First Great Western prosecutes 13 people for travelling without train tickets

[whole diary]

[TonyK]

Posters with the real names of those found guilty of byelaw and RORA^▸ (Regulation of Railways Act 1889) offences for ticketless travel are used by many train operators. I'm not aware of FGW^▸ (First Great Western) using such posters.

The real names of those convicted can be used. No right to anonymity. 

Already in the public domain by way of having been in open court. It isn't libelous - the only ground that could fit is imputation of a criminal offence, and as there has been a conviction, that makes it fair comment.

Would need to see the evidence presented, shoplifters do get heavy fines and even imprisonment

A lot, though by no means all of, apprehended shoplifters have no money, and also have issues of addiction or mental health. I'm not being the bleeding heart neo-liberal in pointing that out, just noting that a financial penalty in such cases is often pointless. When a defendant is already having deductions made from their benefits of ^5.00 per week for fines, any new fines will simply extend the period of that deduction, so having little immediate impact. Fare dodging, as was pointed out earlier, can bridge the socio-economic divide in a way that would make Jeremy Corbyn green with envy (pun intended if you spotted it), although he may regard rail fares themselves as either a regressive tax or an elitist plot.

[ChrisB]

FT,n - can you sort you quoting out please?

[grahame]

He's ... is my bet....and basically ...

Gentlemen, as I've suspended the posting rights of a member pending clarification of conformance to the spirit of the forum agreement, I would be grateful if you too could desist from guessing at the detail of how that clarification will pan out.

[TonyK]

FT,n - can you sort you quoting out please?

Apologies - I had been correcting the "A^" things that appeared because of font issues (I assume). I had hit the quote button by mistake a few times. I've deleted all the orphan quotations, so no-one will know what we are on about.

I'm fed up with doing it, and shall settle for a few "A^"s. To help stop further proliferation, please immediately modify any post containing a quote containing a ^ sign, so as not to upset any borderline OCD sufferers.

[TonyK]

Always take a photo with your mobile of the message on the TVM^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) in these circumstsnces to protect oneself

Yes, but why should you have to??

I'm not sure what protection that would add, given that 1) Journey Check was aware of the issue 2) Staff at EXC would quickly become aware also

[ChrisB]

If you remember, the RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) initially refused to believe the customer & wanted to charge a penalty fare. Immediate production of said photo might have focussed the mind a tad faster

[grahame]

I came across a piece headed "The ideal behaviours we want ur customers to see" in the last 10 day.

Integrity - Greet them with a smile and a warm welcome to XXX. Show them you're pround to be part of XXX

Personalisation - Be friendly and let your presonalisty shine. Always make eye contact.

Expectations - Make every customer reaction a positive one that leaves a great impression of XXX

Time and Effort - Some customers need a little extra help - so keep an eye out and lend a hand

Resolution - Give customers solutions and advise when presented with a problem

Empathy - Treat them as individuals and show that you care

Above all be yourself, be friendly and let your personality shine. Become a history maker today.


Significant doubt, and considerable concern, has been expressed to the moderator team and openly on the forum about the posts of Penzance-Paddington. A lack of answers to requests for clarifcation lead me to temporarily block the account pending more information to.   Whilst I can now report that I have heard from the member, I'm afraid I also have to report that he/she hasn't been able to give me further information (e.g. an @gwr.com address) where I can simply check that the poster really is - as claimed - an RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)) trainee. "I don't feel as though I can disclose any more information to you. Revenue Protection is a robust department that operates around strict policies and procedures."

Which leaves us in a rather awkward position.

Now ... one of the moderator team writes "I would rather he gets things wrong here, where knowledgable members can correct him, instead of telling a pack of lies to the travelling public."  And I'm very much aware that one of our strengths is in carrying a wide church of opinion, even if we don't always agree.  Futher I look at the "mantra" at the top and think "that ain't bad" - we should follow that philosophy.  For example, that might might providing a little extra help for this newcomer to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) team.

So - having aired my concerns, I'm going to remove the temporary block that's been in place.   I'm going to ask Penzance-Paddington to adhere to the forum agrement in a way that can't be doubted, and I'm going to ask him / her to follow the philosophy outlined in the piece at the top of this article.   After all - that's part of his/her job; for "XXX" read "GWR", and the text comes from the widely circulated staff briefing.

[JayMac]

He's going to have to a lot more convincing to get me to believe he's a soon to be GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)).

I'm sure bona fides can be provided without personal identification being given or company social media policies being breached.

[grahame]

He's going to have to a lot more convincing to get me to believe he's a soon to be GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) RPI^▸ (Revenue Protection Inspector (or Retail Price Index, depending on the context)).

I'm sure bona fides can be provided without personal identification being given or company social media policies being breached.

The questions, discussions and help provided by members are interesting, so the decision taken is actually the same one whichever way it turns out.  I agree there is a huge convenience in not answering requests for bona fides if such bona fides don't actually exist.

[John R]

There was another interesting scenario at NLS station yesterday, arriving for the 0746 to Paddington. There are 2 TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) and a ticket office. Both TVM's were out of action, so the queue at the ticket office, instead of being the usual 3 or 4, was around 15 people.  I'd expect at least a 15 minute wait to buy a ticket.

So what to do? Technically one would be in breach to board the train as the TO was open, and thus potentially subject to a PF^▸ (Penalty Fare). But there comes a point when it is unreasonable to expect passengers to wait and miss their train, when only one third of the normal ticket provision is available. It wasn't realistic to ask the guy in the TO whether it was OK to board due to the layout of the waiting shelter/office.

So I boarded the train. Fortunately I have a season, so the question did not arise for me.  But for around 15 people it would have done, and I wonder how they were supposed to know whether or not they ran the risk of a Penalty Fare and what discretion would have been shown had an RPO been on board.

[JayMac]

Oftentimes when TVMs^▸ (Ticket Vending Machine) are out of order, messages are sent out on internal systems to staff telling them where the fault is and to use discretion toward any passengers from that station. Allowing buy on board and at gatelines typically.

That of course presumes the fault has been conmunicated, the message has been sent out, and individual staff have read said message.

For Nailsea & Backwell yesterday, no such message was generated. Which either means the fault wasn't communicated or GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) decided the staff member in the shed with Avantix^▸ (Ticket Issuing System used on board trains) was adequate for the morning peak.

[grahame]

There are 5 minute connection times at most stations, with 7, 8, 10 and 15 at others. It would strike me as entirely reasonable that if you walk into the ticket dispensing area at the start of your journey with that much time but are unable to purchase a ticket (due to there being too many people ahead of you) that this should NOT be considered to be an opportunity to purchase a ticket that you have bypassed.  Plainly, it was NOT such an opportunity.

Should you choose to use that 5 minutes or more to visit the loo, the buffet, the literature rack, or hug your girlfriend / boyfriend a long and lingering "goodbye", then it would be fair to say that you have missed the opportunity.

[TonyK]

Should you choose to use that 5 minutes or more to visit the loo, the buffet, the literature rack, or hug your girlfriend / boyfriend a long and lingering "goodbye", then it would be fair to say that you have missed the opportunity.

I shall bear that in mind when I next hug my girlfriend / boyfriend goodbye at NLS.


(Not a word to Mrs FT, N! please)

[JayMac]

I shall bear that in mind when I next hug my girlfriend / boyfriend goodbye at NLS.

It's CfN isn't it?

Don't worry I'll not tell anyone. 

[TonyK]

I shall bear that in mind when I next hug my girlfriend / boyfriend goodbye at NLS.

It's CfN isn't it?

Don't worry I'll not tell anyone. 

You might think that, but I couldn't possibly comment...