Hypothetical ticket question.

[Donny158]

I was travelling from Burton to Tamworth last week where I witnessed 1 person queuing to buy train tickets for a group of 7 people. The train was announced as arriving and there was someone who had a complicated transaction at the desk so this gentleman said "I will get them on the train". I got the same train as these people and because it was A very busy service the conductor never got around to collect tickets. I assume these people got a free journey as don't think there are ticket gates at Tamworth?. My question is, if these people got stopped by revenue protection at Tamworth, who would be liable for prosecution/penalty fare? Would it be all of them or just the person who was buying all the tickets?
Many thanks.

 

[bb21]

They will all be liable I would think.

The responsibility to hold a valid ticket rests with the passenger.

 

[Ddraig]

All of them would be liable under byelaw 18 for not having a valid ticket to travel. But as for section 5, it would be harder to prosecute anyone other than the one buying the tickets as the RPI would have to establish intent, and that would mean showing that the other six did not know that the seventh person had not already purchased the tickets - for example if they had already all handed them their money and they came back and said everything was sorted and since there was no check on the train and only at Tamworth did they discover that their friend had not purchased the tickets, then the only person who intended to avoid the fare is the one that was sent to purchase the tickets. However, this is not a very likely situation, I think in most cases the person would inform the others that they hadn't had time to buy the tickets, in which case if they boarded the train with the intention of only paying if the guard was to ask them for tickets they could all be prosecuted under section 5.

As for penalty fares, I'm less certain because I don't deal with them, but I imagine each traveller would be liable for their own penalty fare, but at the end of a journey at a normally unmanned station, I'm not sure if a penalty fare would be the correct approach to the problem.

 

[bb21]

A Penalty Fare would not be applicable in this case anyway as only XC operate between these two stations.

Should a Penalty Fare system operate, I would imagine that it would be the most straight forward outcome for both the railway company and the passengers.

 

[yorkie]

My question is, if these people got stopped by revenue protection at Tamworth.....

...they may be asked to pay the Anytime (Day) fare with no discounts.