff do all the work.
But as long as a local train isnt busy or late your tickets get checked. On the Falmouth branch the other weekend there was a revenue inspector and when the train got busy from Falmouth to Truro she and the guard were both checking tickets. Going back on the mainline to Camborne she also got on that and did an "all tickets please" check.
Once when I was travelling to London with my family we had to get the Cardiff service(pre December 06 timetable but still FGW^▸ (First Great Western)) and change at Taunton and the guard just walked straight past us thinking he'd already checked our tickets and didn't we get checked all the way to Taunton. If you're checking tickets on a two-carriage train surely you have a rough idea where people were sitting and atleast ask.

[gaf71]

wait, FGW^▸ (First Great Western) check tickets on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s to london? Are you sure about this?

i havn't been checked for at least the last year...

Im a conductor on the local 'west' services and would just like to say that I and most of my colleagues at my depot will always do a full ticket check after principal stations, and a 'call over' check after any station where a passenger boards. It seems there are different rules for us and the HST train managers judging by the comments on this thread!
Please note i did say 'most' as there are also some lazy gits on the local services.

[devon_metro]

I always get checked on local services and in First Class. Its rare to get checked on the quiet HSTs^▸ (High Speed Train) that I sometimes board and i've had AP and the guard has believed a friend that I was on them. Shows they aren't bothred.

[TerminalJunkie]

Im a conductor on the local 'west' services and would just like to say that I and most of my colleagues at my depot will always do a full ticket check after principal stations, and a 'call over' check after any station where a passenger boards. [...]
Please note i did say 'most' as there are also some lazy gits on the local services.

Apropos of nothing in particular, whatever happened to Dave Andrews?

[vacman]

The local Conductors do ten time more work than nearly all "train managers" on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s, (and I did say NEARLY then, there are a few TM^‡(resolve)'s that pull their weight, most seem to be from Penzance depot) if you need to find the TM they can usually be found sat in coach F drinking tea! and they get ^4k per year more than "local" conductors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gaf71]

Im a conductor on the local 'west' services and would just like to say that I and most of my colleagues at my depot will always do a full ticket check after principal stations, and a 'call over' check after any station where a passenger boards. [...]
Please note i did say 'most' as there are also some lazy gits on the local services.

Apropos of nothing in particular, whatever happened to Dave Andrews?

Dave Andrews was 'asked' to leave a couple of years ago, read into that what you like.

[dog box]

The local Conductors do ten time more work than nearly all "train managers" on HST^▸ (High Speed Train)'s, (and I did say NEARLY then, there are a few TM^‡(resolve)'s that pull their weight, most seem to be from Penzance depot) if you need to find the TM they can usually be found sat in coach F drinking tea! and they get ^4k per year more than "local" conductors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Think you will find Fgw T/Ms have a supervisory role over other on train staff so prehaps thats why they get paid more and as HSTs stop at short platforms, so when travelling on the down lines and the Train isnt reverse formation the T/M needs to be at in the rear of the train.

[jester]

How much more money??  Supervising what other on-board staff! I take it u mean the usually non-existent buffet staff. At least most times when I have travelled they are invisible.

[vacman]

Usually TM^‡(resolve)'s are sat either in TGS or in Coach F doin bugger all! some TM's do manage to do their tickets so if these few can do it then so can all the others!

[Tickets Please]

How much more money??  Supervising what other on-board staff! I take it u mean the usually non-existent buffet staff. At least most times when I have travelled they are invisible.

basic salary according to the fgw www site is 27k but with overtime etc realistic earnings are between 32k and 46k depending on how many days off are worked.

[oooooo]

basic salary according to the fgw www site is 27k but with overtime etc realistic earnings are between 32k and 46k depending on how many days off are worked.

Compared with just under ^22K for a 'conductor'

[vacman]

basic salary according to the fgw www site is 27k but with overtime etc realistic earnings are between 32k and 46k depending on how many days off are worked.

Compared with just under ^22K for a 'conductor'

Conductors get commission on ticket sales though! But they have to take ^2200 in a 4 week period before they start earning commission though!

[Tickets Please]

basic salary according to the fgw www site is 27k but with overtime etc realistic earnings are between 32k and 46k depending on how many days off are worked.

Compared with just under ^22K for a 'conductor'

Conductors get commission on ticket sales though! But they have to take ^2200 in a 4 week period before they start earning commission though!

TM^‡(resolve)'s get %1 of all on train revenue (buffet and ticket sales) but its not personally based. Every TM in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) gets the same commision payment. There are talks at present about making everyones conditions equal (ex-Wessex, ex-Link/Thames and ex-Great Western) so that might change. But at present it remains at %1 of the period total.

[Mookiemoo]

Usually TM^‡(resolve)'s are sat either in TGS or in Coach F doin bugger all! some TM's do manage to do their tickets so if these few can do it then so can all the others!

Have to say I had a very helpful TM on the 14:45 from pad to swansea

He eventually got around to the ticket check sometime after swindon (I suspect when I walked past him from first class in jogging bottoms because he seemed to eyeball me).

I asked if I got an honesty discount - my season ticket covered me to reading where the routes technically diverge - according to the ticket office. I could easily have said I got on at swindon. Normally a return to ludlow from reading is ^46ish.   I showed him my season ticket and he gave me a return to ludlow from oxford which was only ^36 - ticket office swears this not possible since the south wales trains do not stop at oxford.

This gets more confusing by the day!