Experimentation using invalid tickets at gatelines

[shredder1]

Anyone who reads my scribblings in trip reports probably realises that I`m out nearly every weekend, most weeks by rail. I few years ago I accidently shown a London Travel Card to exit Manchester Piccadilly station on my return, and I was waved through. On occasion after a long weekend away I often test this to the limits, mainly out of curiosity on how observant gate staff actually are, so far I`ve been waved through with a Merseyrail Day Saver, a Supertram day rover ticket, a YHA membership card and a Tesco card, maybe a should get a job as a mystery shopper??

 

[Gems]

Anyone who reads my scribblings in trip reports probably realises that I`m out nearly every weekend, most weeks by rail. I few years ago I accidently shown a London Travel Card to exit Manchester Piccadilly station on my return, and I was waved through. On occasion after a long weekend away I often test this to the limits, mainly out of curiosity on how observant gate staff actually are, so far I`ve been waved through with a Merseyrail Day Saver, a Supertram day rover ticket, a YHA membership card and a Tesco card, maybe a should get a job as a mystery shopper??

It's when you are waved through showing a 'Toffee Crisp' wrapper you need to worry. Don't laugh, I have seen it happen. The colouring is a near perfect match.
Give it a go, wrap it up to the size of a ticket and try it. I'll put a fiver for charity that it works.

 

[ComUtoR]

Are they checking the ticket or checking the person...

 

[Spartacus]

We used to have lots of fun with the gateline at New Street, more or less anything would do!

 

[Polarbear]

Back in the day,(BR days), there used to be a running joke about using the wrappers from well known chocolate bars;

“Mars? Change at Crewe”

 

[E_Reeves]

Back in the day,(BR days), there used to be a running joke about using the wrappers from well known chocolate bars;

“Mars? Change at Crewe”

Brilliant!

 

[hexagon789]

Back in the day,(BR days), there used to be a running joke about using the wrappers from well known chocolate bars;

“Mars? Change at Crewe”

The first time I read this I thought you meant the planet rather than the chocolate bar!

 

[Joe Paxton]

Anyone who reads my scribblings in trip reports probably realises that I`m out nearly every weekend, most weeks by rail. I few years ago I accidently shown a London Travel Card to exit Manchester Piccadilly station on my return, and I was waved through. On occasion after a long weekend away I often test this to the limits, mainly out of curiosity on how observant gate staff actually are, so far I`ve been waved through with a Merseyrail Day Saver, a Supertram day rover ticket, a YHA membership card and a Tesco card, maybe a should get a job as a mystery shopper??

The other thing is, they might well have noticed you had an invalid (non) ticket but just can't be faffed to do anything about it - say if there's no RPI or other member of staff around to either issue a PF or sell someone the correct ticket. Bear in mind some gate staff will be on the minimum wage or close to it, and perhaps more to the point may well have only had minimal training and also have minimal incentives or management motivation to actually pursue such matters - i.e. they don't rock the boat, because it's hardly worth it for them to do so.

Plus some may have had enough unpleasant behaviour and lame excuses from non-paying passengers for the day.

 

[_toommm_]

The other thing is, they might well have noticed you had an invalid (non) ticket but just can't be faffed to do anything about it - say if there's no RPI or other member of staff around to either issue a PF or sell someone the correct ticket. Bear in mind some gate staff will be on the minimum wage or close to it, and perhaps more to the point may well have only had minimal training and also have minimal incentives or management motivation to actually pursue such matters - i.e. they don't rock the boat, because it's hardly worth it for them to do so.

Plus some may have had enough unpleasant behaviour and lame excuses from non-paying passengers for the day.

Although at Manchester Piccaidlly there is one gate attendant who works for Carlisle who stops every passenger in their tracks for a good five or ten seconds. Miserable sod, when the digital railcards failed he started to go on a power trip...

 

[syorksdeano]

It's when you are waved through showing a 'Toffee Crisp' wrapper you need to worry. Don't laugh, I have seen it happen. The colouring is a near perfect match.
Give it a go, wrap it up to the size of a ticket and try it. I'll put a fiver for charity that it works.

I can just imagine thd gateline staff "are you there Sidney"...... Those old enough will remember the advert

 

[shredder1]

It's when you are waved through showing a 'Toffee Crisp' wrapper you need to worry. Don't laugh, I have seen it happen. The colouring is a near perfect match.
Give it a go, wrap it up to the size of a ticket and try it. I'll put a fiver for charity that it works.

Ah, I`ll try that one next time

 

[shredder1]

Are they checking the ticket or checking the person...

I expect more the person, maybe I no longer look dodgy in my old age.

 

[DelW]

Not only gate-line staff, though not as extreme as the examples above; sitting in First Class on a Voyager from Euston to Chester, I accidentally showed the TM the ticket for my next sector, Chester to Bangor, standard class, ATW only, and it was accepted without comment. (I did have the correct ticket but I'd put it back in a different pocket after a barrier check at Euston.)

 

[ComUtoR]

I expect more the person, maybe I no longer look dodgy in my old age.

Or you get recognized as a local

You probably get referred internally as the crazy old geezer who keeps showing the wrong pass (they know you have the correct one)

 

[robbeech]

Are they checking the ticket or checking the person...

Rightly or wrongly, this often sums it up entirely.

 

[Sleepy]

Bear in mind sometimes on board the guard or RPI will be making a beeline for know fare evader seen boarding and will ignore decent or "granny" types who might show seat reservation or wrong portion of return in error !

 

[johntea]

More invalid tickets probably manage to successfully get through ticket barriers than valid ones to be honest!

At Leeds several times a month I find myself having to tailgate someone just to get in/out, which is likely I'm sure to get me a tap on the shoulder from revenue protection one day but until they fix my perfectly valid season ticket so it doesn't stop working in the barriers after less than 10 uses I don't have much choice unless I want to miss my train! 3 gateline staff trying to assist 300+ passengers trying to get through the barriers at peak time doesn't really work too well!

 

[sprunt]

In the 1980s there was a section of Bury FC's stadium that you needed to show a membership card to get into. Anything vaguely the right shade of blue could be used - I used to regularly get in there with a membership card from the local swimming baths.

 

[Taunton]

Knowing that Sydney, Australia uses an adapted London Oyster system for their Opal equivalent, I tried a London Oyster card at the Sydney gateline.

No!

 

[sprunt]

Knowing that Sydney, Australia uses an adapted London Oyster system for their Opal equivalent, I tried a London Oyster card at the Sydney gateline.

No!

Did it recognise that it was some kind of similar smartcard and reject it for whatever reason, or did it just not respond to the Oyster card at all?

 

[6Gman]

It would be nice if valid tickets actually worked in these new-fangled barriers.

At a push, I'll accept the West Midlands Day Ranger not working at Crewe (since it's on the very edge of its validity) but having it fail to operate the gates at New Street is just taking the ****.

 

[shredder1]

Or you get recognized as a local

You probably get referred internally as the crazy old geezer who keeps showing the wrong pass (they know you have the correct one)

Thats probably spot on actually

 

[northwichcat]

In the days when G4S had the Northern RPI contract there was one of them trying to collect all tickets off passengers leaving a platform at Victoria (something they weren't supposed to do because of the number of tickets which were valid for onward travel on Metrolink.) I showed him a Smithy Bridge to Hale Route:Metrolink ticket and didn't let go of it. His response was "That is not a ticket to Manchester, that is a ticket to Hale. Are you going to Hale?" :roll:

 

[Taunton]

Did it recognise that it was some kind of similar smartcard and reject it for whatever reason, or did it just not respond to the Oyster card at all?

It displayed an "Invalid card" message.

 

[js1000]

In the days when G4S had the Northern RPI contract there was one of them trying to collect all tickets off passengers leaving a platform at Victoria (something they weren't supposed to do because of the number of tickets which were valid for onward travel on Metrolink.) I showed him a Smithy Bridge to Hale Route:Metrolink ticket and didn't let go of it. His response was "That is not a ticket to Manchester, that is a ticket to Hale. Are you going to Hale?" :roll:

They try to take tickets off passengers at Piccadilly. The trick is to put it in a season ticket wallet if you want to keep it. Staff are not going to ask you to take it out the wallet and hold up people.

 

[PeterC]

In pre ticket gate days there were several occasions when I went through at Liverpool Street showing my office building pass. The security guys at work never let me in with my season ticket though.

 

[thenorthern]

Back in 2004 when the barriers were introduced at Edinburgh Waverley and Haymarket I regularly used to experiment with incorrect tickets and they let anything through even if it wasn't a ticket to "Edinburgh Stations", I should say I did have a valid ticket at the time as well.

 

[RailAleFan]

Isn't there always a "learning period" when a gateline first goes in when they let anything through, and then at some point staff review what is being used and decide on what should and shouldn't be permitted?

 

[PeterY]

As far as I'm aware, I've never shown an invalid ticket.
This year I've used lots of various rover tickets all over the country because I never attempt to put them in the gatelines, only at Marylebone (ALR twice) and Crewe (once) has anyone actually looked at properly at them .

 

[trickyvegas]

I've been waved through barriers whilst brandishing a cuddly duck-billed platypus. I was a bit "refreshed" at the time, so the attendant may have decided I was not worth the trouble.