Latest news with #railcard
The Independent
6 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Rail bosses given ‘criminal offence' warning over fare dodger prosecutions
Train company bosses have been warned by the Government they could be breaking the law if they allow unqualified staff to prosecute alleged fare dodgers. A Department for Transport memo sent to operators states it is a 'criminal offence' to let non-lawyers act as prosecutors in court cases with passengers accused of not buying the correct ticket. The use of these lay prosecutors in those circumstances is not legal, the advice warns. There have been a series of high-profile cases in which passengers faced prosecution over small amounts of money. In one example, a passenger was threatened with court action for accidentally selecting a 16-25 railcard ticket when they held a 26-30 railcard, which provides the same discount. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has written to train operators stating that 'any enforcement must be proportionate and not punish those making genuine mistakes'. She added: 'It is your responsibility to ensure that you are adequately protecting revenue in a cost effective but lawful way.' The Cabinet minister said she accepted the recommendations of regulator the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), which included creating consistency in how passengers are treated when ticket issues arise, and ensuring passengers have clearer information about tickets. Industry body the Rail Delivery Group has estimated that fare dodging creates £350 million to £400 million in lost revenue each year. A Government source said: 'Fare evasion costs the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of pounds a year and dents confidence in our railway, so we're dead serious about tackling it. 'But enforcement must be proportionate. We can't have operators going after an older person faced with an incomprehensible system, or a student who has made an honest mistake. 'We're asking train companies to make sure they are prosecuting fare dodgers properly the first time. 'We'll set out our full response to the ORR report in due course, and Great British Railways will simplify fares and ticketing – restoring a railway the public can be proud of again.' The Government is bringing operators into public ownership as contracts expire. GBR is an upcoming public sector body that will oversee Britain's rail infrastructure and train operation.
The Sun
7 days ago
- The Sun
Swings, jumping on bouncy castles & water fights among parents' secret favourite activities – despite being for kids
PARENTS secretly love playing on swings, jumping on a bouncy castle – and having water fights. A poll of 1,000 mums and dads found 87 per cent think getting to do kids' activities is 'one of the best things about being a parent'. With playing at the beach (55 per cent), walking around the zoo (46 per cent) and going on theme park rides (41 per cent) at the top of the list. And far from being bored while children play, 27 per cent secretly love to play on the swings and 22 per cent enjoy a bouncy castle. While others quietly like colouring in (31 per cent), water fights (32 per cent) and playing with toys (30 per cent). The research, commissioned by found 79 per cent claim doing activities with the offspring makes them 'feel younger' – by an average of 14 years. It also emerged 94 per cent of parents wish they could enjoy more quality days out with their kids. But working hours (65 per cent), the cost of living (42 per cent), and struggling to come up with new ideas for what to do (22 per cent) were named among the top barriers. Catherine Lyver, from Railcard, which commissioned the research and offers a Family & Friends Railcard with savings of a third on adult train fares and 60 per cent on child fares, said: 'The research shows parents relish the opportunity to relive the magic of childhood with their kids - and travelling by train makes it even more special. 'From beach days and zoo trips to theme parks and aquariums, these shared experiences can help bring families even closer together over the school holidays." The study also found 69 per cent said quality time with their children simply makes them happy, while 68 per cent claimed it leaves them feeling closer with their offspring. But 43 per cent said it has direct benefits on their mental health and 40 per cent think it allows them to focus on what is really important in life. The research also revealed nearly all parents (96 per cent) plan activities with their kids that they enjoy doing too, at least some of the time. With 16 per cent admitting that they always pick something they will have fun doing as well as their youngsters. A third (33 per cent) of parents prefer to travel by train on their days out, with 61 per cent of those enjoying being able to give their full attention to their child. But 56 per cent like that the adventure starts 'as soon as you board the train' and 53 per cent said it helped enable quality time as a family. Catherine Lyver, from Railcard, which has helped 7.4 million customers save an estimated £1.5 billion over the last year, added: 'Summer is a time for play – whether you are an adult or a child. 'And we want to encourage parents to reclaim their joy of play and adventure with the kids over the school holidays by taking advantage of savings on travel and attractions across Britain when you travel by train.' The top 20 'kids' activities parents secretly love 1. Going to the beach 2. Going to the zoo 3. Going on theme park rides 4. Visiting aquariums 5. Going to see family friendly shows at the theatre 6. Doing puzzles or kids board games 7. Going to museums and galleries more aimed at children 8. Going to animal farms or petting zoos 9. Water fights 10. Colouring in or arts and crafts 11. Playing hide and seek 12. Visiting educational historic places 13. Playing with children's toys 14. Activities related to our favourite movies, TV shows or books 15. Paddling in the sea 16. Going to playgrounds and going on the swings, climbing on climbing frames etc 17. Building sandcastles 18. Playing with their toy cars or remote-control cars 19. Doing outdoor climbing adventures (e.g. high wires, rope climbs, abseiling etc.) 20. Bouncing on a bouncy castle 1
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment 'fare dodger' is warned he could be committing fraud after only paying for short part of his journey
This is the moment a train passenger was caught travelling on a discounted ticket without his money-saving railcard - before being reported for suspected fraud. The man was stopped by a revenue protection officer at the barriers at London Waterloo station after arriving on a South Western Railway (SWR) service. He had bought the ticket with a railcard discount but failed to present the card, meaning he faced a penalty fare of £100 plus the price of the full single fare. But the officer became suspicious when he found that the ticket from Vauxhall to Waterloo had been bought only 20 minutes earlier, and not scanned at Vauxhall. When the passenger provided his identity details and address, the officer noted that he lived in Sunbury-on-Thames, much further down the SWR line in Surrey. This meant the officer suspected that the man may have been attempting a 'short fare', which is where passengers only buy a ticket for part of your journey. Commuters on SWR often travel into London from much further afield but buy an e-ticket from a stop near Waterloo such as Vauxhall for a cheaper fare. This means they can try to go through the barriers at Waterloo and avoid paying for the full journey. The incident is the latest to feature in the popular Channel 5 programme Fare Dodgers: At War With The Law, which is airing on Monday nights at 9pm. It saw officer Jack challenge the passenger who arrived at Waterloo on a ticket from Vauxhall, telling him: 'We're checking for railcards'. The man tells Jack: 'Railcard? I don't have the railcard on me. Do I need to buy another ticket then? 'I know that if you go on the website, it can show you that you've got a railcard – does that make sense - because it's a physical one not a digital one.' But when Jack starts looking into the ticket more closely, he discovers it was bought about 20 minutes earlier and was not scanned at Vauxhall. The passenger says: 'I realised I was coming here because I was meeting my girlfriend or whatever. I live round Vauxhall.' Jack then asks the man for his details, which he provides, but his address is listed as Sunbury - not Vauxhall. Jack tells him: 'I'm going to be very blunt and very honest with you. Your address is in Sunbury, your ticket hasn't been scanned in at Vauxhall. When I report this about the railcard, they're going to investigate the ticket as part of that.' The passenger is then told that if it is found he travelled from elsewhere, he could be handed a more expensive penalty. He simply replies: 'Perfect, yeah, cheers.' And in a sign he has been through the process before, the man adds: 'They normally take quite long with this though, don't they? Takes a couple of weeks.' Asked by the officer again whether he travelled from Sunbury, the man says: 'No, no, I travelled from Vauxhall.' Jack then reports him to the fraud team, telling the programme: 'This person in particular hasn't scanned in his QR at Vauxhall. Bought it 20 minutes ago which indicates to me he may have travelled from further. 'So the railcard that he did put on the ticket, he wasn't carrying with him, so we've reported him under that fact, and then we're going to ask the fraud team to investigate the rest of it.' The case is then sent to SWR's fraud department for further investigation, with the man facing prosecution if he had not been truthful about where he travelled from. MailOnline has covered a series of incidents featured in the Channel 5 documentary, which comes as Robert Jenrick highlighted fare dodging another London station. The shadow justice secretary posted a video on social media last Thursday in which he confronted people who forced their way through the ticket barriers at Stratford. He asked one person 'do you think it's alright not to pay' and challenged another to 'go back through the barrier and pay'. At the top of an escalator he said to one person 'do you want to go back and pay like everybody else'? Mr Jenrick later told the BBC that he wants authorities to 'step up' and 'reassert these basic rules', adding that he wants transport bodies to understand 'that these things are not small rule breaks', and said he was 'unapologetic' about sharing the clip. But the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association union said the video was 'not only inappropriate but also potentially dangerous for passengers, staff and the individual involved'. Further incidents featured in the Channel 5 show have included passengers trying to push through barriers to avoid having to touch in or out. Others resort to violence if they are caught, with shocking videos filmed at stations showing passengers attacking police officers or punching security guards. Some try doing 'doughnut tickets', which is where you buy a short ticket for the first part of the journey, to scan the QR code on your entry barrier; and then another short ticket for the last section, to scan out at your destination station. This can lead to a much cheaper fare because you do not pay for the lengthier middle section of the trip - meaning there is a hole in the journey, hence the 'doughnut'. Separately, a report released on Wednesday found fare evasion is becoming 'normalised', with train staff telling the inquiry that they are struggling to cope with 'aggressive' passengers who refuse to buy tickets. Travellers are using 'a range of techniques to persistently' underpay or avoid paying and see it as a 'victimless crime ', according to the Office of Road and Rail (ORR). Staff enduring abusive behaviour when asking fare-dodgers to present their tickets are warning that evasion is becoming 'increasingly more challenging to tackle'. The report had been commissioned to look at concerns some passengers were being unfairly prosecuted by train operators over genuine mistakes when buying tickets. But it found fare evasion is a mounting problem now costing taxpayers £400million a year which is resulting in higher fares and less investment cash to improve services. Meanwhile TikTok influencers are brazenly showing Tube passengers how to illegally travel for free by 'bumping' through the station ticket barriers. Young men are filming themselves laughing and joking with each other as they push through the wide-aisle gates in videos liked by hundreds of thousands of viewers. The gates, which were first installed in 2008 at a cost of £12million, are normally used by wheelchair users, older people, parents with children and travellers with luggage. But they are increasingly being used by fare dodgers who either push through the gap in the middle, or quickly follow someone in front of them who touches out. 'Fare Dodgers: At War with the Law' is on Channel 5 on Monday evenings at 9pm
