Overchecking of tickets - on train and at arriving station.

[whole diary]

[Robin Summerhill]

Or did he just not have a card and was bluffing it?

Oh yes, he had a disabled person's railcard. It just appeared that he took offence at having to show it to the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) "because he was "obviously disabled."

[Robin Summerhill]

I think you've made an unnecessary mountain of a molehill with this moan grahame.

But at least its kept us all debating the topic for a couple of days 

[TonyK]

Or did he just not have a card and was bluffing it?

Oh yes, he had a disabled person's railcard. It just appeared that he took offence at having to show it to the TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) "because he was "obviously disabled."

As I said to my then young daughter once (quite loudly) when she saw someone young and fit park in a disabled space and head for the store, you can't always tell someone is disabled just by looking at them. You can never tell, just by looking at someone, if they have filled in the form and paid the £20 needed for a Disabled Persons Railcard.

That said, only once have I been asked to show my Senior Git Railcard, and I don't look old.* That was on a train from Preston to Manchester, following the announcement "Can you have all tickets, passes, discount cards and any other railway related praphernalia ready for inspection please? Ta."

(*Do I? Oh dear...)

[JayMac]

A tale I've recounted before:

Ticket didn't work barrier at Charing Cross. Showed it to gateline staffer who asked to see my accompanying Disabled Persons Railcard. I have no issue with that. I did take issue though when he said, "You don't look disabled."

"You don't look like a doctor," I replied as I walked off.

[RailCornwall]

Recent Experience ....

Full Check of Tickets and Passes at Penzance Gate prior to IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) boarding. On train check started just past Long Rock depot, less than five minutes after departure.

[Robin Summerhill]

Recent Experience ....

Full Check of Tickets and Passes at Penzance Gate prior to IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train - replacement for HSTs (manufactured by Hitachi in Kobe, Japan)) boarding. On train check started just past Long Rock depot, less than five minutes after departure.

I've had quite a few cases where I've had my ticket checked on a London-bound service before the tail lamps have been dragged past the end of the Temple Meads platform

[bobm]

There was a barrier check on platform 6 at Reading this evening for an incoming service from London Waterloo using SWR^» (South Western Railway - about) staff HOWEVER there had been no on board check in the hour I had been on board.   Quite a few without tickets but unless they were heading elsewhere they wouldn’t have got through the gateline at Reading anyway.

[TaplowGreen]

I honestly can't remember the last time I had my ticket checked between Ealing Broadway and Taplow (which is ungated). I seem to recall a gang of revenue spooks at Taplow on arrival once or twice but certainly no more than that.

[froome]

I think the last few posts back up Graham's original post. The problem is the impression gained from the enormous variability in ticket checking, from several times in one journey to not at all.

[JayMac]

I honestly can't remember the last time I had my ticket checked between Ealing Broadway and Taplow (which is ungated). I seem to recall a gang of revenue spooks at Taplow on arrival once or twice but certainly no more than that.

They'll catch you one day TG!

[Robin Summerhill]

I think the last few posts back up Graham's original post. The problem is the impression gained from the enormous variability in ticket checking, from several times in one journey to not at all.

I think I’d come to completely the opposite conclusion.

We started off by talking, to some extent, about people new to rail travel. If they get the idea that they can have their ticket checked anywhere, anytime and most importantly, randomly, it might stop them getting the idea that they can get away without paying.

The problem with regular, predictable checks is that people might see ways to avoid them. On another forum we were recently discussing the Severn Beach line and how some passengers have sussed out that if they sit or stand in a particular part of the train, for a relatively short journey, they can avoid paying their just dues.

The local RPO team have become aware of this and keep an eye out for just such behaviour.

[johnneyw]

Over many years I have seen woeful fare avoidance on the SB^▸ (Signal Box) line which also understates it's huge importance insofar as user numbers are concerned.

[TaplowGreen]

I honestly can't remember the last time I had my ticket checked between Ealing Broadway and Taplow (which is ungated). I seem to recall a gang of revenue spooks at Taplow on arrival once or twice but certainly no more than that.

They'll catch you one day TG!

They'll never take me alive! 😂

[Robin Summerhill]

So there I was today travelling from Oldfield Park to Chippenham, a journey of 22 minutes including a 7-minute connection at Bath.

My ticket was checked by the RPO on the train between OLF and Bath.

My ticket was checked again by a RPO/ TM^▸ (Train Manager, or possibly Ticket Machine, depending on context) just as were got out of Box Tunnel.

I then had to queue at the Gateline at the new footbridge because a crowd of people had decided to leave the station that way. There was a member of staff (unusually) on duty up there, who was doing precious little to help except tell one woman she'd put her ticket in upside down. The non-disabled gate was in use.

When I asked him why he couldn't make one of the gates bi-directional I got the reply "Simple mate - people want to come the other way." Not then they didn't and, in any case, if a disabled person had come up in the lift he would have let them out of that gate...

In the meantime, had he bothered to look around, he would have noticed that the queue of people waiting to exit was now queueing back down the stairs. The scenario certainly gave the impression that GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) are only interested in health and safety when it suits them...