"Any tickets I haven't yet checked?"

[graham43404]

most guards will check tickets up until a time they no longer feel 100% safe, personally if its a case of my safety vs. fare dodgers, fare dodgers win and I will not apologise for that to anybody, what I do at the start of the journey I check all tickets, then after a few times stops I say anymore tickets and passes that I haven't seen, works for me.

It is a sad state of affairs when that is what guards have to do to feel safe, I don't blame yourself or anyone else for doing this as some things in life are just not worth putting yourself in danger for when you are hopelessly outnumbered.

 

[northwichcat]

most guards will check tickets up until a time they no longer feel 100% safe, personally if its a case of my safety vs. fare dodgers, fare dodgers win and I will not apologise for that to anybody, what I do at the start of the journey I check all tickets, then after a few times stops I say anymore tickets and passes that I haven't seen, works for me.

But to put what DazDude said in to prospective there are actually at least two Piccadilly guards who do this on ALL trains they work - not just late night services and I know one of them used to be a security guard before working as a train guard. However, as I said in an earlier post those guards can probably tell any RPI staff that ALL passengers were given an opportunity to buy on board on most services so the RPI staff can sell ticketless passengers a full price ticket with no railcard discounts, whereas another guard checking all tickets may not be able to say that as he/she hasn't been able to get to all passengers.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

But to put what DazDude said in to prospective there are actually at least two Piccadilly guards who do this on ALL trains they work - not just late night services and I know one of them used to be a security guard before working as a train guard. However, as I said in an earlier post those guards can probably tell any RPI staff that ALL passengers were given an opportunity to buy on board on most services so the RPI staff can sell ticketless passengers a full price ticket with no railcard discounts, whereas another guard checking all tickets may not be able to say that as he/she hasn't been able to get to all passengers.

No one in there right mind sells passengers "standard" tickets on our services, way too many variables and they would be foolish to attempt to, in Picc we have one guard that does it out of 140 and because of him and the mistakes that end up being made causes everyone no end of hassle, but he is unrepentant and will always be like that, a commin sense approach is the key, we have stops on avg every 2-3 minutes and lets face facts its nigh on impossible to make sure you have checked everyones tickets on alot of them, my method works for me and have very few that slip through the net, when it starts getting late I take each train as it comes, if I feel unsafe in any way shape or form I will not go out, its called self preservation.

 

[WestCoast]

No one in there right mind sells passengers "standard" tickets on our services, way too many variables and they would be foolish to attempt to, in Picc we have one guard that does it out of 140 and because of him and the mistakes that end up being made causes everyone no end of hassle, but he is unrepentant and will always be like that, a commin sense approach is the key, we have stops on avg every 2-3 minutes and lets face facts its nigh on impossible to make sure you have checked everyones tickets on alot of them, my method works for me and have very few that slip through the net, when it starts getting late I take each train as it comes, if I feel unsafe in any way shape or form I will not go out, its called self preservation.

Do you work the Glossop Line? It's a very tricky one: check a few tickets, back to the door, check a few more, back to the door, check a few tickets, back to the door. A tough job and most Northern routes aren't really like that.

As for non-discounted tickets, I can understand at certain stations where there are ticket facilities present, but not necessarily reliable for the passengers. Plus, it does save hassles. However, out of Piccadilly, is that a different story? I know sometimes G4S are there. TPE don't usually offer discounts and I once heard a woman complaining about this out off Piccadilly!

 

[ANorthernGuard]

Do you work the Glossop Line? It's a very tricky one: check a few tickets, back to the door, check a few more, back to the door, check a few tickets, back to the door. A tough job and most Northern routes aren't really like that.

As for non-discounted tickets, I can understand at certain stations where there are ticket facilities present, but not necessarily reliable for the passengers. Plus, it does save hassles. However, out of Piccadilly, is that a different story? I know sometimes G4S are there. TPE don't usually offer discounts and I once heard a woman complaining about this out off Piccadilly!

most of our work is like the Hadfield line apart from the odd 5 min gap, hadfields are extra awkward because of the curve at dinting and the plunger at newton. With barriers at picc we go out but very rarely sell anything, we tend to spend time rectifying mistakes that g4s have done.

 

[WestCoast]

most of our work is like the Hadfield line apart from the odd 5 min gap, hadfields are extra awkward because of the curve at dinting and the plunger at newton. With barriers at picc we go out but very rarely sell anything, we tend to spend time rectifying mistakes that g4s have done.

Out of Picc? Yes, I suppose you've got the more difficult frequently stopping routes. Northern have been putting two guards (one being an Assistant Fare Collector) on this summer in the mornings between Blackpool South - Preston, due to large loads joining at the unstaffed stations (all intermediate stations except two, one part-time office).

 

[TTI]

No one in there right mind sells passengers "standard" tickets on our services, way too many variables and they would be foolish to attempt to, in Picc we have one guard that does it out of 140 and because of him and the mistakes that end up being made causes everyone no end of hassle, but he is unrepentant and will always be like that, a commin sense approach is the key, we have stops on avg every 2-3 minutes and lets face facts its nigh on impossible to make sure you have checked everyones tickets on alot of them, my method works for me and have very few that slip through the net, when it starts getting late I take each train as it comes, if I feel unsafe in any way shape or form I will not go out, its called self preservation.

There's actually quite a few at Piccadilly that I overhear not selling Cheap Day single/returns to those on board, often with a quip after the tickets' done that "you can get it cheaper from the ticket office, so you know for next time". I've noticed it depends from which station, whether it was staffed without problems and the proximity of the ticket office/ticket machines are to the platform(s) but I do overhear it on my commute to/from work regularly.

Many more guards refuse (correctly) to give railcards on board (unless they have to).

Why would them G4S staff or guards doing it correctly cause other "no end of hassle".

I know some guards dont like G4S and moan that they "lose commission" but why would they be so bothered when the fares in the GM area are so dirt cheap?

 

[ChrisCooper]

On the issue of staff safety, it's the same on the buses too. Drivers are told that their safety is more important than getting a fare, after all it's not their money. Delaying services due to people attempting to avoid paying also annoys the paying customers and creates a potentially more dangerous situation. There is then the PC side of things, chuck anyone considered "vulnerable" off and you're asking for trouble.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

There's actually quite a few at Piccadilly that I overhear not selling Cheap Day single/returns to those on board, often with a quip after the tickets' done that "you can get it cheaper from the ticket office, so you know for next time". I've noticed it depends from which station, whether it was staffed without problems and the proximity of the ticket office/ticket machines are to the platform(s) but I do overhear it on my commute to/from work regularly.

Many more guards refuse (correctly) to give railcards on board (unless they have to).

Why would them G4S staff or guards doing it correctly cause other "no end of hassle".

I know some guards dont like G4S and moan that they "lose commission" but why would they be so bothered when the fares in the GM area are so dirt cheap?

they tend to be the guards that get asaulted on a more regular basis, giving advice and reminding them about the CoC is a lot safer then coming down heavy handed, what a lot of people forget regarding our routes is ticket offices open to totally different times, we have no security on our trains and people tend to only go a couple of stops we are not like virgin or xc or even arriva as we have no cctv or anything on our trains, I do my job safety, professionally and with common sense, I never get complaints from management and very rarely from passengers, it works everyone is happy and I stay safe!

 

[ApAp]

On East Coast today someone sitting near the end of the carriage had a standard class ticket, totally open about it as some passengers got on and asked if she knew how much the upgrades are and she said 'just take a seat, I did'. When the guard appeared she said "I'm only going to the next station [Grantham, from KGX] can I not just sit here". She was sent packing into standard where she'd be able to purchase a nice selection of drinks and wide selection of sandwiches from the comfort of her seat.

 

[ANorthernGuard]

What people tend to forget (and I don't blame them) as obviously the average passenger does not look at the "bigger picture" is the average guard in a TOC like Northern who has old and inadequate trains, numerous stops close together, no security from late evening onwards and are basically "on their own", we have to look at things from our own safety viewpoint, is it perfect..No, BUT we do our best with what we have, yes some guards will go out on a friday night Hadfield or Liverpool and risk their face getting smashed in for a cpl of pounds, I won't unless I feel 100% safe and that is the way it should be, no one should put themselves at risk in their line of work, I take each service as it comes and my system works for me, it will not keep everyone happy but it keeps the Majority happy, as I have said some guards put themselves at risk..their choice, I refuse to do so.

 

[strange6]

I've heard "Does anyone need a ticket?" before :?

Quite a few Northern Guards say that

 

[Liam]

On long distance journeys I usually have my laptop and headphones on. I usually leave my ticket on the table for the guard to see. On shorter journeys I just keep my ticket in my hand for the guard to see as many times as they want.