Train Drivers and Engineers Checking Tickets?

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by ACustomer

GW: If fare evasion is due to shoddy service, then why does Veolia need such a rigorous enforcement effort on the Luas when it runs a really high-quality service?

I suppose I'd better run along now, here's my bus!

I guess you had better do that, your premise is wrong.

[Colm Moore]

I'm not sure if shoddy service and fare evasion are directly related.

If people are going to evade the fare, they are going to do it whether it is a good service or not.

If service is poor, they are going to use a different mode of travel.

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by Colm Moore

I'm not sure if shoddy service and fare evasion are directly related.

If people are going to evade the fare, they are going to do it whether it is a good service or not.

If service is poor, they are going to use a different mode of travel.

My gripe is that the company is badly run. The emphasis should be on improving the service and the punctuality. There is an amount of fare evasion but not to the extent that IR think. Having managers who are paid to manage (high salaries), checking tickets is ridiculous.

[dowlingm]

I'd be okay with this if it was in the context of blitzes where managers could be used to backstop the baseline number of checkers on trouble prone lines with the aim of bringing evasion down to a manageable level. If it was an every day thing then obviously questions would have to be asked about why other work isn't there for those managers to perform.

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by dowlingm

I'd be okay with this if it was in the context of blitzes where managers could be used to backstop the baseline number of checkers on trouble prone lines with the aim of bringing evasion down to a manageable level. If it was an every day thing then obviously questions would have to be asked about why other work isn't there for those managers to perform.

That's the nub of the problem it's top heavy with management. They would want to be picking up a very large number of fare evaders, in order to justify working as ticket checkers.

[Jamie2k9]

To improve service it costs money and this money has to come from somewhere, people should be glad that they are getting more stricter.

I could tell one instance a few weeks ago when IE lost around 30 euro from 3 people and I expect actual loss was much higher if all passengers who boarded were checked.

I except that ticket barriers will be rolled out across Intercity networks in the future. Carlow station needs some anyway, fare evasion is high their from what I have seen.

[markpb]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

To improve service it costs money and this money has to come from somewhere, people should be glad that they are getting more stricter.

If they save a few hundred euro through extra ticket checking but waste several thousand euros worth of management wages, what benefit is that to passengers?

Either those managers have a job to do which matches their salaries or they don't. If they have time to spare to check tickets, their management work is wasted. If the level of fare evasion is so high that it surpasses management salaries, IR need to hire extra people for RPU duties.

[Mark Gleeson]

Management check tickets before 9am and after 5pm, they do not check during office hours, 5am starts are not unusual. Its fairly common practice elsewhere, I've even seen managers being ticket checked by other managers in the evening.

Extra RPU staff are coming soon, its a case of getting as many bodies on the ground at peak hours to maximise detection.

We have long sought a firm fare evasion policy and staff on the ground to ensure you have to come face to face with someone on your journey. It has to reach the point where its clear the risk is not worth it.

It seems to be paying off with significant numbers of passengers being picked up with no tickets. A worrying trend is having a low value ticket (child/student) which will work the turnstiles to attempt to bypass that element of the fare evasion strategy.

This is very much a win win scenario, reductions in fare evasion deliver improvements to the bottom line, remove from the railway persons who evade who also would be an anti-social element and improves customer perceptions as there is a good chance of getting caught and also increased staff presence on the ground

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by markpb

Either those managers have a job to do which matches their salaries or they don't. If they have time to spare to check tickets, their management work is wasted. If the level of fare evasion is so high that it surpasses management salaries, IR need to hire extra people for RPU duties.

While it will depend on the situation, e.g. don't have the finance manager doing it the week the annual report is being published, it is useful to have senior management do front line duties on a regular basis. It means they have a better feel for what is happening on the ground, reduces divisions between management and staff and they get to hear from actual passengers and staff, not a filtered version of what others are telling them.

When, a long time ago, I worked in McDonalds, restaurant managers were obliged to do at least one night shift per month, on top of usual day and weekend shifts.

[Jamie2k9]

Extra RPU staff are coming soon, its a case of getting as many bodies on the ground at peak hours to maximise detection.

Surly off peak is more important as most people would take the chance over peak times.

Middle of the day when ticket offices at many stations close after the morning rush.

Take the good weather a few weeks ago, I could be well off the mark here but I would take a guess and say IE lost hundreds if not thousands on DART revenue.

[Jamie2k9]

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news...-29455487.html

Chief executive David Franks said that one recent blitz on the Dublin commuter network saw inspectors issue 108 penalty notices to people intending to travel, but without a ticket.

Some 75pc of the €100 penalty fares were paid, he said, adding that the company planned to raise €1.5m in additional funds this year by clamping down on fare evasion.

But the true extent of the problem could be far bigger than first believed, he admitted.

Ten more blitzes are planned over the coming weeks across the commuter, Dart and inter-city network.

6% of passengers don't pay well above the 1% they believed.

[Mark Gleeson]

The stats are pretty much exactly as I suggested some time back

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showpo...5&postcount=33

[finnyus]

Hope the start hitting East Cork soon, especially between Glounthaune and Midleton - a few blitz checks are definitely required as well as checks at Cork Kent on arrival, prior to the gates being activated.