Inspection blitz uncovers widespread free travel pass fraud

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by James Howard

They had a serious RPU operation in Enfield this evening - I wonder if they are reading this . I would think they had about 10 people including security. Good to see proper enforcement.

That's all very fine but how many fare evaders did they catch, it's not very viable unless the revenue they get, outweighs the cost of 'the ambush'.

[dowlingm]

Originally Posted by grainne whale

That's all very fine but how many fare evaders did they catch, it's not very viable unless the revenue they get, outweighs the cost of 'the ambush'.

Plus the cost of future tickets purchased because of word getting round that Enfield is not a safe haven?

[James Howard]

Fair enough, it's been a few months since I've been on the commuter trains as I tend to avoid them on comfort grounds but I used to use them regularly and I've not seen a ticket inspector on any of the Longford commuter services for well over 5 years. Before that you might see a guy on the 1805 once or twice a week which was plenty.

So there definitely was an expectation that you would not be challenged if heading for Enfield or Kilcock and as I said in a previous post, I saw tickets from Sydney Parade to Booterstown lying about at Enfield.

The purpose of inspection blitzes is as much to provide a visible deterrent to fare evasion as it is to collect fines. This certainly would have done the trick.

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by James Howard

Fair enough, it's been a few months since I've been on the commuter trains as I tend to avoid them on comfort grounds but I used to use them regularly and I've not seen a ticket inspector on any of the Longford commuter services for well over 5 years. Before that you might see a guy on the 1805 once or twice a week which was plenty.

So there definitely was an expectation that you would not be challenged if heading for Enfield or Kilcock and as I said in a previous post, I saw tickets from Sydney Parade to Booterstown lying about at Enfield.

The purpose of inspection blitzes is as much to provide a visible deterrent to fare evasion as it is to collect fines. This certainly would have done the trick.

Yes, I'm sure all the droves of fare evaders travelling to an from Enfield will all be deterred from now on.

[James Howard]

So what should they do? Just not bother collecting fares.

An annual pass to Enfield is more than 2000 euro. It is extremely unfair on those paying their way to allow people get away without paying or to have them pay for the shortest available journey. The paying customer ends up putting up with overcrowding and generally a poorer service if people are let get away with it.

For the Longford commuter trains, the only station where they check tickets is Longford and even there they don't bother in the evening. I'm not sure about Mullingar - maybe they check there as well but I've not been checked the few times I got on there. But for Edgeworthstown, Enfield and Kilcock, if you were suitable inclined you could save yourself up to a couple of grand a year by just using a short-hop pass. Visible enforcement at the weak-spot stations makes this risky - although the fines are nowhere near high enough to be a real deterrent.

[grainne whale]

Originally Posted by James Howard

So what should they do? Just not bother collecting fares.

An annual pass to Enfield is more than 2000 euro. It is extremely unfair on those paying their way to allow people get away without paying or to have them pay for the shortest available journey. The paying customer ends up putting up with overcrowding and generally a poorer service if people are let get away with it.

For the Longford commuter trains, the only station where they check tickets is Longford and even there they don't bother in the evening. I'm not sure about Mullingar - maybe they check there as well but I've not been checked the few times I got on there. But for Edgeworthstown, Enfield and Kilcock, if you were suitable inclined you could save yourself up to a couple of grand a year by just using a short-hop pass. Visible enforcement at the weak-spot stations makes this risky - although the fines are nowhere near high enough to be a real deterrent.

Ticket barriers at all stations, ticket inspectors on trains, this is the practice that most of Europe follows, but of course Irish Rail always react with overkill. They would be better employed in running a efficient and comfortable service, which would encourage more passengers and eliminate fare evasion.

[haddockman]

There needs to be exit checks on all stations. This business of leaving gates open and having no on train checks. Entry inspections do nothing as a ticket for the minimum would pass such a check, with the evader exiting at an unguarded station down the line.