http://www.kalyr.co.uk/weblog/railways/transport/penalty-fares-a-pr-disaster-in-switzerland/ The blogs of Tim Hall Fri, 14 Apr 2017 23:35:42 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.7.41 http://www.kalyr.co.uk/weblog/railways/transport/penalty-fares-a-pr-disaster-in-switzerland/comment-page-1/#comment-22962 Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:53:06 +0000 http://www.kalyr.co.uk/weblog/?p=6135#comment-22962 I saw that article and found it staggering, if it is correct. I have worked on the railways here in Britain (in IT) and when all the TVMs (Ticket Vending Machine) at a station are out of action then this is communicated to the on-train staff and the station staff along the line in order that they will not apply penalty fares to anyone who got on at that station. Alternatively they will get staff with handheld machines into the station to sell tickets.
It is also a very good idea (on British trains) if you have boarded without a ticket to immediately find the conductor and tell him/her that you need a ticket – they will rarely apply any sort of penalty if you apprach them first as you are demonstrating your willingness to buy a ticket – as against seeming like you are ‘trying it on’ by hoping they don’t get to you.
Fare evasion is a serious problem but most RPIs I have spoken with say it’s not the occasional ‘chancer’ that is the real problem. If you haven’t worked on the railways you won’t appreciate the lengths some people go to to avoid paying – which just makes it more expensive for the rest of us.

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