Stasi at Heuston station

[grainne whale]

For the last 10 days or there have been Irish Rail officials checking tickets for passengers disembarking at Heuston, fair enough, 1. why do they have the Stasi (Rail Security) with them? 2. after waiting for a train a half hour (this morning at Hazelhatch), they are delaying us (as passengers) again.

[Mark Gleeson]

Quite simple, in the past there have been several incidents where a ticket checker has been assaulted by a fare evader

I can recall a incident where a thug took on a checker in Bray, took quite a beating, driver in a train ran over, also got a beating but they held the guy for the gardai, both staff ended up in A&E. That is the sad reality, we need a formal transport police. Thats a issue we raised and indeed is now in the program for government.

The checks in Heuston will disappear shortly, today is probably a day to grab people on last months monthly tickets

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

That is the sad reality, we need a formal transport police. Thats a issue we raised and indeed is now in the program for government.

Should anyone in a black bovver jacket so much as touch you report it to the gardai. They are not police, they have no powers whatsoever, and given what Mark has said about a proper transport police they are simply an excuse and a cop out for the DoT and DoJ not to actually from a proper transport police.

I have the deatails of a story from another security guard who had an encounter with these lads in Heuston and because of his professionalism he was able to have the culprit given the boot.

[TheBoss]

Yeah ... got done myself today ..... cost me €50..... fine for not having a ticket.

I usually get a monthly but completely forgot about it this morning. Only had €60 in cash ..... the conductor on the train let me off .... but in hindsight I should have bought a single and maybe try and get it back later when I buy the monthly.

I didn't even give the excuse to the guys at the desk ... my own fault .... we've had enough warnings!

But the guys in the bomber jackets are too much and while there is obviously a need for them , they should be in the background or at least try to look less intimidating. Also, perhaps they should have the same dress code as gardai ...... get rid or the earings and the ponytails .... look a bit professional. Most of the time they just wander around the station in pairs having a great ol chat about something or other (meanwhile bikes getting robbed from the car park !)

[James Shields]

I'm not saying we should condone fare evading in any way, but going after people who are a day late getting their monthly ticket is blatant profiteering, and a deliberate attempt to catch out people who make an innocent mistake. These people are not fare evaders, and IE is not losing revenue because of them.

It is the easiest thing in the world to not realise that today is the day your ticket expires. The decent thing to do would be to have a 3 day grace period that allowed you to travel on last month's monthly ticket.

I accept IE are within their rights, but that doesn't mean what they're doing is right.

I agree the Rail Security uniform should be reviewed and replaced with something more professional (though I think it's important ther should NOT be wearing anything that means they could be mistaken for Gardai). My worry now is that after uniform review we'll be met by guys in monkey suits at the platform gates and be told "Sorry, Bud, this train is members only."

[sean]

With Metro North Railroad in New York City's suburbs, which I consider to be THE best ticketing and fares system in the world, monthly tickets are valid until 10AM the first day of the following month. That allows you to get to work the 1st of the month and presumably get your new monthly ticket on the way home.

Also they have on-board ticket checking/selling for the long distance service it provides, so you can board any train without a ticket but the on board fares are a lot higher.

Fare evasion is a non issue.

[Laois Commuter]

Originally Posted by James Shields

I'm not saying we should condone fare evading in any way, but going after people who are a day late getting their monthly ticket is blatant profiteering, and a deliberate attempt to catch out people who make an innocent mistake. These people are not fare evaders, and IE is not losing revenue because of them.

It is the easiest thing in the world to not realise that today is the day your ticket expires. The decent thing to do would be to have a 3 day grace period that allowed you to travel on last month's monthly ticket.

I accept IE are within their rights, but that doesn't mean what they're doing is right.

"

Sorry, disagree entirely. A ticket has an end date - and that is it. If you start being lenient, boundaries get streched. If 3 days grace was given, people would then want 5 - and so on. Take it from someone who has had responsibility for transport ticketing enforcement of various sorts in the past (not CIE) - zero tolerance is the only answer. LUAS has it right. Yes, some people will be caught out through their own innocent error - as another poster on here has been in this check - but that's life.

I have an annual IE ticket, but as I work in different locations on a cyclical basis, I get a weekly or monthly LUAS as necessary. How do I remember to renew? Put an alarm/reminder for 6am on the appropriate day on my mobile. That way, when I switch it on in the morning, I get a reminder there and then.

LC

[grainne whale]

Thank you Thomas, each morning I arrive at Heuston I feel quite intimidated by this spectical. I have no reason to find this situation so as I always have a ticket (annual). My daughter who also travels with me finds the whole situation intimidating as well.

[grainne whale]

Point taken, however the vast majority of rail passengers at that hour of the morning are on their way to work,and their only interest is getting to work on time. Having that amount of Stazi is overkill, and I (as a woman) find it very intimidating.