South West Trains Discover A Way To Make Passengers Feel Worse
THERE is something annoying about ticket inspectors on trains.
They make you rifle through your bags and pockets to find the ticket you have already put through a ticket barrier. And then they tick it with a pen, like a teacher scoring your efforts.
Well, now things are set to get a lot worse for commuters who use South West train services as a leaked memo reveals that guards are to be judged according to the amount of money they collect in penalties.
The memo which is headed “commercially sensitive, please do not circulate” tells inspectors to treat passengers as fare dodgers even if they approach the guard on the train and ask to buy a ticket. Guards are also advised to sell the most expensive peak ticket and give no rail discounts, which could mean that passengers will be paying over double the normal price.
Inspectors will also be held accountable if they accept any explanations by passengers, even if the passenger was unable to buy a ticket at a machine due to long queues.
One South West guard tells the Times: “We are in the horrible position of having to enforce a policy we know to be unfair, or risk losing our jobs.”
South West is reported to be making profits of more than £1million a week. Yet apparently that’s not enough to afford more ticket machines. Those machines must be mighty expensive.
Posted: 22nd, June 2007 | In: Back pages Comments (7) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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December 11th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I was fined for getting off of the train BEFORE the stop i’d paid for! (apparently in the Megatrain terms and conds). I was feeling ill, I didn’t try to leave the station, I just tried to buy a ticket to continue on my journey and they fined me almost £100 for this! They also insinuated that I was a liar when I gave my details and told me that they were calling the police (who apparently can give out personal details to whoever they want, when asked for them?). So I have the fine, to which I appeal against ( Iget no response) the 21 days are almost up so I decided to pay the fine as I didn’t want it to go to court, I enter my details online to which an error message comes up telling me I can’t continue because it is under appeal! HOW CAN I PAY THE FINE! I called there number on the back of the fine, to which I was given 5 options from a machine! None of which were to speak to a REAL PERSON!
This company is a joke!!! I was treated like a criminal for doing absolutly nothing wrong! And ok I got off of the train early (which is rediculous) but it’s apparently in the T&C; What if I were seriously ill? Would i have to stay on the train until the end of my journey, even if it meant I would die? this company is just pathetic! and it should not be allowed! I do not understand how what they’re doing is legal?
July 18th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Is it so unreasonable to expect you to buy a ticket for the service you are receiving? After all, it wasn’t long ago that you were complaining about ticket purchasers subsidising the non paying public for rail services. Tickets have to be checked regularly to deter fair evaders.
Also another note to add, is in the current security climate shouldn’t we be happy to be regularly seeing a member of staff during our journey?
I would suggest that if you have a problem with ticket checkers, or any kind of authority figure. Then get yourself a nice car, a house in the middle of nowhere and just become a recluse, that’s it just remove yourself from society.
After all, if you don’t want to pay for the rail service, then don’t use it. Simple Eh?
July 10th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I would suggest that if you regularly take a journey with this most nefarious of train companies,buy the period return.mine doesnt usually get checked on the return leg of my weekly journey,allowing me to use it again next time i take the trip.also it might be worth saying that you boarded at Upwey,the only station on the Waterloo line with no machine,no ticket ofice and a broken ‘permit to travel’ machine.either that or hide in the loos!
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:09 pm
Block the toilets and flush them when they stand in the stations.
Block the aisles.
used to travel from Aberystwyth to Lampeter until Beeching happened, and one way to guarantee a seat? take a pet rodent with you. That upsets everyone.
Complain about the food, loudly
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:27 pm
I have just been on a SWT and was asked for my ticket:
Upon boarding
During the jouney x 3
When I tried to leave the station
The drone at the gate took the ticket. I asked for it back. So he looked me in the eye. Squinted at me. Made a tear in it. And handed it to me.
I toyed with the idea of behaving like a criminal and a) punching him; b) swearing at him; c) marching up and down performing Hitler salutes and moving among the passengers trying to sniff out Jews, gypsies, people with something called a “Mega Train” ticket (they are invalid) and anyone looking shifty and possibly black, working class or eating smelly food.
There is so little crime on the trains that I feel duty bound to give these prison wardens something to justify their jobs. Suggestions welcome…
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I have heard that they are going to prevent passengers from buying tickets before they board the trains so that they can fine them or sell them much higher priced tickets once they are on board. There is also talk of them trying to fine people who do not use their trains.
June 22nd, 2007 at 11:06 am
They used to have a bloke in a booking office who used to sell tickets, but fleecing Joe Public is sooo rewarding isn’t it