On most of my Northern Trains journeys tickets were checked after every stop ...
The effect of this (to me) was to feel confident that someone knew what was happening throughout the train and a much more human face of the company. It clearly worked ...
Something I've seen recently is ticket checking on board,
before the train sets off - it's happened quite a few times at Westbury, and ( vaguely remembered ) on an occasion at Swindon on the TransWilts. It not only helps to collect Westbury - Trowbridge revenue, but also expands fare checking and collection time which can be at a premium for services that pick up substantial passenger numbers at Trowbridge when the booking office is closed, or at Melksham. As a side effect, it also helps to identify the occasional passenger for Bradford-on-Avon / Bath who gets on the train in error before it's too late.
Whether it was my sage appearance (
) or something else, but I was given only cursory attention a couple of times where they conductor had his eye on those he thought more likely to be ticketless. Recent incidents may show that appearance is a false indication of honesty.
Appearance is only a trend .. and it works both ways. Difficult one that, and fraught with "bias" and "political correctness" risks however the staff play it. For an outside observer, there can be a feeling of false bias too; on the smaller lines (and I count TransWilts in there even though our passenger numbers are starting to overtake other lines) the staff get to know the habitual fare avoiders on one hand, and the regulars who are always fully ticketed ... and an occasional user / first time user on the line may observe the application of specific knowledge as the application of stereotyping / bias.
I enjoyed the open access to the platforms and the interaction with staff and believe more companies would improve their PR▸ as well as their revenue by employing well trained staff whom pax would know would almost always appear. Of course, getting through the train is essential and I understand London commuter trains may be exceptionally overwhelmed, but Northern seem to manage at Manchester (there are barriers at Leeds, I know, but I only used one train from there).
I agree with you.
And taking the opposite side of the coin, barriers which delay passengers trying to exit with legitimate tickets lead to a resentment of the system; personally, I sometimes feel that my integrity is being called into question when I have to queue to get off the platform, and / or get rejected by the barriers. Should arrival time statistics be measured for when passengers exit ("escape") from the controlled area rather than the time at which the train's wheels stop turning?
