SIR – I write to question whether the recent increase in standard penalty fares from £10 to £20 will have any tangible impact on reducing fare evasion for rail operators and those managing the London Underground?

Fare evasion costs the National Rail network alone an estimated £200 million per annum. In London, 90,000 fines are issued every year to people travelling without a ticket on the tube system, the buses and the Docklands Light Railway, with more than £60 million being lost to fare evasion.

Since the introduction of penalty fares some ten years ago, train fares have increased to such an extent that the existing £10 penalty is rendered an almost meaningless deterrent.

While we at Group 4 Securicor (UK Security) welcome the Government’s decision to raise the bar, experience has shown that this may not be enough. Although the majority of train passengers are law abiding, a determined minority will always try their luck on the basis that if they are caught, say, a couple of times per month, it is still going to be cheaper than buying a ticket.

To make any kind of penalty fare effective, it needs to be enforced by revenue protection officers. Our experience has shown that, for those rail operators who have invested in this service, revenue protection officers recoup (on average) between £75,000 and £90,000 per month – which certainly amounts to more than the odd £20 fine.

Douglas Greenwell, Marketing Director, Group 4 Securicor (UK Security)

Source

SMT

Postscript

The Editor replies: A compelling argument, Douglas, and thank you for sharing your thoughts with the readers of Security Management Today.

Certain rail operators – among them SouthWest Trains and Silverlink – have recently stepped up their ticket checking frequency, which is a positive move in the right direction.

However, the introduction of revenue protection officers to ‘patrol’ all national rail lines as well as the Capital’s transport network would surely produce even more beneficial results – in line with even higher penalty fares and appropriately harsh sentencing in our Courts of Law.