Great Western Coffee Shop

well this is a new one on me. i just had my ticket and railcard checked by a ticket inspector in plain clothes is this a fairly new idea from fgw or have I just been lucky and not come across one before!

As a matter of interest: as they were apparently not wearing an official First Great Western uniform, how did they identify themselves as having lawful authority to examine tickets?

I've also encountered plain clothes inspectors. They had id badges on a lanyard.

If they were 'no clothes' ticket inspectors, I hope the ribbons on the lanyards were long enough ! :o

See also http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=9551.0  ;) :D ;D

the guy showed me his id badge and the train manager was close by to and she did not say anything so reckon he had the authority to check tickets

Common practice in some countries. In Prague, I was asked several times for my ticket by young men who looked like 6th formers on work experience. If they were aiming for tourists, I think the ^3 for three days' freedom of the whole public transport system (10 years ago - still only ^8) the pickings would have been slim. If you can afford to go to Prague, ^8 is not worth trying to dodge.

Plain clothes clippies?  Whatever next? Undercover carpark attendants?  ::)

In the Hague apparently, petty criminals such as fare-dodgers, are made to work as undercover inspectors on the trams as part of their community service punishment.

Actually makes some sense, in that no one knows the tricks of a fare dodger like another fare-dodger.

Poachers frequently make the best gamekeepers!

In Budapest, if you are an EU citizen aged 60 or over, you get free travel anywhere at any time. Just carry your passport and enjoy!

Haven't you come across MET Parking yet? :-o

They also have plain clothes ticket inspectors on the buses & trams in the Hague, and believe me, they do not take any messing about or excuses whatsoever! Likewise on NS trains. Cheap travel with (generally) simple ticketing, but when they do catch fare dodgers, they are dealt with ferociously!

I asked about this and was told it was less intimidating for people who are approached. As they usually are in numbers when on board, I can see their point, the last journey I made they were split, some uniformed and some not....

It would never work here, our ticketing system is so hugely complex that by the time the convict had learnt most of the rules, their sentence would be over.
Indeed our complex system sometimes confuses even well paid professional ticket inspectors, there have been a number of cases on these forums.

....in any case, lets get "our" convicts cutting down lineside vegetation and painting rails white to avoid delays when the temperature creeps over 70 degrees!!!!  ;D

And who pays for their PTS and red zone training? And their supervision by a PICOP? To say nothing for the lookouts, general supervision and transport to and from the location.

The exclamation marks and smiley suggest flippancy. I hope so. Totally impractical idea.  ::)

Plain-clothes ticket inspectors are used on buses and other local public transport throughout Poland but I've never encountered them on a train there. On a crowded bus or tram making frequent stops, it's the only way fare dodgers will ever be caught ^ uniforms would be too much of a giveaway.

Plain clothed inspectors were sometimes used on the old footbridge at Reading to keep an eye on misuse of the lifts, which of course used to bypass the barriers.  I feel I can reveal that little trick given the new station has been designed so that all reasonable exits are now covered!

..and I can remember once waiting for a while for the lift to arrive while a member of the gateline staff came over to check my ticket.  On discovering I had a single from Reading to Twyford he informed me I should use the escalators as "I wasn't travelling far enough"!  To my shame, rather than delay everyone else waiting for the lift to ascend, I didn't argue the point and did as I was told.  Still annoys me now when I see that member of staff!  >:(

If it "Lineside" and not "on or about the track" then you don't need PTS and definitely no need for a PICOP, indeed if its a fenced green zone it becomes even easier and if they are issued with the USA style of workwear then PPE is not an issue  ;D

In reality it will be simpler just to fine them

Going back to the OP, my question is what exactly where these TIs wearing? If they were wearing suits (rather than uniforms), with name badges and ID hanging around their necks, then they were RPIs or RPOs (the only difference being (I think), the seniority and powers available to them). I was going to say that I had never seen RPI/Os in "plain clothes", but that is not quite correct. Back in the early noughties, FGW had a Revenue Protection Manager who enjoyed "going undercover"!

But, if they were in suits, then they were in the standard "uniform" for RPI/Os. The difference between these guys and ATEs is simply that, if you don't have a ticket an ATE will sell you one, but an RPI/O will (unless you have a valid reason) issue a penalty fare, or better still report you for prosecution. I have no sympathy for fare dodgers!

I was a Duty Manager at Reading before the reconstruction and much enjoyed watching fare dodgers attempting to take the lift from the platform to the overbridge (in an attempt to avoid going through the gateline), only to find that those lifts were controlled from the gateline office and when they (eventually) got to the overbridge they were met by RPI/Os who were very happy to meet and greet them (and prosecute them for fare dodging)!

My ticket was checked recently on board by a woman in blouse and jeans. The only clue that she was official was the fact she was carrying an Avantix.

If that was the only clue, I'd still have (albeit politely!) asked her to show me her rather more formal authority to check my ticket(s).

Avantix machines have been misused in the past.  :-X

I think I may have been with bobm on the occasion in question. Memory hazy, but we may have been sat in 1st Class on Standard Class tickets, at the invite of other staff I hasten to add, while awaiting service to begin in the Pullman restaurant.

You're never quite sure of the protocol in these situations, so best just to smile, say you are dining shortly, and let whoever is checking your ticket carry on.

Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know. And if someone comes along who you don't know...

Good gad! "... a woman in blouse and jeans. The only clue that she was official was the fact she was carrying an Avantix" but she was apparently checking tickets in First Class?  Whatever next??   :o ::)

Not to mention the men on horseback with shotguns and Winchester rifles.

Wipe the froth from your mouth BNM! This was a serious suggestion on another thread to tackle the uncontrolled growth of lineside vegetation due to NR's lack of maintenance.......painting rails a bit more tongue in cheek however I do struggle to understand why we can land spaceships on comets and men on the moon but the rail industry is  unable to cope with the issue of steel expanding in hot weather.......hardly a new problem.

By Jove! Are they allowing ladies in the First Class compartments without hats?



Edited to fix quotes - bobm

Well they allow men in flat caps so anything is possible.   ;D

That doesn't make it right, though.  :o ::) ;D